Gotham Gazette

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coronavirus

coronavirus

  • City Council to Examine Domestic Violence Trends, Services Amid Coronavirus Shutdown

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    Council Member Helen Rosenthal, second from right, and other Council members (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)


    With New Yorkers sheltering at home during the coronavirus outbreak, advocates, experts, and elected officials are worried that domestic violence incidents could spike across the city but go unreported as victims find it nearly impossible to escape their abusers. On Friday, the New York City Council will hold a digital hearing to glean some clarity on the situation, particularly about how the de Blasio

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Job Loss and New York City's Coronavirus Recession

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    It's a very rainy day in New York City (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    April 29, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Job Loss and New York City's Coronavirus Recession

    james parrot 150Economist James Parrott of the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School joined the show to discuss his recent study of job loss in the city at the onset of the coronavirus recession,

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  • Jails, Affordable Housing and Other Capital Projects Delayed as City Grapples with Cash Crunch

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    New York City building projects are on the chopping block (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    The coronavirus fallout has created a severe cash crunch for New York City, forcing Mayor Bill de Blasio to slash his proposed operating budget for the next fiscal year by $6 billion, with more cuts likely before adoption. At the same time, the city’s cash flow problems mean that its capital plan, a four-year, $67.2 billion agenda that pays for crucial, long-term infrastructure like schools and roads, will also need modification and could mean some major changes to

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  • The Governor’s Clemency Negligence

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    Governor Cuomo (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    At his daily coronavirus press briefing on Sunday, April 26, Governor Cuomo was asked  whether he had any plans to grant broad clemencies to people in prison, particularly to vulnerable populations. His testy and dismissive response – “How about if they are violent and just started their sentence?” – was telling. Presumably, the governor meant to remove from consideration people he believed remained a threat to public safety and had not been sufficiently punished.

    The reporter’s question was

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  • City Council to Hold Oversight Hearing on 'Disparate Impacts of COVID-19 on Communities of Color'

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    Mayor de Blasio visits health care workers (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Though the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged New York City, causing more than 17,000 deaths and untold devastation on the lives of residents, the impact has been worse for communities of color where existing disparities in economic status and access to health care have only been exacerbated. On Thursday, the New York City Council will hold a remote oversight hearing to examine those disparities, their causes, and the steps that Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration is taking to

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  • The ‘Wartime Budget’ New York City Needs

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    Mayor de Blasio is facing difficult budget choices (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Mayor de Blasio called the Executive Budget he presented on April 16 a “wartime budget.” With New York City’s economy shut down virtually overnight and without a clear path or timeline to reopening, that is definitely what the circumstances require. But, we don’t quite have one yet.

    Estimates of cumulative city revenue losses from the city’s budget office and outside fiscal monitors range from $7 billion to $15 billion for this and next fiscal year, but there is no

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  • Cuomo's Density Dodge: Pandemics Aren’t Anti-City, Failure to Act Early Is

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    An altered image from one of Gov. Cuomo's briefings (by Aaron Carr, the author)


    Dear fellow urbanites, city dwellers, and city lovers, 

    I regret to inform you that the heart and soul of New York City is under attack. And not just by COVID-19, which, as of April 27, has taken the lives of an astonishing 16,936 New York City residents, but by fictional statements made by our own governor, Andrew Cuomo, who has deceptively blamed the spread of this infectious, vicious, and deadly disease primarily on our city's population density. 

    The governor

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  • As Coronavirus Shutdown Goes On, Increasing Concern About Senior Isolation

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    Seniors are especially vulnerable to isolation, now more than ever (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    Senior centers are closed. Visitation to nursing homes has been suspended. Social distancing orders have been broadly applied to businesses. Older people are the vast majority of those dying after contracting the virus. The COVID-19 era is marked by death, vulnerability, and isolation for older New Yorkers, with social interaction increasingly difficult to come by. The resulting isolation, already a major problem for seniors in more normal

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  • ‘Recovery Strategy Group’ Eyes Future of Work in Post-Coronavirus New York Economy

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    Workers are at the forefront of a new effort (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    New York’s economy will likely take years to recover from the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, with millions of people unemployed and billions of dollars in lost revenue. A group of experts from the public and private sectors is hoping to create a roadmap to recovery that will help the state emerge stronger from the most challenging socio-economic crisis it has faced in modern times.

    The pandemic has forced the closure of entire industries in New York, with

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  • Brooklyn Candidates Say Democratic Party Leaders Booted Them from Ballot for Not Gathering More Signatures During Pandemic

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    Christina Das and John Wasserman collecting petition signatures in March (Wasserman's Facebook)


    Two Brooklyn candidates say their names were removed from the June ballot for party positions in retaliation for pushing back against local Democratic officials asking them to canvass during the pandemic as one of them experienced coronavirus-like symptoms.   

    John Wasserman and Christina Das — who were running for reelection as 42nd Assembly District Alternative Judicial Delegate and Judicial Delegate, respectively — believe they were kicked

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  • Addressing New York City’s Public Hygiene Crisis is a Coronavirus Recovery Must

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    Pizza Rat (Youtube); Dilapidated NYC Parks Bathroom, NYC Comptroller’s Office


    The tens of millions annual tourists who supercharged New York City’s economic growth during the past few decades looked past the low public hygiene standards in their pursuit of skyline views and Broadway shows. Public restrooms? Very few and mostly awful. Overcrowded sidewalks? We got ‘em! Millions of long-suffering visitors and residents have had to tolerate oozing garbage bags on city sidewalks, grimy subway stations, crowded playgrounds, gross bathrooms in city parks, and more. When a pizza-eating rat in

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  • Coronavirus Death Toll at State Psychiatric Facilities Climbs Quickly

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    Kingsboro Psychiatric Center (photo: New York State Office of Mental Health)


    The death toll from the novel coronavirus at state psychiatric facilities is rising, according to what scant official figures are available, hinting at a nightmare unfolding inside some of New York's least visible institutions. In just over a week, the number of residents confirmed to have died from the virus has tripled, according to data provided by the state Office of Mental Health (OMH), which runs the 23 centers.

    Thirty residents are dead and another seven are suspected to have died

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  • Cuomo Orders All Voters Get Absentee Ballot Applications and Polls Open for June Elections, While Presidential Primary Canceled

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    All voters will get an absentee application for the June elections (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday, April 24 signed an executive order mandating that the State Board of Elections send every registered voter in the state an absentee ballot application with paid postage to facilitate voting in elections slated for June 23 without increasing the risk of

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  • Plummeting Ridership But No Budget Cuts or Fare Increases for De Blasio's Ferry System

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    Mayor de Blasio aboard the ferry (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    The coronavirus pandemic has led to plummeting ridership across the city’s various transit systems, posing an existential threat to the future of mass transit as the state and the city begin to cut costs and service. Among them, the New York City ferry, a signature initiative of Mayor Bill de Blasio, has seen far fewer commuters and a reduced schedule, but unlike a long list of other programs, the city does not plan to decrease its budget or scrap an expansion that is slated to take place this

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  • Questions and Concerns About Potential Shift to Vote-By-Mail as New Yorkers Await Further Action from Cuomo

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    Voting in New York is undergoing major shifts, with more possibly to come (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Amid reports that Governor Andrew Cuomo plans to allow or require voting by mail for all New Yorkers in primary and special elections set for June 23, government reform advocates have raised concerns that the measure could end up adversely affecting the election, while the State Republican Party has promised to sue if the governor follows through.

    The coronavirus pandemic has forced several delays in the state’s election calendar and in-person voting

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  • Mayor's Recipe to Combat Hunger Missing Key Ingredient: Healthfulness

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    Mayor de Blasio holding a food package (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    New York City officials’ recently-released plan for how the city will keep New Yorkers fed during the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis does exactly that: tells us how New Yorkers will be fed. But where it missed the mark altogether is that it lacks any direction as to how it will keep New Yorkers well-fed.

    The lack of consistent access to healthy food, which has been a looming

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  • Largely Absent from Cuomo's Coronavirus Briefings, Lieutenant Governor Hochul Charged with Western New York Role

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    Gov. Cuomo and Lt. Gov. Hochul (photo: Darren McGee, Governor's Office)


    As Governor Andrew Cuomo garnered national attention while leading briefings on New York’s response to the novel coronavirus outbreak each day for well over a month, often from Albany and sometimes from Manhattan, one top state official was conspicuously absent: Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul.

    Not only was the lieutenant governor not present for any of the governor’s first 40-plus daily coronavirus briefings, she was curiously never mentioned as part of the Cuomo

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  • The Coronavirus Crisis Reinforces the Climate Emergency, Our City Budget Must Recognize That

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    City Council Member Antonio Reynoso, the author (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)


    These months will go down as one of the most trying periods in our city’s history. We are consumed by the grief of lost loved ones, colleagues, and neighbors, while facing a level of economic uncertainty not seen in generations. In this moment of crisis, many of us feel compelled to put on blinders and focus solely on addressing the present situation, and there is no doubt that efforts to combat COVID-19 will require vast resources and attention from our best

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  • Now More Than Ever: Abolish The City Marshal

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    The city should eliminate the marshal position, the author writes (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office:)


    Since the 17th century, down on their luck New Yorkers have faced a familiar spectre: a New York City Marshal.

    The marshals are enforcers of court judgments including evictions, foreclosures, utility shut-offs, and debt collections. The difference between the New York City Marshals and New York City Sheriffs are that sheriffs are salaried public servants employed by the city while the marshals are technically private entrepreneurs who, despite being

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  • Sirens and Suffering: Rethinking the Soundtrack of the Coronavirus Crisis

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    Sirens and the city (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    A beautiful, clear April evening in Manhattan. No traffic, which is down 84% overall in the city, says StreetLight. Out of nowhere a screeching siren pierces the air. Many minutes later an ambulance appears—SeniorCare—blaring a siren that measures 124 decibels, higher than a jet takeoff or a thunderclap, the loudest natural sound on earth. The few people on the street cover their ears in pain as

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  • 10 Dead, Hundreds Infected as State Psychiatric Facilities Become Another Crisis Point in Coronavirus Outbreak

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    Manhattan Psychiatric Center, Wards Island (photo: @nicknormal via Flickr)


    Ten people have died of coronavirus and another 193 have tested positive among the nearly 3,500 residents living in state-run inpatient psychiatric facilities, according to officials, making them one of the hardest hit institutional settings per capita in New York State. Another 283 staff that work at the state's 23 centers have tested positive for COVID-19, which has killed well over 13,000 people across the state.

    After inquiries, the information was provided to Gotham Gazette on

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  • Letter to the Editor: Coronavirus Not Relevant to Needed Closure of Indian Point

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    Indian Point nuclear power plant (photo: governor's office)


    In an opinion piece published April 7, several pro-nuclear energy advocates opportunistically attempt to link the imminent closure of Indian Point 2 with the region’s response to COVID-19, warning of potential blackouts if it closes. This cynical fear-mongering is wholly devoid of any factual support, impractical, runs contrary to law, and is the opposite of what we need right now, which is

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  • When Homeless New Yorkers are Safe, We’ll All Be Safer; The Mayor Must Use 30,000 Hotel Rooms Now

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    Homeless New Yorkers must be cared for amid the coronavirus (photo: mayor's office)


    Last week we learned of Mayor de Blasio’s plan to move an additional 2,500 New Yorkers living in crowded shelters into hotel rooms by the end of April. While this may help some people escape the dangers of COVID-19, it simply does not meet the need.

    For tens of thousands of homeless New Yorkers, virtually all of the protocols to prevent contracting and spreading coronavirus are impossible. Homeless people, by definition,...

  • 40 Suggestions to Help Especially Vulnerable Seniors During Coronavirus Crisis: Report

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    Seniors are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 & its social effects (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    The outbreak of the deadly new coronavirus, COVID-19, throughout New York City has led to over 11,400 fatalities. One group particularly hard-hit by both the virus and its cumulative social effects has been senior citizens, older adults who often have underlying health conditions and less ability to fight off a serious infection.

    Data provided by the New York City Health Department shows that more than 70% of the

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  • Lessons from the Pandemic: Coronavirus Crashes a New York City History Course

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    City Hall (photo: Mayor's Office)


    I usually start each session of my graduate seminar on the city with a question: “So did anything significant happen this past week that we should discuss?” This time, as I looked at 18 faces across a computer screen for the first time, it evoked a gasp.

    My students and I won’t sit in a room together again as we did for weeks before, but we will continue to learn with and from each other. I think, teach, and write about New York. They are New York: diverse, smart, ambitious, striving to do better for themselves

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