July 7, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Council Member Rory Lancman has called on Mayor Bill de Blasio to fire Police Commissioner Dermot Shea for blaming the recent surge in violent crime on criminal justice reforms and measures that aim to combat police brutality. Lancman, who represents the 24th Council District in central Queens, said that… Read more »
July 1, 2020 By Michael Dorgan The MTA has rolled out vending machines across select city subway stations that dispense COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE). The new machines offers face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes. There are 10 machines in Manhattan and just one machine in both Queens and Brooklyn. The agency wants… Read more »
June 30, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Mayor Bill de Blasio is looking to reduce funding to the NYPD by up to $1.5 billion in the city’s 2021 fiscal budget. The mayor is calling for a $1 billion cut from the NYPD’s operating budget and another $500 million cut in capital funding. The lost capital funds… Read more »
June 24, 2020 By Michael Dorgan City beaches will be open to the public for swimming from July 1, Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced. Public beaches have remained closed all summer due to the coronavirus pandemic but the number of cases continues to fall. “It is now safe to open the city’s 14 miles… Read more »
June 23, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced the establishment of a multi-agency task force to crack down on illegal fireworks sales. The move comes after a spike in illegal fireworks usage that has plagued city neighborhoods in recent weeks. The new task force will be made up of NYPD Intelligence Bureau… Read more »
June 23, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that a virtual graduation ceremony will take place for the city’s high school students next week. The ceremony for the class of 2020 will be held on June 30 at 7 p.m. and will be streamed online and broadcast on local TV, the… Read more »
June 16, 2020 By Michael Dorgan The US Tennis Open will go ahead in Queens this summer without spectators, Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced. The competition will be held on its originally scheduled dates of Aug. 31 through to Sept. 13. “It will be held without fans but we can watch it on TV and… Read more »
June 12, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a package of police reform bills into law Friday that seeks to improve relations between cops and the general public. The legislation, which was hurried through the state legislature earlier this week, will make police disciplinary records public, ban cops from using chokeholds on civilians… Read more »
June 8, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Mayor Bill de Blasio has vowed to slash funding to the NYPD and implement a series of reforms within the department. The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis cop last month coupled with a series of recent NYPD beatings at protests has led to calls to defund the… Read more »
May 27, 2020 By Michael Dorgan The mayor has signed several new bills into law to support small businesses during the COVID-19 shutdown. Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the legislation Tuesday after the City Council passed the relief measures earlier this month. The legislation slaps price caps on third-party food delivery services and extends the suspension of… Read more »