April 13, 2020 By Michael Dorgan The New York Department of Labor has upgraded its online and call center technology systems that will increase the agency’s capacity to process unemployment benefit applications. The new system, dubbed “Tech Surge,” was rolled out Friday — in partnership with Google Cloud, Deloitte, and Verizon — and will help… Read more »
April 11, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Governor Andrew Cuomo has warned New Yorkers to stay the course and to remain cautious as efforts to flatten the spread of COVID-19 appear to be paying off. The number of hospitalizations and intubations – those who are connected to ventilators – continues to drop, the governor said at… Read more »
April 11, 2020 By Michael Dorgan All public schools will remain closed for the remainder of the current academic school year and will reopen again in September, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this morning. The mayor said it was the right decision to keep them closed since it would help stop the spread of COVID-19… Read more »
April 10, 2020 By Michael Dorgan The coronavirus has wreaked havoc across New York City, but one Queens woman hopes the pandemic will shine a light on a crisis that has plagued the city for some time–food insecurity. Crystal Wolfe, who founded the not-for-profit organization Catering for the Homeless in 2017, has been distributing food… Read more »
April 9, 2020 By Allie Griffin More than 4,000 New York City residents have died of the novel coronavirus and nearly a third of the deaths have been Queens residents, according to city data released this morning. In total, 4,426 New Yorkers have been killed by the virus in the Big Apple — 1,377 of… Read more »
April 9, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Many people who file for unemployment are unable to complete the process online–and are required to call in to verify information pertaining to their claim. State Sen. Mike Gianaris launched a petition today urging the Department of Labor to scrap that requirement. Many people who are mandated to call… Read more »
April 8, 2020 By Allie Griffin The state’s shutdown that began last month to contain the spread of the coronavirus is working, Governor Andrew Cuomo said today — but still, more and more New Yorkers are dying each day. The dramatic measures that have brought the state to a near halt are “flattening the curve… Read more »
April 8, 2020 By Allie Griffin The coronavirus is disproportionately killing Hispanic and Black New Yorkers across the five boroughs, according to newly released data. Hispanic and Latino people account for 34 percent of all COVID-19 related deaths in New York City, while they make up about 29 percent of the city’s population, according to… Read more »
April 8, 2020 By Christian Murray Nearly one-quarter of Americans are unable pay their April housing bill, according to a new study released by the real estate firm Apartment List. The study, based on a survey of more than 4,100 people nationwide, revealed that 25 percent of renters say that they are unable to pay… Read more »
April 8, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Council Member Robert Holden has called on Mayor Bill de Blasio to fire the city’s Health Department commissioner due to her handling of the coronavirus response. Holden, in a joint letter with Council Member Eric Ulrich, accused Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot of failing to contain the outbreak of the… Read more »