New York
SUNY Cortland continues pause on in-person instruction following continued outbreak
By Alex Findijs, 20 October 2020
Cortland has already been in a two-week pause after recording more than 100 cases of COVID-19 in a two-week period. School plans to reopen were foiled after a major outbreak days before the end of the temporary pause
Who are the New York Watchmen?
By Alex Findijs, 19 October 2020
The New York Watchmen are a newly formed right-wing militia with close ties to Michael Caputo, the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for the Trump Administration.
New York University defies state COVID-19 guidelines and continues in-person classes
By John Conrad, 16 October 2020
The decision to not immediately halt in-person classes and work at NYU amid a resurgence of the pandemic underscores the recklessness of the university administration.
As mental health crisis deepens, New York City hospitals leave psych units shuttered
By Josh Varlin, 12 October 2020
Even as the need for mental health services reaches new heights, psychiatric units remain closed and are unlikely to fully reopen.
Oppose the $900 million cuts in retroactive pay to New York City educators!
By New York City Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 10 October 2020
The withholding of $900 million in pay owed to NYC teachers from over ten years ago is a brazen act of blackmail and wage theft.
SUNY Cortland pauses in-person instruction after outbreak of COVID-19
By Alex Findijs, 9 October 2020
After recording 101 positive cases of coronavirus in less than two weeks, SUNY Cortland became the third SUNY school to temporarily switch to online instruction for two weeks.
SUNY students face budget gap in Excelsior Scholarship program
By Alex Findijs, 8 October 2020
With a $62 billion budget gap, some SUNY students have been charged full tuition and are unsure when their scholarship credits will be applied.
New York governor closes some schools and businesses while COVID-19 infections spike
By Alberto Escalera, 8 October 2020
With anger increasing over the unsafe opening of the nation’s largest school system, Governor Andrew Cuomo is moving to close a limited number of schools in communities that have become COVID-19 hotspots.
Partial closures in New York City as infections spread throughout US schools
By Renae Cassimeda, 5 October 2020
With at least 39,000 COVID-19 infections and 30 deaths of K-12 educators since schools began reopening in the US in late July, the full resumption of in-person learning in large cities across the country will vastly accelerate the spread of the pandemic.
Safety committee denounces reopening of New York City schools
Stop the spread of COVID-19! Build rank-and-file safety committees to save lives! Prepare a nationwide strike to close unsafe schools!
By the New York City Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 1 October 2020
Hundreds of thousands of middle and high school students in New York City are being sent back to classrooms for in-person instruction today as the pandemic continues to spread throughout the school system and the city.
New York City resumes in-person schools as COVID-19 infections continue to rise
By Alberto Escalera, 29 September 2020
The reopening of the nation’s largest school district threatens to produce a catastrophe in a city where nearly 25,000 have already succumbed to the deadly virus.
Metropolitan Opera announces cancellation of entire 2020–2021 season
By Fred Mazelis, 26 September 2020
Management is demanding major concessions from its musicians, who have been furloughed without pay since March.
New York City school bus drivers and educators face common struggle against unsafe openings
By A. Woodson and Steve Light, 21 September 2020
School bus drivers will begin transporting thousands of special education children today, as the nation’s largest school district prepares to restart in-person instruction by September 29.
New York yellow cab drivers block bridges to demand debt relief
By Shuvu Batta, 19 September 2020
Battered by crippling debt and collapsing demand for taxis, drivers staged a protest Thursday calling for relief from their enormous debt burden.
New York City Democratic mayor delays school opening a second time
By our reporters, 18 September 2020
Bill de Blasio, the “progressive” mayor of New York City, announced a new date for a ‘’phased reopening” of the city’s public schools.
New York yellow cab drivers block bridges to demand debt relief
By Shuvu Batta, 18 September 2020
Battered by crippling debt and collapsing demand for taxis, drivers staged a protest Thursday calling for relief from their enormous debt burden
New York City ruling elite warns Mayor de Blasio of “widespread anxiety”
By Fred Mazelis, 17 September 2020
The corporate elite is demanding an intensified back-to-work drive, and is fearful that the “progressive” mayor may not be able to keep the lid on growing social discontent.
“It’s immoral and irresponsible to bring students to campus and to conduct in-person classes”
NYU faculty and students denounce unsafe reopening of campus
By IYSSE at New York University, 16 September 2020
The reopening of NYU, the largest private university in the US, is utterly reckless and places the lives of students, workers and residents in the area in immense danger.
Mounting opposition to school reopenings as 55 New York City teachers test positive for COVID-19
By Alberto Escalera, 15 September 2020
Public school educators in New York City have conducted protests and written petitions in the last several days to oppose the reckless reopening of schools by Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio.
New York City educators launch safety committee to halt the reopening of schools
By the New York City Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 10 September 2020
In launching this committee, we stand wholly independent of both the Democrats and Republicans, as well as the United Federation of Teachers and its backers, all of whom have conspired to enforce the reopening of schools.
Rochester police chief resigns following violent police repression against protesters
By Jason Melanovski, 9 September 2020
Rochester Police Chief La'Ron Singletary refused to accept any responsibility for the killing of Prude, instead criticizing protesters for demeaning his character.
Oppose the unsafe reopening of New York University!
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality at NYU, 8 September 2020
Over 10,000 students, faculty and staff have been tested for COVID-19 and are now returning to the buildings and classrooms in the city this week.
Teachers union and Democrats agree to resume in-person learning in New York City schools
By Jerry White, 2 September 2020
The deal that delays the opening by a week is aimed at countering the growing demands by teachers in the city and around the country for a nationwide work stoppage.
New York City transit workers and the COVID-19 pandemic: A timeline of criminal inaction and union betrayal
By Daniel de Vries and Sam Dalton, 2 September 2020
As transit workers face the dual threat of a second wave of coronavirus and budget disaster, the lessons must be drawn from the death of 146 colleagues.
Student paper defends plan for segregated living spaces at New York University
By Niles Niemuth, 2 September 2020
Responding to the outpouring of public opposition triggered by the WSWS’s exposure of plans for separate housing for black students, the Washington Square News published a defense of the initiative Monday.
New York City teachers union holds strike authorization vote amidst mass opposition to school reopening
By Tim Avery, 31 August 2020
The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) aims to block rank-and-file educators from taking independent initiative against the policy or reopening schools.
New York transit agency threatens draconian cuts and fare hikes
By Alan Whyte, 31 August 2020
The MTA is considering reducing New York City bus and subway service by 40 percent as well as cutting commuter railroads service by 50 percent.
New York City’s school reopening plan: Anatomy of a crime
By Alberto Escalera, 27 August 2020
Mayor de Blasio, a self-proclaimed “progressive,” has proven just as willing to carry out the homicidal policy of school reopening amidst the pandemic as his most reactionary Republican counterparts.
New York City preparing to lay off 400 EMS workers in advance of looming second wave of pandemic
By Ali Elhassan, 26 August 2020
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, is preparing to place the burden of the pandemic-triggered budgetary crisis on workers, including frontline health care workers.
Police misconduct database reveals top NYPD brass guilty of abuse of authority
By Josh Varlin, 24 August 2020
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea and his predecessor James O’Neill, along with other top NYPD officials and 11 percent of active cops, have substantiated abuse complaints against them.
New York University moves to implement racial segregation in student dorms
By Karsten Schneider, 24 August 2020
Calls for race-based student housing stem not from a desire to improve the lives of all students and youth, but to advance the interests of a small layer of the population.
Cornell residential advisors hold one-day strike over coronavirus safety as school reopens
By James Mullan, 22 August 2020
The strike action was spontaneously organized in response to the university’s reckless reopening plans that left RAs with larger workloads than in pre-pandemic semesters.
New York and Los Angeles plan deadly reopening of schools
By Renae Cassimeda, 18 August 2020
Democrats in the two largest school districts are pushing to reopen schools in a matter of weeks, endangering the lives of millions of residents in New York and Los Angeles.
New York educators and students denounce Governor Cuomo’s push to reopen schools
By the World Socialist Web Site Educators Newsletter, 11 August 2020
Teachers and students spoke to the WSWS to express their opposition to New York state Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plans to allow all schools to reopen in the coming weeks.
New York Governor Cuomo sanctions statewide reopening of schools
By Evan Blake, 8 August 2020
Cuomo’s mandate provides crucial political support for the Trump administration’s drive to reopen schools irrespective of the cost to human life.
New York University withholds completed dental degree, student facing deportation
By Sam Dalton, 8 August 2020
Despite their completion of coursework, an international student faces deportation because they are unable to pay exorbitant tuition costs and fees.
Health Commissioner forced out as New York City prepares to reopen schools amid national pandemic surge
By Josh Varlin, 7 August 2020
Dr. Oxiris Barbot’s ouster indicates a more open return to the herd immunity strategy that guided the city’s disastrous early response to the pandemic.
New York educators oppose city and state school reopening plans
By Sandy English, 5 August 2020
Teachers in New York are determined to prevent the unsafe reopening of schools by the Democratic mayor and governor.
New York City transit officials prepare to slash jobs and wages
By Daniel de Vries, 25 July 2020
Faced with a financial crisis that threatens its survival, the MTA is planning devastating cuts to jobs and service.
New York City releases dangerous school reopening plans
By Sandy English and Steve Light, 14 July 2020
The announcement last week by Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio that public schools would reopen on an alternating-day schedule has provoked concern and opposition among parents and educators.
Lenox Hill: Portrait of New York City hospital obscures more than it shows
By Clara Weiss, 11 July 2020
Netflix is currently streaming the mini-series documentary Lenox Hill, which focuses on four doctors at the hospital of the same name in New York’s Manhattan.
“A large-scale struggle and strong opposition is needed”
CUNY students and faculty call for resistance to layoffs and cuts
By Elliott Murtagh, 10 July 2020
The WSWS spoke to students and faculty at the City University of New York about recent austerity measures.
New York City EMS worker commits suicide
By Ali Elhassan, 8 July 2020
The warnings by mental health experts about the traumatic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on health care workers are now being tragically borne out.
New York City Democrats ensure budget protects NYPD and guts social services
By Sam Dalton, 8 July 2020
An examination of the budget makes clear that highly publicized $1 billion “cut” to the New York Police Department is a complete sham.
New York City transit worker suffers miscarriage on the job
By Sam Dalton, 1 July 2020
Transit workers are outraged at the Transit Authority and the union after a conductor who was six-months pregnant lost a baby when she was forced to return to track switching.
New York City police commissioner defends vehicular assault on protesters
By Erik Schreiber, 27 June 2020
Secure in the knowledge that city and state officials will support him, Commissioner Dermot Shea testified that officers who drove into a crowd of protesters last month did not violate department policy on the use of force.
New York City mayor de Blasio threatens 22,000 municipal worker layoffs
By Fred Mazelis, 26 June 2020
The city faces a June 30 deadline for a budget at a time when revenues show a $9 billion fall due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Veteran curator at New York’s Metropolitan Museum latest to come under racialist attack
Institution accused of “white supremacy and culture of systemic racism”
By David Walsh, 26 June 2020
The attack launched against Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Keith Christiansen for his remarks concerning the danger of valuable art works being destroyed in the course of upheavals is without any merit whatsoever.
New York Governor Cuomo reopens economy as COVID-19 infection rate rises across US
By Philip Guelpa, 22 June 2020
Governor Cuomo is implementing a reopening scheme that will reverse dramatic declines in COVID-19 infection and death rates effected by lockdown measures.
Further evidence of the criminality of the New York Democratic administration response to the COVID-19 pandemic
By Clara Weiss, 22 June 2020
A Wall Street Journal analysis of the response by New York state to the COVID-19 pandemic paints a horrifying picture of preventable mass death in New York City hospitals.
New signs of New York City police revolt, as Democratic mayor and governor announce “reforms”
By Fred Mazelis, 18 June 2020
The NYPD abruptly announced the withdrawal this week of police officers who had been assigned to the offices of the district attorneys in four New York boroughs.
A timeline of abuse by the New York Police Department
By Sam Dalton, 11 June 2020
A peaceful protester arrested in New York City tells the WSWS about her experience
Reopening of New York City threatens a new surge in transit worker deaths
By Sam Dalton and Daniel de Vries, 8 June 2020
Transit workers fear that 130 deaths in their ranks is just the beginning
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio defends police violence against protesters
By Sam Dalton, 2 June 2020
In a news conference Saturday night, de Blasio defended police who drove their cruisers into a crowd of peaceful protesters earlier that evening in Brooklyn.
New York governor exempts nursing home operators from criminal liability after taking millions from the industry
By Philip Guelpa, 29 May 2020
Governor Andrew Cuomo took millions in donations from hospital and nursing home executives and then protected them from responsibility for deadly criminal actions regarding COVID-19.
Nursing union NYSNA provides cover for Cuomo’s push to reopen the economy
By Ali Elhassan, 29 May 2020
The New York State Nurses Association is promoting the illusion that the political establishment responsible for jeopardizing the health of the population and frontline health care workers can be pressured into adopting socially responsible policies.
City University of New York to lay off thousands of adjunct faculty amid financial crisis
By Elliott Murtagh, 29 May 2020
The City University of New York system is beginning to implement sweeping budget cuts triggered by New York state’s estimated $13.3 billion loss in tax revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NY Governor Cuomo shields nursing homes from prosecutions related to 5,600 COVID-19 deaths
By Erik Schreiber, 22 May 2020
The Democratic governor simultaneously praised his administration’s response to the pandemic and asserted that “nobody” should be held accountable for the tremendous number of needless deaths.
New York Democratic governor enlists tech billionaires to push distance learning
By Sandy English, 18 May 2020
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced “Reimagine Education,” a partnership with Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Google’s Eric Schmidt.
New York state to begin reopening in certain regions this weekend
By Josh Varlin, 13 May 2020
Three regions within New York state are set to resume some economic activity May 15, under a plan that leaves significant room for a deadly second wave of the pandemic.
New York police brutality continues unabated in midst of pandemic
By Sam Dalton, 13 May 2020
Sections of the Democratic Party and the media in New York City are attempting to portray brutal attacks by the NYPD on workers and youth exclusively in racial terms.
New York City education department, backed by teachers union, downplayed virus threat
By Sandy English, 13 May 2020
An exposé in the journal the City demonstrates that New York City officials systematically downplayed the threat of the coronavirus to New York City students and educators
14,000 New York City school bus workers face furlough as city imposes cuts
By Philip Guelpa, 12 May 2020
With New York schools closed through the end of the semester, school bus workers are being furloughed without pay or medical insurance as the city begins slashing its education budget.
“The company is not disclosing any information about sickness and deaths”
UPS workers in New York and New Jersey speak out on the COVID-19 pandemic
By our reporters, 7 May 2020
UPS drivers and sorters are working without proper PPE and health benefits, while management and the Teamsters union are concealing information about the spread of the virus, which has killed at least two workers.
Dozens of decaying corpses found piled in unrefrigerated trucks at New York City funeral home
By Philip Guelpa, 1 May 2020
More than 18,000 New York City residents have so far died from COVID-19, and the city’s ability to deal with the bodies is at the breaking point.
New York state cancels Democratic presidential primary
By Shuvu Batta, 30 April 2020
The action is an effort to block the election of a sizeable delegation pledged to Bernie Sanders.
Two New York City health care workers commit suicide within 48 hours
By Clara Weiss, 28 April 2020
The two suicides bring the number of health care workers who have died because of the pandemic in New York state alone to at least 55.
New York state’s economy spirals into the abyss under the effects of COVID-19
By Philip Guelpa, 28 April 2020
A new study projects that the economic impact to New York state of the pandemic will reach $243 billion and it will take three years until a “full recovery.”
New York City transit workers must form rank-and-file committees to save their lives!
By Daniel de Vries, 24 April 2020
As officials move towards reopening the economy, four New York City transit workers a day are dying.
College students in New York City speak on the impact of the pandemic
By Elliott Murtagh, 22 April 2020
The closure of college campuses around the country last month due to social distancing protocols upended students’ lives, including those of international students.
New York City mayor declares “wartime” budget
By Philip Guelpa, 22 April 2020
Cuts to New York City’s municipal budget due to the COVID-19 pandemic will have a devastating economic impact on the city’s working class.
COVID-19 in New York City claims the lives of at least 27 homeless people
By Harry Matthews, 21 April 2020
Access to hygiene supplies and adequate space to isolate is hard to come by within the city’s shelter system, which is a patchwork of 450 different shelters with varying policies and resources.
New York City mayor announces $827 million in cuts to public education
By Sandy English, 20 April 2020
New York’s Democratic mayor Bill de Blasio announced deep cuts to education last week, with predictions of more to come.
As transit worker deaths continue rising, MTA promises families $500,000 in blood money
By Sam Dalton, 17 April 2020
On Tuesday, the MTA’s official COVID-19 death toll stood at 59. At least 2,269 transit workers have tested positive for the virus.
As educators die from COVID19
New York City makes first wave of massive budget cuts to public education
By Sandy English, 14 April 2020
New York City Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that he will cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the city’s education budget as well as funding for other critical programs.
New York City digging mass graves for coronavirus victims
By Josh Varlin, 11 April 2020
Victims of the pandemic are being buried en masse on Hart Island off the coast of the Bronx, just 16 miles from Wall Street, the center of world finance.
The COVID-19 crisis in New York City
Interview with Bronx emergency room nurse: “Some critical patients are not getting the medication and IV pumps they need"
By Clara Weiss, 11 April 2020
Hospitals throughout New York City, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, are running out of medication and equipment.
Testimony from US and Canadian inmates exposes deadly conditions inside prisons
By Sam Dalton, 11 April 2020
Many harrowing accounts have emerged in the form of videos and written testimony from prisoners outlining the conditions they face in the last two weeks.
The COVID-19 crisis in New York City: Why Elmhurst has become a center of the crisis
By Ali Elhassan and Clara Weiss, 10 April 2020
Elmhurst is the most heavily immigrant working class district in New York City.
New York records worst death toll in pandemic, as 731 die in one day
By Josh Varlin, 8 April 2020
The official figures must be considered substantial underestimates, since there has been a reported surge in people dying in their homes, rather than in hospital.
As pandemic rages in New York, new budget allows for massive cuts in social programs
By Philip Guelpa, 8 April 2020
The newly enacted New York state budget, regardless of its nominal contents, will inevitably lead to major attacks on the working class.
At least 33 New York City transit workers dead as contagion spreads on buses and trains
By Daniel de Vries, 7 April 2020
Transit workers’ lives are being sacrificed while city and state officials refuse to provide workers and commuters protective gear or an alternative to packed buses and trains.
Bronx hospital physician provides harrowing account of conditions on front lines of pandemic
By Benjamin Mateus, 6 April 2020
Miguel, a third-year resident in internal medicine at a community hospital in the Bronx, spoke to the WSWS on the experiences of health care workers and patients.
Ten New York City transit workers die of COVID-19
By Sam Dalton, 2 April 2020
More New York City transit workers are sick and dying as work continues without protective equipment.
Cuomo presses forward with Medicaid cuts as New York City health care system overwhelmed by pandemic
By Josh Varlin, 2 April 2020
Even though New York City’s hospitals and medical workers are overwhelmed by the pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo is pushing forward with planned cuts to Medicaid.
Without work and regular paycheck millions of Americans at risk of eviction as rent comes due
By Jacob Crosse, 2 April 2020
In New York City, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, up to 40 percent of tenants are expected forgo rent payments this month.
Amazon fires New York worker for leading strike demanding safe working conditions
By Shuvu Batta, 31 March 2020
Nationwide, at least ten Amazon facilities have confirmed cases. The strikers said that Amazon was deliberately hiding the real number of those infected.
“We should be the ones deciding how this could be run to be safe for us”
Amazon warehouse workers describe unsafe conditions and discuss forming workplace committees
By Douglas Lyons and Samuel Davidson, 31 March 2020
Workers at the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island, New York walked out Monday to protest the prevailing conditions.
“A lot of people don't get a ventilator when they come to a hospital now, no matter how young they are”
New York City paramedic speaks out about dire conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic
By Clara Weiss, 31 March 2020
New York is now the center of the pandemic. As of Monday night, 1,342 people have died and 67,325 have tested positive. Over 36,000 of the infected are in New York City.
New York City nurses protest over PPE, staff shortages as number of cases, deaths continue to climb
By Ali Elhassan and Clara Weiss, 30 March 2020
As the crisis intensifies in New York, front line health care workers are regularly being forced to work with inadequate personal protective equipment, causing them to become ill themselves in ever increasing numbers.
Coronavirus death toll extends to New York transit workers
By Daniel de Vries, 28 March 2020
The two deaths Thursday are the direct result of the criminally negligent response by the MTA in collaboration with the union.
“There’s such a cruelty about the situation”: New York City hospitals overwhelmed by coronavirus surge
By Clara Weiss, 27 March 2020
New York hospitals confront skyrocketing numbers of patients, a rising death toll, medical staff falling ill and critical shortages of Personal Protective Equipment and ventilators.
COVID-19 begins to rip through homeless population as 30 test positive in New York City shelters
By Sam Dalton and Clara Weiss, 25 March 2020
The homeless are at heightened risk of infection and death from the coronavirus.
Coronavirus crisis in New York: As doctors warn of “our Chernobyl,” state government plans Medicaid cuts
By Clara Weiss and Ali Elhassan, 23 March 2020
Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has been calling for the deployment of the military, warned on Sunday that between 40 and 80 percent of the population of New York state (roughly 19.5 million people) would be infected.
Columbia University graduate workers overwhelmingly authorize strike
By Josh Varlin, 23 March 2020
Columbia graduate workers voted by 96 percent to authorize a possible strike in early April.
John Eliot Gardiner leads all nine Beethoven symphonies at Carnegie Hall, and speaks about their significance
The great composer’s music has “to do with social equality, revolution and counterrevolution”
By Fred Mazelis, 23 March 2020
An opportunity, just before the coronavirus forced the closing of concert halls, to hear the works of the master played on period instruments.
Nearly two dozen New York City transit workers test positive for COVID-19
By Sam Dalton, 21 March 2020
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has responded by continuing to ignore basic health precautions, risking the lives of workers, their families and the general public.
New York City now the epicenter of coronavirus pandemic in the US
By Josh Varlin, 20 March 2020
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is considering a “shelter in place” order in response to the skyrocketing COVID-19 case numbers.
New York City finally closes public schools during coronavirus pandemic
By Sam Dalton, 16 March 2020
Public schools in the largest school district in the United States remained opened until this week, despite objections from parents, students and educators.
New York City declares state of emergency amid coronavirus pandemic
By Josh Varlin, 13 March 2020
New York City and New York state have announced new measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, of which there are now 328 cases statewide.
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