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>


Parks Dept Launches New Anti-Littering Campaign

The campaign stresses the importance of keeping shared green spaces clean during the pandemic. On August 28, 2020, NYC Parks announced a new campaign to address excessive littering in parks across the City since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The message is, “Show your park some love, New York. Put trash in a bag or can—or take it with you.”


City to Restart Indoor Dining September 30th

Restaurants will be allowed to reopen at 25 percent capacity. On September 9, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that restaurants may resume indoor dining on September 30th as long as they meet specific requirements. Indoor dining has been shut down since last spring at the start of the pandemic, and restaurants have been limited to take out and outdoor dining. 


COMPLETE VIDEO: 168th CityLaw Breakfast with Steven Banks, Dept. of Social Services Commissioner

On September 10, 2020, Steven Banks, Commissioner of the Department of Social Services, spoke at the 168th CityLaw Breakfast. Professor Ross Sandler, Director of the Center for New York City Law gave opening remarks and Dean Anthony W. Crowell provided closing remarks. This Breakfast was sponsored by ConEdison, Greenberg Traurig, and Verizon. Like last month, this breakfast was held virtually as in-person events are not feasible at this time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


Chief Judge Announces Revisions to Commercial and Residential Eviction Proceedings

Execution of eviction warrants paused until October. On August 12, 2020, New York State Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks issued a memorandum revising the procedure for both residential and commercial eviction proceedings. Evictions proceedings filed after March 17, 2020, whether residential or commercial, will continue to be suspended. Eviction proceedings commenced prior to March 17, 2020, may resume with a few crucial caveats.


City Planning Commission Resumes Hearings

The full ULURP process will resume on September 14th. On August 3, 2020, the City Planning Commission resumed hearings for the first time since March 16th. Hearings had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic after Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order halting the ULURP process which allowed the City Planning Commission to cancel its meetings. While other agencies started resuming public hearings virtually in June and July, the City Planning Commission has <Read More>