Joe Margulies, professor of law and government at Cornell University, says if the bill passes in New York City it will accelerate a national trend against solitary confinement, but he also warns of the importance of ensuring jails don’t continue the practice under a different name.

New York City

Law and Policy

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Rebecca Kehoe, says mass firings can lead to resentment by remaining employees who feel as though they are penalized by having to take on a heavier workload to accommodate for the reduced workforce.

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Today, the New York City Council is likely to pass a package of legislation that will set minimum pay and improve working conditions for app-based delivery workers. Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, says the protections expected to be approved today are needed, but much more must be done.

Industrial and Labor Relations

New York City

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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced guidance for restaurants planning to provide comfort heating for customers dining outdoors during the fall and winter months. Max Zhang an expert in sustainable energy systems says although electric heaters emit no pollutants onsite compared to natural gas and propane heaters, electric heating actually causes more pollution in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

New York City

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Engineering

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Noliwe Rooks, an expert in cultural and racial implications for education, says if New York City enacts the changes announced by Mayor de Blasio it would be a major step toward integrating the nation’s largest and most segregated school system.

New York City

Arts and Sciences

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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday parents whose children are currently enrolled in all-remote classes will now have until Nov. 15 to opt back into in-person classes. Noliwe Rooks, an expert in cultural and racial implications for education, says it’s the responsibility of New York City officials to lead conversations with parents around safety concerns of in-person education, rather than making their anxieties a political issue.

New York City

Arts and Sciences

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On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered new restrictions on COVID-19 hot spots in New York City, including the closure of all private and public schools in the nine city ZIP codes with upticks in coronavirus transmissions. Isaac Weisfuse, a medical epidemiologist at Cornell University says the restrictions are a wise decision to stop the spread of coronavirus but is concerned the interventions may be too late.

New York City

New York State

Health, Nutrition & Medicine

Life Sciences & Veterinary Medicine

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Cornell University experts are available to weigh in on New York City's proposed congestion pricing and its potential impacts on traffic congestion, public transit ridership, greenhouse gas emissions as well as equity implications and health benefits.

New York City

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

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Dr. Isaac Weisfuse, says "The Omicron variant hasn't gone away, and because of its high infectivity, will result in new infections for the foreseeable future.”  

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Angela Odoms-Young is the Director of the New York State Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and was on the committee to develop the nutrition standards for the National School Lunch Program/School Breakfast Program. 

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