The Vaccine Equity Plan focuses on 27 of the neighborhoods hit hardest by COVID-19. On December 11, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine command center and outlined the City’s Vaccine Equity Plan. The City expects to receive 465,000 doses of the vaccine by the start of January, and has currently delivered 42,900 doses. Initial vaccine doses are first being distributed to health care professionals and nursing homes, and then … <Read More>
Mayor
Mayor Appoints Keri Butler as Acting Executive Director of the Public Design Commission
Butler has been serving the Public Design Commission in various roles for 15 years. On December 16, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Keri Butler as the Acting Executive Director of the Public Design Commission (PDC). The Public Design Commission serves as the City’s design review agency. The Commission oversees the design of permanent structures, landscape architecture and art proposed on City-owned property, and considers the appropriateness of the design, the materials used, how the … <Read More>
City Reaches Settlement Agreement with Verizon FiOS Regarding Expansion
The new agreement stresses the need for internet access. On November 24, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio announce efforts to tackle the digital divide in New York City by ensuring that Verizon builds out its FiOS footprint to 500,000 additional householders, making high-speed fiber broadband available to more New Yorkers. Verizon failed to meet the terms of its current cable franchise agreement made with the Bloomberg administration to build out its FiOS network.
New Medgar Evers College Prep School Building to be Constructed in Brooklyn
The new building will replace eight Transportable Classroom Units. On November 23, 2020 Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the groundbreaking on the 681-seat new school building for the Medgar Evers College Preparatory School in Brooklyn. This project will be adjacent to the school’s current site at 1186 Carroll Street in Crown Heights. This project was undertaken by the Mayor’s Office in partnership with the Department of Education, the School Construction Authority, and the City University … <Read More>
New Acting Transportation Commissioner Appointed as Commissioner Trottenberg Departs
The new Acting Commissioner is a 26-year veteran of the Department of Transportation. On December 4, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that Margaret Forgione will be the Acting Commissioner of the Department of Transportation after Commissioner Polly Trottenberg departs on December 11th.
City Announces Plan to Reopen Schools After Temporary Halt to In-Person Learning
Elementary schools will reopen December 7th but middle and high schools will remain remote only for the foreseeable future. On November 29, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza announced a plan to reopen New York City public schools for in-person learning after temporarily shutting schools on November 19th after the City’s COVID-19 positivity rates exceeded three percent.