Mayor Eric Adams (right) and Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch (second from left) announced the launch a curbside composting program starting this fall, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, on August 8, 2022. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office The Dirt on Composting in NYC From banana peels to eggshells, we all leave a multicolored mess of food waste in the trash daily. We throw out so much food... News 12 Aug 2022 | 12:11
Dr. Dave Chokshi at a COVID briefing. Photo courtesy of Dr. Dave Chokshi A Concern Over COVID ‘Collective Amnesia’ Debra Fraser-Howze says we must not go back to a pre-pandemic normal. “We died in normal,” said Fraser-Howze, the legendary... News 12 May 2022 | 10:32
New outdoor dining structure going up on East 18th St., Feb. 12, 2022. Photo: Peter Burka, via Flickr Alfresco Forever Jane Jacobs stressed the value of eyes on the street to bind the neighborhood and keep it safe. What would the great urbanist... News 19 Feb 2022 | 12:42
COVID testing at Columbus Circle by the holiday market. Photo: Michael Oreskes COVID’s Sudden New Surge Suddenly, the virus was everywhere. “We’ve never seen this before in New York City,” Dr. Jay Varma, the mayor’s former health... News 17 Dec 2021 | 10:12
Photo: Eden, Janine and Jim, via Flickr Council Debates Use of Propane Heaters The outdoor dining scene to which New Yorkers became accustomed during the COVID-19 pandemic now hangs in the balance, as... News 11 Dec 2021 | 06:05
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Hochul hold a joint press conference to update New Yorkers on the Omicron variant. City Hall, Thursday, December 2, 2021. Photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office The Omicron Factor When fear runs high and facts are scarce, it’s wise to go back to what you already know works. That, boiled down, were the... News 06 Dec 2021 | 11:32
At the Veterans Day Parade on Fifth Avenue, attended by Mayor Bill de Blasio, on Thursday, November 11, 2021. Photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office Health and the Holidays In the annals of public health there is probably no moment more notorious than the ill-timed parade in Philadelphia that... Home 20 Nov 2021 | 09:57
The first step to limit the uptick in cases, said Dr. Dave Chokshi, the city’s health commissioner, is vaccinating the unvaccinated, including 5- to 18-year-olds. Students at P.S. 19 in the East Village received COVID-19 vaccination shots on Monday, November 8, 2021. Photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office A New COVID Surge COVID rates are climbing again in New York City. This news may not yet be cause for alarm, but it is certainly reason for... News 15 Nov 2021 | 01:16
Mayor Bill de Blasio receives a booster shot from Dave A. Chokshi, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, on Monday, October 25, 2021. Photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office Vaccine Resisters As they go about their daily lives New Yorkers don’t generally give much thought to Denmark. But they probably should, as... News 30 Oct 2021 | 11:46
Delivery biker near East 77th Street. Photo: Gaby Messino Street Fatalities are Up, and Delivery People are the Ones in Danger In the first nine months of 2021, ten delivery cyclists have died. That is three more than all the delivery biker deaths... News 17 Oct 2021 | 09:57
Mayor Bill de Blasio delivers remarks at the FDNY Memorial Day ceremony to commemorate FDNY members who passed away in the past year on active duty. At Firemen’s Memorial, October 6, 2021. Photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office. Restoring the Firemen’s Memorial Located at Riverside Drive and West 100th Street, the Firemen’s Memorial of New York City has a quiet and poignant grandeur.... News 11 Oct 2021 | 09:55
Mayor Bill de Blasio holds a media availability with Commissioner Dave Chokshi, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, on September 29, 2021. Photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office Why Not Vaccine Mandates for All? Vaccine mandates work, the mayor says. So why isn’t vaccination against COVID-19 mandated for more New Yorkers? That question... News 03 Oct 2021 | 02:37
Mayor Bill de Blasio reads to a first grade class in Ozone Park, Queens, Tuesday, September 21, 2021. Photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office. COVID September Kids went back to school, but could they stay there? Delegates returned to the United Nations, some of them, anyway. Riders... News 26 Sep 2021 | 12:05
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, flanked by Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin, progressive advocates and state Democratic leaders on Friday, signed The Less Is More Act, which will end the practice of sending people to jail as they await hearings over alleged technical parole violations. Photo: Kevin P. Coughlin / Office of the Governor Hochul and de Blasio Issue New Rules on Rikers Crisis In response to the deepening crisis at Rikers Island, Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday signed a new law aimed at releasing... News 20 Sep 2021 | 10:36
Mayor Bill de Blasio at a press briefing on Tuesday, September 7, 2021. Photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office. A Patchwork Pandemic Economy The Delta wave of COVID-19 may, just possibly, have crested in New York, but its economic disruption will be with us for... News 11 Sep 2021 | 03:06
