The 7-day positivity rate in New York City jails was just over 19 percent on Sunday—down from nearly 37 percent just a week prior, the most recent data shows. But the humanitarian crisis at Rikers Island continues unabated, attorneys representing those behind bars testified Tuesday.
Hundreds of thousands of households across the state already owe back rent as a result of the pandemic, and face eviction when protections expire on Jan. 15. The Good Cause Eviction bill would give tenants the right to a lease renewal in most cases, and prevent landlords from removing a renter without an order from a judge.
Adams stressed unity in her first speech as City Council’s new leader, saying the legislative body—the most diverse in the city’s history—would prioritize addressing the pandemic, including the recent shortage of tests and booster appointments, as well as public safety, healthcare equity and affordable child care.
New Queens Councilmember Lynn Schulman wants to incorporate hospital capacity into New York City’s zoning process, following decades of medical facility closures, including several in Queens.
Those who’ve tried to use the service in recent weeks say there haven’t been enough hotel rooms to meet demand. They report delays in obtaining a room, sometimes three days or more, even as the CDC recently cut its recommended isolation time down to five days.
As of Dec. 13, 501 applications for the $27 million fund have been completed and signed by a caseworker, 145 have been approved, 66 have received the aid and 79 are in the process of receiving it.
In statements Tuesday afternoon, both Moya and Adams, who are Queens Democrats, projected victory in the coming contest for speaker. The body will officially vote on one speaker—who essentially sets the legislative agenda and liaises with the mayoral administration—after its members are sworn in at the beginning of the year.
The news sets up a competitive primary for Assembly District 37, which includes Astoria, Sunnyside, Ridgewood, and Queensbridge, and iterates an increasingly familiar dynamic in Queens politics: a seasoned incumbent facing off against a relative political newcomer.
From 2011 to 2017, Moya, rumored to be one of the Speaker candidates favored by incoming Mayor Eric Adams, served in the state Assembly and collaborated closely with the IDC—particularly when it came to the DREAM Act.
After a tally of machine ballots, Joseph Kasper leads Paul Vallone, the scion of a Democratic political dynasty and a term-limited city councilmember, by more than 1,700 votes in the 3rd Municipal District, which covers a broad swath of south and central Queens.
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