Records at the new Municipal Archives facility in Industry City, Brooklyn. Image Credit: NYC Dept. of Records & Information Services

The new facility includes cold storage vaults for film, photo and video footage. On October 25, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the opening of the new Municipal Archives facility for the Department of Records and Information Services. The new facility will be located at Industry City, Brooklyn. (read more…)

Governors Island. Image credit: Trust for Governors Island.

The island has seen large growth in visitors over the past several years. On September 28, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Trust for Governors Island announced that Governors Island will now be open year-round to the public starting November 1st. Governors Island, a 172 acre island in New York Harbor, was previously only open seasonally from May to October.  (read more…)

70 Mulberry Street, prior to the January 2020 fire. Image Credit: Google Maps

The fire displaced five non-profits and shut down a community hub. On October 5, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to reconstruct 70 Mulberry Street in Chinatown. The City-owned building, which is a historic cultural and community hub for Chinatown, suffered severe damage from a fire in January 2020. (read more…)

Mayor de Blasio holds up copy of a new report outlining new strategies for the City’s future response to extreme weather. Image Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

Recommendations include citizen education and investments in infrastructure upgrades. On September 27, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the release of “The New Normal: Combatting Storm-Related Extreme Weather in New York City.” The report establishes an extreme weather response blueprint for the city and was the creation of the Extreme Weather Response Task Force. The task force consisted of City agency leaders and experts on climate change and resiliency, and came together in response to develop new protocols and policies to protect from future storms like the multiple severe storms the city experienced this past summer. (read more…)

Image credit: NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.

Fialkoff recently served as the Senior Advisor for COVID Relief Efforts to the Mayor. On September 24, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Gabrielle Fialkoff as the new Commissioner of the Department of Parks and Recreation. She succeeds Acting Commissioner Margaret Nelson, who took the helm after former Commissioner Mitchell Silver stepped down earlier this summer.  (read more…)