The majority of New York City residents live in apartments — in close quarters with neighbors above, below and on either side. And that has added to the challenges of slowing the spread of COVID-19 in the five boroughs. My colleagues Rebeca Ibarra Calabrese and Danny Lewis worked together to better understand how residents and building owners can protect themselves and one another from COVID-19. The two sat down with All Things Considered Host Jami Floyd to discuss.

On February 10, the Black News Channel took to the airwaves. It’s been 15 years in the making and debuting in the middle of Black History Month, television history was made.

 

Until now, no other news network in America has dedicated 24 hours a day, every day, to telling the stories that matter the most to the black community.

It’s estimated that more than 100 million homes nationwide will have access to the Black News Channel, which is operating out of Tallahassee, Florida. But executives hope their digital reach will extend around the globe.

Black News Channel

 

 

 

 

 

Every year, New Yorkers send approximately 200,000 tons of clothing, shoes, linens, and accessories to landfill. To raise awareness of this textile waste and provide fashionable solutions, The New York City Department of Sanitation’s donateNYC program presents ReFashion Week NYC, a first-of-its kind week of events taking place throughout NYC.

Between February 23 and March 1, 2019, donateNYC and members of the donateNYC Partnership program will hold clothing swaps, styling competitions, shopping events, and more. In the spirit of showing that thrift stores can produce runway-caliber looks while reducing waste, the week will culminate in the ReFashion Show on Friday, March 1.

A Texas family is threatening legal action against their local school district after their teen son was told he couldn’t walk at graduation because of his long dreadlocks. DeAndre Arnold is being forced to either cut his hair or miss graduation. He also said that he would transfer to another school if he’s not allowed to walk down the aisle.  CBS News Correspondent Omar Villafranca spoke to DeAndre and his family to see how they are handling the situation.

She was once among the most familiar figures in our lives in local news. Retired News Anchor Sue Simmons recently made an appearance on Watch What Happens Live.

Click to see Sue Simmons On WWWL

Nickelodeon Universe is opening an indoor themepark this week in East Rutherford’s American Dream Mall. It is said to be the largest indoor theme park in the country with more than 35 rides and attractions. Some big stars will be able to greet the little kids, too, like SpongeBob, Dora the Explorer and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. DreamWorks Water Park is slated to open next month and will feature more than 40 water slides. It will be the largest indoor theme park in North America.

Taking on an extra job for money or experience is often called having a “side hustle.” More than half of millennials are figuring out how to make EXTRA money by embracing a side hustle. CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger was on “CBS This Morning” to discuss why so many Americans have second jobs.

Do you remember the pet tiger found in Harlem back in 2003 that made the news world wide? The ferocious feline named Ming had been raised in a 5-bedroom apartment at the Drew Hamilton Houses on Adam Clayton Powell by 141st Street for three years until a domestic incident brought in the authorities.  Ming, a 300-pound jungle beast, who had spent the last 15 years at an animal sanctuary in Ohio since his rescue from the Drew Hamilton Houses in October 2003, has passed away. He is buried in Upstate New York. 

The tiger’s tombstone, designed by the cemetery, features an engraved photo of Ming and a short inscription of his storied past. The Legendary tiger,  was raised in apartment 5E in the Drew Hamilton Houses. The tiger tombstone reads under his name and the engraving “Tiger of Harlem”

The owner bought Ming at age six weeks from a wild-animal dealer out west, starting him on a bottle, then on pureed meat lovingly spooned from Gerber baby food jars, then on chickens, liver and bones from the supermarket, from which, by 2003, he was lugging home about 20 pounds of big-cat food a day.

 

 

The MTA has announced which subway stations will be the next to receive badly needed wheelchair access. The Elevators will be added to a dozen stations in Manhattan; 21 in Brooklyn; 6 in the Bronx and Queens and another 3 on the Staten Island Railway. The 48 station upgrades will be included in the MTA’s proposed $51.5 billion capital plan for 2020 to 2024. Riders can check the list of 48 stations on ny.gov, the state’s official website. The proposal includes bringing wheelchair access to major stations like 42nd Street-Bryant Park, Lorimer Street, Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street, Broadway Junction at the L and J/Z lines, Van Cortlandt Park-242 Street and Woodhaven Boulevard. The draft plan includes more than $5 billion to make 70 stations wheelchair accessible, but the authority has kept a tight lip as to which remaining stations will get the upgrades.

 

The MTA had originally planned to include just 50 stations in its capital program and the remaining 20 stations were tacked on at the last minute, which could explain why those stations have not yet been publicly listed, according to a source familiar with the MTA’s planning.

 

The Harlem Meer area of Central Park will be getting a major makeover in a few years. The park upgrades will kick off with the landscape around Harlem Meer, with a focus on fixing the damaged landscape. The project will also be creating a new recreation center which will hold the pool and the rink. The boardwalk will be used for wildlife observation, fishing, and community programming.

The new building that will hold the skating rink and pool will have a green, vegetated roof, which will cover the facility. There is an area in which the Central Park Conservatory will offer spaces for any kinds of public gatherings and provide amenities to keep the area running smoothly.

The pool will be transformed into an elongated oval, and it will be built at a lower elevation. During the winter, the pool will be transformed into an ice-skating rink. The project is expected to break ground in 2021, and the construction is expected to be completed in 2024.