As New York City recovered from a second night of widespread looting and destruction in the midst of protests against police brutality and the killing of George Floyd, Mayor de Blasio announced this morning that an 8pm curfew would remain in effect through Sunday. The move comes after a night of peaceful protest mixed with general disorder during which nearly 700 were arrested. That number is likely to rise as processing continues, said NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea. More →
City Hall
Looting and Shooting in Manhattan After Peaceful Protest in Brooklyn
A fourth day of protests against police brutality and the killing of George Floyd devolved into pandemonium Sunday night as a peaceful march from Downtown Brooklyn gave way to widespread looting and destruction in the streets of Manhattan. Dozens were arrested, according to the police, and a man was hospitalized after gunfire erupted in Soho. More →
Photos: Protests Over George Floyd Killing Turn Violent in Brooklyn
During a third night of nationwide protests following the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed black man in Minneapolis, New York City protesters gathered at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The demonstrations started peacefully at 6pm, but ended in clashes between protesters and the police. The photos in the above slideshow were taken from 6pm to 9pm; as of publication around midnight, altercations between demonstrators and police were ongoing throughout Brooklyn. More →
Brazilian New Yorkers ‘Desperate’ as Travel Ban Goes Into Effect
Júlia Ururahy, 24, had great plans for her post-quarantine life: the Brazilian-born administrator hoped to start a Master’s program with financial aid at Fordham University, move to a new apartment on the Upper East Side and enjoy summer in New York.
Then came the disappointment: On May 24, President Donald Trump decided that anyone who sets foot in Brazil needs to stay in quarantine for at least 14 days in another country before travelling to the U.S. The travel ban came as Brazil became the country with the second-highest number of Covid-19 cases in the world. According to Johns Hopkins University, Brazil’s total went from 66,501 people infected on April 27 to 411,821 on May 27, the day after the ban went into effect. More →
First Sandy, Now COVID: Lower East Side Activists Grapple With Construction for Climate Project
Lower East Side and East Village community members found no solace in the news last week that construction for its $1.45 billion plan to elevate East River Park will continue in the fall, but likely not in the order the city originally announced.
Now, the community must juggle two disasters: the flood vulnerability that Superstorm Sandy revealed eight years ago and remains unchecked and the mounting concern for open park space that the COVID-19 pandemic has made urgent.
Hitching a Ride to Rockaway Beach This Summer?
“There is such a demand in the New York City area to get to the beach, to get some respite,” Governor Cuomo said during his coronavirus briefing today. “It’s Memorial Day weekend, people want to get out of their homes.” More →
Restaurants Have Pivoted to Feeding the Frontlines: Is It Delivering?
When New York’s restaurants were forced to close their dining rooms on March 16, many decided to keep their lights on by switching to a charity model. Over the last six weeks, dozens of restaurants have launched fundraising campaigns with the mission of feeding frontline workers while keeping their employees on payroll. The headlines are heartwarming, but how are these endeavors actually working out? More →
In NYC, Lining Up For an Antibody Test Is the New Waiting For a Table
(Credit: Rusty Zimmerman)
Shortly after noon yesterday, Rusty Zimmerman, a 40-year-old artist living in Crown Heights, went to a CityMD on Fulton Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant. After he arrived, fellow patients started spilling into the waiting room and social distancing became less and less possible, he said. A CityMD staff member told him that the care center was short-handed. He waited for almost two hours before receiving a blood draw. More →
Are New Yorkers Covering Their Faces? Depends Who You Mask
A little over two months ago, Bedford + Bowery’s Zijia Song decided to wear a face mask in public, but grew too self-conscious to keep it up. “People saw my face mask not as a sign of precaution and regard for hygiene, but a sign of ‘Yellow Peril,’” she wrote. Needless to say, times have changed. On April 2, Mayor Bill de Blasio told all New Yorkers to cover their faces in public, acting on a study cited by the World Health Organization that found that asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic carriers were transmitting the new coronavirus. New York hasn’t gone as far as Los Angeles, where it’s now a misdemeanor to visit essential businesses such as supermarkets without wearing a face covering, but the thinking about masks has clearly changed. More →
With Rent Due, Approaches Differ On Easing the Pain
Mario Golden couldn’t sleep for two nights before he wrote to more than 60 city and state representatives— including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents Golden’s district of Elmhurst— to advocate for a rent freeze in New York. Both Golden and his husband, Andreas Robertz, are freelance artists whose work in theater came to a halt when the coronavirus pandemic hit. “We rely on contracts so this is immediately impacting us,” Golden said, “and we’re surviving on savings.” More →