Photo by David L Roush on Wikimedia

New York City this week will open a mass coronavirus vaccination site at Co-op City, the world’s largest housing cooperative. Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced the site will start vaccinations for eligible New Yorkers on March 4 at the Bronx development, which is home to over 15,300 apartments across 72 buildings. “Communities felt deep, deep losses from the coronavirus in the Bronx,” de Blasio said during a press briefing. “The Bronx is too often overlooked. We can’t let that happen.”

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Photo of the Wollman Rink by bekhap on Flickr

Two ice rinks in Central Park that are operated by the Trump Organization will now remain open for the rest of the season instead of shuttering early as originally planned. The Trump Organization announced it would close Wollman Rink and Lasker Rink on Sunday after city officials requested the company cease operations on February 26, ahead of the contract’s April expiration. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the termination of the agreements with former President Donald Trump’s company for the ice rinks and two other city concessions following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. In a reversal, the city on Sunday said the rinks can stay open for the remainder of the season.

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Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

In a press conference this morning, Mayor de Blasio announced an overhaul of the city’s COVID vaccine scheduling portal “Vax4NYC.” The site will now be more streamlined and available in 10 languages. The announcement comes after New Yorkers with preexisting conditions became eligible to make vaccine appointments on February 14. Unsurprisingly, the state and city websites became overwhelmed, and once more than 250,000 people made appointments on Sunday alone, Governor Cuomo reported that all but four of the state’s vaccination hubs were booked through mid-April.

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Mayor de Blasio with Mets owner Steve Cohen and Mr. and Mrs. Met. Photo credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

The Mets will join the Yankees in offering their stadiums to serve as mass COVID vaccination sites. Just as Yankee Stadium is earmarked for Bronx residents, Citi Field’s appointments will be set aside 50 percent for drivers with TLC licenses and food delivery workers and 50 percent for Queens residents, Mayor De Blasio announced today in a press conference. The Flushing, Queens site will open this Wednesday, February 10th at 10:00am.

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Photo by Daniel Vargas on Unsplash

As of today, the mass coronavirus vaccination site is open at Yankee Stadium. Appointments are reserved for Bronx residents only who meet phase 1a and 1b eligibility requirements, and the site will operate every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Gov. Mayor Bill de Blasio, wearing a Yankees cap (he’s a vocal Red Sox fan), was at the stadium and spoke with Yankees president Randy Levine, manager Aaron Boone, and legendary player Mariano Rivera, all of whom encouraged people to sign up for vaccines. As of today, 13,000 of the 15,000 available appointments through next week had been filled.

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Vaccination center at NYCHA Van Dyke Houses in Brownsville, Brooklyn on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. Photo credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

Black and Latino residents in New York City have received far fewer doses of the coronavirus vaccine than white New Yorkers, according to preliminary data released by the city on Sunday. Of the roughly 300,000 city residents vaccinated with at least one dose, 48 percent of them were white, 15 percent Asian, 15 percent Latino, and 11 percent Black. Mayor Bill de Blasio called the racial disparities “profound,” since Latino and Black residents make up 29 and 24 percent of the city’s population, respectively.

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Photo courtesy of alihasadd25 on Pixabay

New York City plans to ban cars from part of two major East River bridges and reserve them for cyclists. Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday unveiled a proposal to transform the innermost lane of the Brooklyn Bridge into a two-way protected bike lane and convert the north outer roadway of the Queensboro Bridge into a two-way bike-only lane. The “Bridges for the People” plan was announced as part of the mayor’s final State of the City address, “A Recovery for All of Us.”

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Dr. Michelle Chester of Northwell Health in Queens prepares to administer the first coronavirus vaccine in New York State; Photo: Scott Heins for the Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on Flickr

This past Friday, Mayor de Blasio began warning that New York City was likely to run out of COVID-19 vaccines in a week. And yesterday he confirmed these fears in his daily press briefing. “We will begin to run out on Thursday… And we will have literally nothing left to give as of Friday.” The city did not receive any additional doses, and therefore, has cancelled 23,000 appointments and closed its 15 vaccination hubs. This comes as the state has more than 9,000 people hospitalized from the virus, the highest number since May 4.

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Mayor Bill de Blasio visits a vaccination site at Hillcrest High School, Queens. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

New York seniors who are unable to get to and from their coronavirus vaccine appointments will now be provided a free ride from the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Sunday. Residents aged 65 and older who are unable to make their own arrangements to a city-operated vaccination site can sign up for transportation starting Monday. According to the city, about 10,000 rides will be offered each week.

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Photo of Wollman Rink by subherwal on Flickr

New York City will cancel three contracts with the Trump Organization after last week’s deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday announced plans to terminate agreements for two ice rinks at Central Park, the Central Park Carousel, and the Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx. President Donald Trump still owns the organization but has given his sons Eric and Donald Jr. control over the business. “Goodbye to the Trump Organization,” de Blasio said during a press briefing. “We’re not doing any business with you.”

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