A handful of the city’s vaccination sites will play host to special performances for those looking to get the jab — and those distributing it! The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) and AFM Local 802 have launched “Music Heals,” a new program where musicians are paid to play for vaccine recipients and healthcare workers. The program follows in the footsteps of the Music for the Soul of NYC’s Health + Hospitals Heroes, a series launched by MOME and Local 802 AFM in spring 2020, in which local musicians performed virtually to support staff and patients at the city’s public hospitals. “Understanding the value that art and music can have on healing, …
Indoor dining capacity to increase to 75 percent on May 7
New York City restaurants can allow more patrons to dine inside starting next week. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that starting May 7, indoor dining in the city will be expanded to 75 percent capacity. This increase brings the city to the same level of capacity as the rest of New York State. “After a long and incredibly difficult fight, New York State is winning the war against COVID-19, and that means it’s time to loosen some restrictions put in place…
De Blasio unveils plan to vaccinate homebound seniors
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Friday a three-part plan to protect homebound seniors from COVID-19 — including setting up vaccine clinics around the Five Boroughs specifically designated for the elderly, inoculating home health aides, and taking steps toward bringing the vaccine into the homes of older New Yorkers next month. “We are moving heaven and earth to get our senior neighbors vaccinated,” Hizzoner said at a press conference in Sheepshead Bay. “We have …
NYC business leaders send letter of concern to de Blasio
The leaders of a number of businesses urged Mayor Bill de Blasio in a letter Thursday “to take immediate action” on public safety and other issues in New York City as part of dealing with the city’s longer-term economic concerns. Among the more than 150 people on the letter were the heads of Citigroup, Macys, … The post NYC business leaders send letter of concern to de Blasio appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.
Brooklyn heralds long-awaited reopening of museums
New York City museums and aquariums, as well as bowling alleys across the state, are getting the green light to open again, while the state will soon release reopening guidance for indoor gyms. Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters in a Friday conference call that low-risk, indoor cultural activities — including museums — can open in … The post Brooklyn heralds long-awaited reopening of museums appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.
Xtend Barre Goes Outdoors To Support Black-Owned Businesses
For the last several months, Xtend Barre on Remsen Street has been highlighting local black-owned businesses through its online classes, and now the studio is bringing the two together.For August, Xtend Barre is partnering with String Thing Studio in north Park Slope to offer outdoor classes on the knitting store’s private patio. After each class class, String Thing Studio owner Felicia Eve will lead an introductory knitting workshop. Proceeds will be split 50/50 between String Thing Studio and The Loveland Foundation, which brings opportunities and suppot to communities of color, especially Black women and girls.Each class costs $60 and includes:a 50-minute Xpress outdoor workouta one-hour basic knitting workshopone pair of grip socksAll knitting suppliesYou can sign up for…
Cats In Covid Crisis
Since mid-March, I’ve been delivering cats.Not in the “giving birth” kind of delivery, but in the “ordering delivery” sense, when someone wants/needs something and someone else brings it to their door.As people began working from home, they wanted a furry companion beside them, or they had the time to devote to a new pet, or they wanted to do something good at a time when everything felt awful.So our beloved Cat Cafe was flooded with requests to foster cats and kittens, and I had the absolute pleasure of delivering the coveted felines to their humans.Now, four months into our bizarre new world, the consequences of Covid are less pleasant.In March, the ASPCA …
Opinion: Coronavirus and climate change
The coronavirus pandemic is a rather good analogy for global climate change, because it’s a global thing you can’t see that will kill millions, there are clear ways to alter our lives to prevent it, and there are millions of people intent on not changing their lifestyle at all and denying reality about how it works. It’s not a good analogy because solving climate change will take decades and mostly impacts our youngest, while coronavirus is an immediate threat which targets the elderly most severely. But differences are why you have analogies. Like climate change, some places…
Cuomo: Protesters have ‘civic duty’ to get tested for coronavirus
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The thousands of people protesting the death of George Floyd have a “civic duty” to be tested for the coronavirus and help New York avoid a spike in new cases as it slowly restarts its economy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday. Amid widespread concern that people packing in tightly for demonstrations, … The post Cuomo: Protesters have ‘civic duty’ to get tested for coronavirus appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.
Locals slam impromptu dance party on Williamsburg open street
They do not have the right to party! A group of unmasked frolickers gathered for an impromptu shindig outside a Williamsburg restaurant which was blasting dance music on the newly-closed Berry Street on May 14, seemingly flouting state social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to one local. “People were just puzzled that this was happening. This sort of callous disregard for the reality of the situation is what really pissed me off,” said Jennifer Weinberg, who caught the gathering on video. “The point of all of this is not to encourage people to be outside; it’s to give them more space…
Our world in photos: May 15
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Opinion: Quarantine and the ‘third quarter effect’
Lately I’ve been thinking about the ruts and obsessions people find themselves in. Here at this paper, my conservative counterpart’s columns are almost always about law and order, whereas mine seem to be about powerlessness and isolation. Studies of astronauts in orbit or scientists isolated in Antarctica have identified what they call a “third quarter effect.” At the beginning of a long-term mission, participants are anxious yet excited, then they move on to depression and boredom, then, normally shortly after the halfway point, they become aggressive and irritable. We are embarked upon an …
Photos: NYU Langone Brooklyn discharges 850th COVID-19 patient in time for Mother’s Day
NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn‘s announced on Thursday that it had released its 850th patient with COVID-19, just in time for Mother’s Day weekend. The patient, Maria Rodriguez, 87, was sent off with cheers and applause from staff to celebrate the milestone. Her grandson, Octavio Vargas, Jr., a housekeeper at NYU Langone Brooklyn, escorted her out of … The post Photos: NYU Langone Brooklyn discharges 850th COVID-19 patient in time for Mother’s Day appeared first on
Opinion: Getting by with a little help from your friends
Up until this point, all of my columns have been complain-y and depressing, offering few positive solutions. It should be clear by now that our governments are failing us. They have been failing us for a long time. My column two weeks ago referred to the notion that Mitch McConnell will keep screwing with the rest of the country, and that was before he started trying to literally bankrupt the Blue states. Donald Trump and, to a far lesser but still galling extent, …
Opinion: Pandemic or not, criminals must face consequences
Most Democrats still don’t get it. If criminals know there are no real consequences for their actions, they will be more emboldened, and more innocent New Yorkers will suffer. Just last week, several mom and pop businesses on Third Avenue in Councilman Justin Brannan’s Bay Ridge district were burglarized. With their loss of revenue from the pandemic, these store owners have enough to worry about without having to deal with thieves. Rather than calling for a tougher response to criminals taking advantage of the pandemic to …
Brooklyn Cat Café Launches Emergency Foster Network
For the last several weeks, I’ve been transporting cats from the Café to and from foster and adoptive homes. As people have been required to stay home, many have decided that it’s the perfect time to foster or adopt a new pet.Now, the Café is providing support for people who already have pets and who may be in personal or financial difficulty as a result of Covid-19. Below is a press release introducing the Café’s latest initiative, NYCFoster.org.In partnership …
Wyckoff Hospital nurses demand additional staff, supplies to battle COVID-19
Nurses and administrators at the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center on Friday called on government officials to supply the hospital with more staff, equipment, and COVID-19 tests as the facility grapples with a surge in patients due to the viral outbreak. The lack of sufficient staff and supplies has left workers at the hospital on Bushwick’s Stockholm Street scrambling to adjust to the new conditions, according to one nurse, who said that staff were given scant preparation to fight the virus. “There was no retraining, no anything,” said Dalia Branford. “It was an absolute nightmare. I literally cried at the end of my shift.” Branford has been working as a pediatric nurse for the past decade, but had to relearn treating adults when she found her…
Park Slope pol plans bill to protect whistle-blowing healthcare workers
Park Slope Councilman Brad Lander plans to introduce legislation aimed at protecting healthcare workers from being fired or punished for speaking out about health and safety conditions, the legislator announced on Friday. “At a time when the very lives of our hospital and health care workers are on the line, it is unconscionable that they would be fired for ringing the alarm bell about health and safety issues,” said Lander in a statement. “It is imperative that we stand up for these doctors, nurses, and health care workers, listen to and lift up their concerns, and ensure that they cannot be unjustly fired for telling the truth about the conditions they face.” The proposed …