Nov. 11, 2020 By Allie Griffin Restaurants, bars and gyms across New York State must close by 10 p.m. beginning Friday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today. Cuomo said the new mandates were needed since the COVID-19 infection rate continues to rise across the state. He told reporters that bars and restaurants play an outsized role… Read more »
Nov. 10, 2020 By Allie Griffin Mental health experts will be sent out next year instead of police officers in response to 911 calls involving non-violent people experiencing mental illness problems, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday. The new plan, which will be piloted in a number of neighborhoods next year, involves dispatching FDNY Emergency Medical… Read more »
Nov. 10, 2020 By Allie Griffin State Sen. Michael Gianaris introduced a bill Monday that would speed up the counting of absentee ballots in New York State to ensure elections are called quickly. The bill would require local boards of elections across the state to begin tallying absentee ballots on Election Day as opposed to… Read more »
Nov. 9, 2020 By Allie Griffin New York City has “one last chance” to stop a second wave of the coronavirus as new cases continue to surge, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today. The number of new cases on a seven-day average — as of Saturday — increased to 779 citywide, up from 593 a… Read more »
Nov. 6, 2020 By Allie Griffin A higher percentage of Queens voters cast their ballots in support of President Donald Trump on Nov. 3 than in the 2016 election, preliminary results show. About 30 percent of Queens ballots went for Trump versus roughly 22 percent in 2016, according to preliminary results from the New York… Read more »
Nov. 5, 2020 By Allie Griffin A 34-year-old Middle Village man who allegedly pointed an assault rifle at a NYPD detective last month was indicted on multiple weapons and narcotics charges Wednesday, prosecutors said. Julin Liriano, according to the indictment, pointed an assault rifle at a detective who was in an unmarked car outside the… Read more »
Nov. 5, 2020 By Allie Griffin City officials are concerned over a steady increase in COVID-19 cases citywide. The number of new coronavirus cases has risen above the city’s cautionary threshold for nearly a week and it hit a new high on Tuesday — the date of the latest data available, Mayor Bill de Blasio… Read more »
Nov. 4, 2020 By Allie Griffin Queens Democrats are projected to sweep the general election in nearly every race in the borough — although official winners will not be called for days or even weeks. On the local level, Council Member Donovan Richards cruised to victory in the Queens Borough President race, easily defeating his… Read more »
Nov. 3, 2020 By Allie Griffin The Department of Education (DOE) shuttered three Queens public schools for two weeks after finding at least two COVID-19 cases at each. Two of the schools closed last week after at least two students or staffers at each facility tested positive for coronavirus in unrelated cases. P.S. 213 The… Read more »
Nov. 3, 2020 By Allie Griffin There are no known plans of acts of violence or unrest in New York City ahead of today’s election results, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. The mayor said during a press briefing Tuesday that there are no major protests scheduled thus far, but that the city is prepared for… Read more »