After months of negotiating, the City Council and Mayor Adams have reached an agreement to make outdoor cafes low-cost and nearly year-round fixtures citywide.

Breeana Mulligan, a spokeswoman for City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica), said by creating a permanent outdoor dining program the Council has created more opportunities for restaurateurs to cut through red tape so they can benefit from sidewalk cafes. Read more

The presidents of New York City’s three public library systems testified last week to state the impacts that proposed $36.2 million budget cuts would have on service and operations.

It was the first time Brooklyn Public Library President Linda Johnson, Queens Public Library President Dennis Walcott and New York Public Library President Tony Marx spoke publicly since Mayor Adams partially restored some library funding in the 2024 executive budget plan. Read more

Primary election candidates for Queens district attorney and City Council Districts 19, 20 and 29 joined the Asian Wave Alliance on Sunday to discuss issues of special relevance to the communities they hope to represent.

Among the most pressing topics discussed were the citywide increase in crime, ubiquitous illegal smoke shops and NYC’s steady influx of asylum-seeking immigrants. Read more

It may not be the weight of the world, but the weight of the world’s greatest city is slowly submerging the land around it, geologists have found.

“A deeply concentrated population of 8.4 million people faces varying degrees of hazard from inundation in New York City,” says the paper, written by three University of Rhode Island oceanologists and a researcher from the US Geological Survey. Read more

Residents of Margaret Tietz Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jamaica Hills were treated to jazz with the blues on May 11 as the NYPD Jazz Band performed in concert.

A dozen of the finest musicians and singers with New York’s Finest entertained residents in what Margaret Tietz officials called “an extraordinary day” with music and sing-along numbers. Read more

The United Federation of Teachers rallied in all five boroughs Wednesday for a fair contract in the wake of the 2019-22 agreement’s expiration in September.

Queens UFT members met outside Borough Hall to demand new contract negotiations that compensate them for their tireless work to meet students’ needs, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more

City Hall is seeking to house migrants in public libraries, the Queens Chronicle has learned.

“The mayor is asking Queens Library to consider buildings,” an official familiar with the effort, who works in a separate city department, told the Queens Chronicle Tuesday. “They’re asking our agency ... to look at what buildings are available.” Read more

Gov. Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority last Friday released more details about their congestion pricing proposal, just a week after the federal government approved hearings and public comment.

While nothing is finalized, sources have told the Chronicle that tolls will be in place by about April 2024. Read more

The city will continue to use school gyms as emergency shelter sites as long as migrants continue to arrive, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom said in a press conference regarding the asylum seeker crisis on Wednesday.

“The city shelter capacity is full and we have exhausted options for traditional shelter sites for the migrants,” said Williams-Isom, who was joined by Dr. Ted Long, senior vice president for ambulatory care and population health at New York City Health + Hospitals, the only other official in the briefing. Read more

After much urging from Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), the United States Postal Service is making more improvements to mailboxes in order to curb mail theft.

The USPS announced last Thursday that in addition to installing 12,000 new, more secure collection boxes nationwide, 49,000 mailboxes will be retrofitted with electronic locks, among other changes. Read more

Mayor Adams signed a bill last Thursday that will require members of the NYPD to receive training on how to both recognize and interact with people with autism spectrum disorder.

Adams said the legislation will help ensure the NYPD continues to serve all communities across the city fairly and equitably. Read more