Democratic District Leader Neeta Jain has picked up an endorsement from Rep. Carolyn Maloney in her bid to win an open City Council seat in Central Queens. Jain, a practicing psychologist, is one of 11 candidates who have filed petitions to run in the February special election to replace ex-Councilmember Rory Lancman in District 24. The district includes...
Several ideas about how to raise MTA fare and toll revenue — including implementing a flat fare for LIRR trips made between Long Island and New York City — will be the topic of a series of virtual public hearings that begin Tuesday. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is holding eight virtual public hearings through Dec....
The Mayor’s Office of ThriveNYC and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) announced that NYC Well, the City’s free helpline for mental health and substance use services, has responded to more than one million calls, texts, and chats from people seeking mental health support since launching in October 2016. During the COVID-19 pandemic,...
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday said that the city’s public schools will reopen on December 7 for 3-K, pre-K and kindergarten through fifth grade amid the pandemic. The announcement marks a major policy reversal for the nation's largest school system, less than two weeks after de Blasio, a Democrat, announced that...
New York: Neera Tanden would become the first Indian American, and first woman of color, when confirmed, to head the influential Office of Management and Budget (OMB). But her formal nomination Tuesday by President-elect Joe Biden has drawn a fire of opposition from both Republicans and progressives alike. Currently she is the chief executive...
New York: Singer, actor, entrepreneur and an athlete Priya Darshini has been nominated for the 63rd edition of the annual Grammy Awards. Her debut album Periphery nominated in the ‘Best New Age Album’ category is a jukebox of everything fun, soulful and healing. The 37-year-old musician finds her home in these songs that reflect her south-Indian roots living in...
Boston: In a world that can feel darker by the hour, two Boston sisters are spreading comfort. Saffron and Shreya Patel founded Letters Against Isolation in early April. With COVID-19 especially affecting seniors — and with many nursing and care centers limiting visitors — the all-volunteer organization aims to show seniors someone out there is thinking of...
Demanding justice for the victims of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, a group of Indian Americans held protests outside the Pakistan Consulate and Times Square in New York on the 12th anniversary of 26/11. Protesters called for an end to state-sponsored terrorism by Pakistan. The protesters, while wearing masks and maintaining social distancing, were holding...
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warns the increased COVID-19 positive test rate on Long Island could lead to more “yellow zone” restrictions in the coming days. Riverhead and Hampton Bays received yellow zone designations this week to restrict mass gatherings, restaurants and schools. Cuomo said other communities with increased infection rates, like Brentwood, could soon join...
