Author: Allie Griffin

Aug. 30, 2021 By Allie Griffin Hundreds were evacuated from subway trains late Sunday night after a power surge shuttered service on half of the subway system. About 550 New Yorkers who were on trains stuck between stations had to leave the train cars and trudge through subway tunnels after the signaling system went down… Read more »

Aug. 27, 2021 By Allie Griffin As many as 800,000 New York City residents will lose their unemployment benefits after Labor Day, according to a new report. An estimated 750,000 to 800,000 city residents will stop receiving them after Sept. 6, according to a study released Thursday by The New School’s Center for New York… Read more »

Aug. 19, 2021 By Allie Griffin Local leaders will host a vigil in Queens Village tonight for the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards is hosting the vigil alongside Haitian Americans United for Progress (HAUP) and Assembly Member Clyde Vanel at 8 p.m. outside the nonprofit’s headquarters at 209-5… Read more »

Aug. 17, 2021 By Allie Griffin The state is establishing a fund in order to buy economically-distressed hotels and convert them into permanent housing for the homeless and people in need. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law Friday a bill called the “Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act” (HONDA), which calls for the creation of… Read more »

Aug. 16, 2021 By Allie Griffin Business owners who operate a bar, restaurant, gym or similar establishment must require their customers and workers to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to gain entry starting Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today. The businesses that fail to comply with the vaccine mandate will face fines… Read more »

Aug. 10, 2021 By Allie Griffin Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation Tuesday, a week after a scathing report was released by the New York Attorney General that concluded that he sexually harassed almost a dozen women. Cuomo, who is facing an impeachment inquiry, said his resignation will take effect in 14 days — at… Read more »

 Aug. 9, 2021 By Allie Griffin A Queens assembly member has introduced a bill prompted by the Gov. Andrew Cuomo scandal that  would make it illegal for an employer to release the personnel files of an employee in retaliation for a workplace accusation. Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas introduced a bill that prohibits employers from disclosing… Read more »

Aug. 9, 2021 By Allie Griffin Queens Borough President Donovan Richards is calling on the state legislature to allow community boards to meet remotely for the duration of the pandemic. Richards penned a letter to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie Thursday requesting that they pass legislation that would allow community… Read more »

Aug. 5, 2021 By Allie Griffin Community board meetings across the city must now be held in person — but one Queens board is refusing to do so given the growing prevalence of the delta variant. The boards have been required to hold in-person meetings since June 25, when Governor Andrew Cuomo ended his executive… Read more »

Aug. 4, 2021 By Allie Griffin The New York City Council voted last week to extend a number of laws that put caps on third-party delivery apps in an effort to help small businesses recover from the pandemic. The council voted Thursday to extend the laws that prohibit third-party delivery apps from charging restaurants more… Read more »