The reopening of the city’s senior centers this summer brought great joy and relief for many. But capacity restrictions remain in place, and staffers who work with older adults say they’re concerned about the ongoing impact the prolonged isolation may have had on members.
While the Excluded Workers Fund is designed to distribute aid on a first-come, first-served basis, this does not necessarily mean that those who applied first received the funds first, so some are still in limbo.
‘Restaurants are a critical part of the economy, employing 10 percent of New Yorkers. We saw during the pandemic how important they are to communities. Outdoor spaces, heated and cooled, were gathering spaces through the year for weary New Yorkers.’
The mutual aid movement continues, but groups are increasingly seeking new ways to ensure their long-term sustainability.
‘I’m beyond thrilled some inkling of normalcy may return to this gorgeous mosaic of a city by summer. But city and state officials are going to have to step up their game on how to best address vaccine coronavirus hesitancy or otherwise, we may be setting ourselves up for problems down the road.’
An estimated 5,000 restaurants across the city were predicted to shutter by February 2021 due to the pandemic. While there’s no officially tally, the loss of Latino-led businesses in New York was already a worrisome trend prior to the crisis.
Months-long closure of consulates and embassies, social distancing rules and appointments moving online have caused a bottleneck that many have experienced as a ‘maze’ that can take months to resolve.
It’s been a year since COVID-19 sent New Yorkers into lockdown. City Limits wants to hear from residents about how their lives have changed since then, how they’re feeling about the future and what they think the government can do to help people recover.
At the start of the pandemic, New York lifted restrictions on the use of telehealth for Medicaid recipients. The change has meant better access to mental health services for families involved in the state’s child welfare system, including youth in foster care, a new survey found.
Family caregivers are direct care workers. We are essential workers. We are unpaid home care workers doing the same job as hospital and nursing home staff, but without pay, labor protections or other benefits.