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. 


City Announces Abrupt Changes to Return of In-Person Instruction at Schools

The delay comes less than a week before all students were scheduled to return to in-person instruction. On September 17, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio, DOE Chancellor Richard Carranza, United Federation of Teachers (UFT) President Michael Mulgrew and Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA) President Mark Cannizzaro announced a delay in the return to in-person instruction at NYC public schools. This is the second delay in the return to in-person instruction. Schools will physically … <Read More>


City Reaches Deal to Push Back Start of School Year Over COVID-19 Safety Concerns

Students will start their first week online and then return to blended learning on September 21nd. On September 1, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio and DOE Chancellor Richard Carranza announced a deal with the teacher’s union to push back the start of the 2020 – 2021 school year to provide schools more time to implement COVID-19 safety plans and upgrades. The deal ends talks of a teachers’ strike out of fear that NYC schools were <Read More>


City Announces Preliminary Plan for Upcoming School Year

The City’s plan offers three basic models schools can base their scheduling on to rotate students between in-person and remote learning. On July 8, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza announced the City’s preliminary plan to reopen public schools in September. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have physically been closed since mid-March and operated remotely for the remainder of the school year. The “blended learning” approach will allow … <Read More>


Mayor Directs DOT to Administer Open Restaurants Plan Ahead of Phase 2 Reopening

Today marks NYC’s official Phase 2 reopening. On June 22, 2020, New York City officially entered Phase 2 of the State’s COVID-19 reopening plan. In preparation for the reopening, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order directing the Department of Transportation, with aid from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Small Business Services, to administer the “Open Restaurants” plan. The Open Restaurants plan will generally permit restaurants and bars … <Read More>


UPDATED: Mayor’s Office Outlines Further Guidance as City Enters Phase One Reopening

Starting June 8th, retail, manufacturing, construction and other industries can resume operations with restrictions. On May 28, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio laid out the additional guidance for industries that will be allowed to reopen under Phase One of the State’s reopening plan, NY Forward. While other parts of the state have already been allowed to reopen, New York City has remained shut down to reduce the spread of COVID-19. As the number of … <Read More>