Although indoor dining in New York City will resume at 25 percent capacity on Sept. 30 and it was announced today that outdoor dining will extend into winter, restaurant industry workers and leaders are planning to rally outside of the governor’s office on Monday. They say neither measure is enough to keep their businesses afloat. More →
When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit New York City in the spring, environmental concerns fell to the wayside. Thousands of people were dying from a deadly disease, and the state legislature had bigger things to worry about than enforcing its ban on plastic bags, which was supposed to take effect on March 1. More →
When Governor Cuomo announced on Aug. 29 the suspension of six additional New York State liquor licenses due to alleged violations of Covid-19 regulations, St. Dymphna’s, a long-running bar in East Village, was on the list. More →
While New Jersey’s indoor movie theaters were allowed to reopen earlier this month (hence this weekend’s screening of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, limited to an audience of 150), it’s still crickets inside of New York City’s cinemas, much to the chagrin of theater owners and even some local lawmakers who are calling for an alternative to #Netflixandchill. More →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
