COVID-19 indicators stall as de Blasio admits defeat on vaccination goal By Ari Ephraim Feldman New York City UPDATED 5:00 PM ET Jun. 09, 2021 PUBLISHED 4:06 PM ET Jun. 09, 2021 PUBLISHED 4:06 PM EDT Jun. 09, 2021
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Mayor Bill de Blasio admitted defeat at a news conference Wednesday on a key goal of the city’s COVID-19 recovery: He acknowledged that the city will not hit 5 million fully vaccinated people by the end of this month.
“It’s gonna be very very tough at this point to hit 5 million by the end of June,” de Blasio said, laying the blame with the federal government for briefly withdrawing use of the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine over safety concerns.
By Ari Ephraim Feldman New York City PUBLISHED 7:00 PM ET May. 18, 2021 PUBLISHED 7:00 PM EDT May. 18, 2021
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In New York City, life appears to be headed back to normal. Sidewalks are filling up with maskless pedestrians, restaurants are expanding indoor dining and stadiums can now seat whole sections at full capacity with vaccinated fans.
Many changes are going into effect May 19, under planned rule changes put forth by Gov. Andrew Cuomo shortly after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his plan to fully reopen the city on July 1.
In the space of a few weeks, new federal mask-wearing guidance and state reopening plans have led to dramatically loosened restrictions on public life in the pandemic. The changes have drawn criticism for being overly ambitious and permissive, and have left many New Yorkers unsure of how cautious
Council members clash with NYPD brass on budget, overtime pay By Ari Ephraim Feldman New York City PUBLISHED 5:00 PM ET May. 11, 2021 PUBLISHED 5:00 PM EDT May. 11, 2021
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The leadership of the New York City Police Department faced stiff questioning at a City Council budget hearing Tuesday over its handling of protests, overtime spending and an increase in shooting incidents, leading to angry outbursts from both council members and top NYPD brass.
In one tense exchange, the chair of the council’s finance committee, Daniel Dromm, reprimanded NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea for spending on overtime pay for officers. The department budgeted $240 million for overtime through the end of June, Dromm said, but had already spent $370 million, including on a large and much criticized response to racial justice protests last summ
Fight over Astoria peaker plant tests cityâs vision for renewable energy By Ari Ephraim Feldman Queens PUBLISHED 3:15 PM ET Apr. 30, 2021 PUBLISHED 3:15 PM EDT Apr. 30, 2021
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At the northern tip of Astoria, Queens, in the middle of an industrial peninsula in the East River, sits one of New York Cityâs 16 peaker plants.
What You Need To Know
A national energy company is proposing to replace its âpeakerâ plant in Astoria, Queens
Peaker plants help the city avoid blackouts when energy demand is high, but emit large amounts of pollution and carbon dioxide
Politicians and activists are opposing the proposed new peaker in Astoria, saying it gets in the way of the stateâs renewable energy goals