Media Relations Office

As the nation looks to re-open, contact tracers will be needed to track and halt the spread of COVID-19. Gen Meredith, an expert in public health assessment, intervention development and workforce capacity building explains contact tracing and its importance.

Health, Nutrition & Medicine

New York State

New York City

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President Trump suggested states should seriously consider reopening their public schools before the end of the academic year, even though many have already said it would be unsafe for students to return to school before next fall. Lee Adler, an expert on education and academic union issues says until widespread testing is available across the country it’s not safe for schools to reopen.

Industrial and Labor Relations

New York State

New York City

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K-12 schools across the country are closing or moving to online education to help control the spread of the coronavirus. Jamila Michener, assistant professor of government says during times of public health crisis the consequences of inequalities surface and it’s going to be a huge challenge to support K-12 students facing school closures at home and also in their communities. 

New York City

Health, Nutrition & Medicine

Social & Behavioral Sciences

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Linda Shi, urban environmental planner and assistant professor in architecture, art and planning, comments on the Trump administration freeze of a climate resiliency study for New York City.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

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KC Wagner, workplace sexual harassment expert says the television and film industry will not be forced to change unless there are repercussions for harassment.

Labor Relations & Human Resources

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The New York City Council is currently voting on a plan to close Rikers Island by 2026 and replace the complex with four new jails in Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens. Christopher Wildeman, policy analysis and management professor, studies the consequences of mass imprisonment for inequality, with an emphasis on families, health, and children. He says the the plan to close Rikers would be a major step forward in improving confinement conditions for those incarcerated in New York City.

Human Ecology

Law, Government & Public Policy

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Wegmans is set to open this Sunday at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City. Edward McLaughlin, emeritus professor of food industry management, says given Wegmans’ supermarket innovation in service and products, New York City will now be able to relish in the legendary service, restaurant-quality prepared foods and wide selection of goods that are the envy of supermarket companies around the globe.

Food & Agriculture

New York City

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New York City officials are finalizing plans to relocate the famous Charging Bull statue from its current location at Bowling Green to a pedestrian area near the New York Stock Exchange. The proposed move, which the mayor’s office says is intended to protect safety and avoid traffic congestion, has been challenged by the artist Arturo Di Modica, who gifted the statue to the city in 1989. Robert Balder, the Executive Director of Cornell’s Architecture Art and Planning department in New York City, and Thomas Campanella, associate professor of city and regional planning, weigh in on the proposed move.

Architecture, Art and Planning

New York City

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Nearly 900 New York City inmates could be released prior to Christmas before the bail-reform law takes effect in January. The New York Office of Court Administration says they're developing a plan to stagger the release of defendants starting in mid-December. Christopher Wildeman, policy analysis and management professor, studies the consequences of mass imprisonment for inequality, with emphasis on families, health, and children. He says while the inmates’ potential release would be a victory for both the defendants and their families, it’s important to be mindful of those reacclimating to life outside jail during a sometimes-stressful time of year.

Law, Government & Public Policy

Human Ecology

New York City

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Natalie Mahowald says Mayor Bloomberg is on the right track for mitigating and adapting to climate change and will raise the profile of the topic now that he has entered the presidential race.

Law and Policy

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

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