By: Sandy Eller With COVID rates continuing to spike, a pair of communal organizations in Flatbush are joining forces to urge those who test positive for the virus to undergo a treatment with potentially lifesaving benefits that has been approved for emergency usage by the Food and Drug Administration.

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang officially entered the race for mayor of New York City on Thursday, joining a crowded Democratic primary field that includes longtime elected officials and veterans of the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is barred by the city charter from seeking a third term. “It is here in New York City that my passion for uplifting people, for wanting to move our country forward, got started,” Yang said at a campaign launch that was streamed on YouTube because of the coronavirus pandemic.

New York’s attorney general sued the New York Police Department on Thursday, calling the rough treatment of protesters against racial injustice last spring part of a longstanding pattern of abuse that stemmed from inadequate training, supervision and discipline. Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit includes dozens of examples of alleged misconduct during the spring demonstrations in the wake of George Floyd’s police killing, including the use of pepper spray and batons on protesters, trapping demonstrators with a technique called kettling and arresting medics and legal observers. “We found a pattern of deeply concerning and unlawful practices that the NYPD utilized in response to these largely peaceful protests,” James said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit.

U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat said Thursday that he has the coronavirus, making the New York Democrat the latest House member to report testing positive since dozens huddled together for protection during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Espaillat said in statements that he wasn’t experiencing any symptoms, was quarantining at home and would keep up his work representing his Upper Manhattan district. He added that he’d received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, the second of them last week, and tested positive on Wednesday evening. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say it typically takes a few weeks after vaccination for people to build immunity to the virus.

The federal government must speed the delivery of COVID-19 vaccine doses to New York as appointments are snapped up as quickly as they go online, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday. “At the end of the day, this is a supply issue and we need the federal government to provide us with more vaccine as quickly as possible because there is simply not enough and this is the weapon that will win the war,” Cuomo said. The Democratic governor said more than 7 million people statewide are now eligible to be vaccinated but the state is receiving just 300,000 vaccine doses a week from the federal government.

New York City is looking to terminate its contracts with President Donald Trump to run two Central Park skating rinks and other facilities after a Trump-inspired mob rioted and breached the U.S. Capitol last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday. “The president incited a rebellion against the United States government, a clearly unconstitutional act, and people died,” the Democratic mayor said at a news briefing. “That’s unforgivable. So our legal team is right now assessing the options, and as quickly as we come to a resolution we’re going to have something to say.” The Trump Organization is under city contract to operate the two ice rinks and a carousel in Central Park as well as a golf course in the Bronx.

New York state expanded COVID-19 vaccine distribution Tuesday to people 65 and over, increasing access to an already short supply of doses being distributed through an overtaxed system some users have found time consuming. The state had already dramatically expanded vaccine eligibility beyond health care workers on Monday to include people 75 and older and to police officers, teachers and other key professions. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the lower age eligibility Tuesday, even as a state vaccine hotline was temporarily not accepting calls due to high call volumes. People were making inoculation appointments through a state website, which generates a list of nearby potential sites users can contact.

The FBI was in Flatbush on Tuesday morning, as they arrested a suspect in the U.S. Capitol riots last week. Video footage shows FBI Agents carrying out what appears to be a costume that the suspect was allegedly wearing during the violent riot. Numerous people have so far been arrested, and sources tell YWN that the FBI plans on making many additional arrests. The NYPD assisted the FBI in the Tuesday morning arrest. JOIN THE TENS OF THOUSANDS WHO ALREADY ARE ALERTED OF BREAKING NEWS LIKE THIS IN LIVE TIME: YWN WHATSAPP STATUS UPDATES: CLICK HERE to join the YWN WhatsApp Status. YWN WHATSAPP GROUPS: CLICK HERE to be added to an official YWN WhatsApp Group. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

New Yorkers are rushing to sign up for late-night COVID-19 vaccination slots as the city ramps up efforts to get people inoculated against the virus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday. Midnight-to-4 a.m. appointments at the two 24-hour vaccination sites the city has set up so far were quickly snapped up, de Blasio said at his daily coronavirus briefing. “So you can see New Yorkers are going to take advantage of this,” the mayor said. “The city that never sleeps, people are immediately grabbing those opportunities to get vaccinated.” More vaccination sites are being set up around the city, with the goal of administering 1 million doses this month, de Blasio said. De Blasio said the city is speeding up vaccinations, with more than 160 sites now open.

The NYS Bar Association is launching an inquiry into removing Giuliani from its membership. NYSBA’s release says “We cannot stand idly by and allow those intent on rending the fabric of our democracy to go unchecked.” The release cites bylaws that “no person who advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States, or of any state, territory or possession thereof, or of any political subdivision therein, by force or other illegal means, shall be a member of the Association.” “Their subsequent attack on the Capitol was nothing short of an attempted coup, intended to prevent the peaceful transition of power.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)