Mayoral Update

On WNYC with Brian Lehrer the Mayor announced,

• The City is working out the details of an indoor dining plan.
• The Parks Department will begin to grant permits to youth sports organizations to use field space.

Governor’s Update

During a conference call with reporters the Governor announced,

• New criteria which would require a college or university to shut down in-person instruction and transition to fully online instruction for at least two weeks, if the institution reports 100 active cases of coronavirus, or if the caseload exceeds 5% of its total campus population (including students and faculty).

Mayoral Update

During the Mayor’s press conference he announced,

• An agreement with the UFT that creates a framework to move forward and finalize plans on instructional guidance with hopes to provide principals clarity and flexibility, and teachers the time they need to plan and collaborate.
  • Fully remote students will have live instruction every day.
  • Blended learning students will have an in-person teacher and a remote teacher who collaborate.
  • Teachers will have 30 minutes of planning at the start of each day.
• The City is evaluating whether to expand outdoor dining beyond October 31.

Governor’s Update

During a conference call with reporters the Governor announced,

• His call on the federal government to provide financial assistance for the MTA, and warned of drastic cuts.
• His criticism of the new Center for Disease Control guidance which says people who had close contact with a person who was infected with COVID may not need to get a test.

Mayoral Update

During the Mayor’s press conference he announced,

• The Bridge to School plan, a citywide strategy to help children cope and learn, which will include a curriculum to help students, training for teachers and principals, and resources for both in-person and remote learning.

Mayoral Update

During the Mayor’s press conference he announced,

• The creation of school ventilation action teams, which will work to guarantee that every room in every school is inspected; each action team will be made up of independent ventilation experts and professional licensed engineers contracted by the School Construction Authority.
  • If classrooms do not pass inspections, they will not be used.
  • Inspections will start today and be completed by September 1.

Governor’s Update

During the Governor’s press conference he announced,

• Lower risk sports, such as tennis, soccer, cross country, field hockey, and swimming in all regions will be allowed to practice and play starting September 21st.
  • No travel and practice play will be permitted outside of the school’s region or contiguous regions/counties until October 19th.
  • Higher risk sports with full physical contact, such as tackle football, wrestling, rugby, ice hockey, may continue to practice but are not authorized to play.
• Five Executive Orders to improve voter accessibility and reliability, including
  • Extending the “temporary illness” option to elections not administered by the Board of Elections (BOE) this November.
  • Mandating county boards to send a mailing to all would-be voters notifying them of the deadlines and methods to request an absentee ballot.
  • Directing the BOE to promulgate a new envelope design to eliminate confusion about where to sign for a ballot to be counted.
  • Requiring all BOEs to take necessary steps to expedite the counting of ballots, so that counting may begin ASAP.
  • Directing all county BOEs to report staffing plans and any needs for additional staff to ensure a fair, complete, accurate vote to the State BOE by September 20 so that the State can assist.
• New testing sites at JFK and LGA Airports for incoming passengers to limit the spread of COVID-19 from visitors coming from out of state.
• His efforts to propose legislation to increase the current legal limits on penalties for utility companies that fail to effectively respond to power outages.

Mayoral Update

During the Mayor’s press conference he announced,

• The “Outdoor Learning Plan,” which will allow all schools, including public, private, and charter schools throughout New York City to apply for outdoor space to be used for additional classroom space.

Mayoral Update

On WNYC with Brian Lehrer, the Mayor announced,

• Gyms will reopen in NYC on September 2.

Mayoral Update

During the Mayor’s press conference he announced,

• The release of a Back to School Pledge, available here, which outlines the City’s safety and health commitments to students, parents, and the school community prior to the start of the school year.
• The start of the “Census Subway Series,” a competition among neighborhoods across boroughs to achieve the highest Census response rate.

Governor’s Update

During a conference call with reporters the Governor announced,

• His call on local agencies to increase enforcement against social distancing noncompliance.
• His criticism of utility providers for their failed response to power outages caused by tropical storm Isaias.

Mayoral Update

During the Mayor’s press conference he announced,

• The SBS is releasing a Black entrepreneurship report and using its partnerships to launch four new programs for Black business owners, which could be found here.
• A new BE NYC (Black Entrepreneurs NYC) Accelerator, which represents a $3 million partnership with the Brooklyn Navy Yard to support aspiring and established Black owned businesses.

Mayoral Update

During the Mayor’s press conference he announced,

• An Executive Order that requires hotels and short-term rental companies who welcome travelers from restricted states to fill out quarantine forms before giving access to rooms.
• The DOH-MH would be tracking new, more specific, COVID-19 data, to better reflect the City’s infection and hospitalization rates.

Governor’s Update

During the Governor’s press conference he announced,

• Gyms will be allowed to reopen as soon as Monday, August 24 at 33% capacity; guidance on reopening can be found here.
• If a school opens this fall and then experiences an outbreak of cases, the State will mandate the school’s temporary closure.
• His sending a letter to 500 jurisdictions explaining the urgent need to address the rise in gun violence and shootings and stating that if localities do not put forth a reform plan they will not receive state funding.

Mayoral Update

During the Mayor’s press conference he announced,

• A new DOE hotline for principals to call and request expedited delivery of PPE and cleaning supplies.
• The DOE will be enforcing school safety standards with unannounced school safety checks.
• Free-COVID and antibody testing available at the Brooklyn Army Terminal with free bus transportation provided to and from Sunset Park