Over a month after its liquor license was suspended following a news report about “pandemic parties,” Cloister Cafe reopens tonight, having won a temporary restraining order against the State Liquor Authority. More →
Pandemic Splits 9/11 Ceremony in Two

The pandemic in New York brought many inequalities to light and created many divisions, and this morning’s commemoration of 9/11 was no exception. The usual ceremony was divided into two due to safety concerns: one at the Sept. 11 memorial plaza, and the other at the corner of Church and Liberty Streets, near Zuccotti Park. More →
Cafe That Sued SLA Over ‘Pandemic Parties’ Won’t Win Back Liquor License Just Yet
An East Village hookah lounge that reportedly hosted “pandemic parties” has failed to secure a temporary injunction requiring the State Liquor Authority to reinstate its liquor license, and will now petition the New York Supreme Court. More →
The Police Say CompStat Saved NYC, So Why Do NYPD Captains Want to Pull the Plug?
One day in 1995, two officers from the New York Police Department walked up to a podium at Harvard University’s Ash Center. Louis Anemone and John Yohe were representing the department as a finalist in the Kennedy School’s Innovations in American Government competition, and their excitement about the force’s new, computerized crime-fighting system was palpable. “It’s revolutionizing the way the NYPD polices the city of New York,” Anemone told the judges. Giving officers rapidly-updating maps of crime all over the city, the system was “a shot of adrenaline to the organization of the NYPD,” the officer stressed, “right to the heart.” Previous decades had seen a tremendous rise in crime, but with the advent of CompStat, as it was called, the police said they were finally able to flatten the curve. More →
As Museums Reopen, Some Workers Feel Like Relics
Many rejoiced when New York’s museums were allowed to reopen last week, but not everyone was thrilled. As museum operations came to a halt or moved to the virtual sphere during the five-month shutdown, thousands of workers nationwide were laid off or furloughed. Freelancers and contractual workers, including art handlers, educators, and curators, also saw their working hours reduced to zero. With museums resuming their businesses in a new fashion to adapt to the pandemic, employees now find themselves facing a harsh new economic reality. More →
Brooklyn Postal Workers Face ‘Obscene’ Changes Amid Nationwide Shakeup

In late July, workers at the United States Postal Service’s Flatbush station were informed that they were going to be the subjects of a test. They were spending too much time in the office, management said, and so new measures would be put in place to streamline the operation and reduce costs. More →
Four Stories That Didn’t Make the Wild, Timely New Documentary About New Jersey’s Most Infamous Amusement Park
“Honk your horn if you’ve told someone an Action Park story and people have doubted you,” Seth Porges told an audience that had just watched his new documentary about New Jersey’s deadliest, most storied amusement park. More →
Sunset Park Teachers Rally Against School Reopening Plan
With less than three weeks before the first day of classes, educators are once again calling on New York City leaders to close schools and move learning online. More →
A Harlem Breakdancer Takes On Racism and the Pandemic Back in Brazil

As the United States closes in on three months of protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, people in Brazil are confronting a similar racial reckoning. More →
Museum of Chinese in America’s President Nancy Yao Maasbach On Racism, Recovery, and Reopening
Among all of the arts and culture institutions that were hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. the Museum of Chinese in America had a particularly devastating 2020. On January 23, shortly before the city grinded to a virtual halt in March, the Mulberry Street building that housed MOCA’s collections and archives caught fire. As the pandemic unfolded, anti-Asian sentiment also rose rapidly. Statistics gathered by advocacy groups show that across the country, over 2,000 Covid-related anti-Asian-American hate incidents were reported between March and June. More →