Good morning. It’s the Monday after Easter, which is better known in certain (Western) parts of the state as Dyngus Day.
Dyngus Day, also known as Śmigus Dyngus or wet Monday, is a Catholic celebration that is typically observed in Poland and Polish communities. It is believed to have its roots in Slavic traditions and pagan beliefs and perhaps dates back centuries.
The largest Dyngus Day celebration in the U.S. is in none other than New York’s own Buffalo, AKA the Dyngus Day Capital of the World.
Traditions include wearing red and white – the colors of the Polish flag – and also, rather oddly, for single boys try to splash water on single girls as an expression of interest. The water represents cleansing, purification and fertility, and dates back to the baptism of Prince Mieszko I on Easter Monday in 966 AD.
Another way to demonstrate your interest in an individual of choice: Lightly hit them on the legs with pussy willow branches (the first plants to bud in the spring).
And no, I’m not making this up – even the Buffalo Bills are getting in on the pussy willow action.
The Dyngus Day Parade in the Polonia district is ON this year, despite ongoing concerns about COVID-19. It will, however, look considerably different than in pre-pandemic times, with limited participation and participants remaining in their cars to maintain proper social distancing.
Observers are being encouraged to watch the parade as it is live streamed online as opposed to showing up in person along the route.
Dyngus Day offers an opportunity to eat traditional Polish foods including pierogis, kielbasa, stuffed cabbage, ham, eggs, breads and lamb-shaped butter. Deep dish pizza is NOT a traditional Polish food, but it has a national day of recognition today, so maybe you can combine two observances at once and try…kielbasa deep deep pizza?! Is that even a thing?
I happen to be a thin crust girl. But hey, if you prefer a big wad of undercooked dough hiding under an ocean of sauce and cheese, by all means, knock yourself out.
It’s going to be a glorious spring day, with abundant sunshine and temperatures just shy of 60 degrees.
In the headlines…
The world’s top economic officials will focus at a virtual meeting this week on new Covid-19 variants and shutdowns undermining the global rebound, while weighing measures to prevent lasting damage to the poorest and most vulnerable populations.
Johnson & Johnson is taking over manufacturing of its Covid-19 vaccine at a contract manufacturer’s plant that makes the main ingredient, after a production problem ruined a batch.
More than 4 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine were reported administered in the past 24 hours, setting a new record and bringing the seven-day average to more than 3 million a day, the CDC reported.
The Navajo Nation, once beset with one of the worst coronavirus case rates in the United States, recently reached an extraordinary milestone: zero cases and zero deaths in a 24-hour period.
Doctors are worried that coronavirus may end up being like influenza, which requires a new vaccine every year both because the circulating strains mutate fast and because immunity from the vaccine wears off quickly.
One of the COVID variants can infect children more easily, posing a new risk to kids, a nationally respected epidemiologist warned.
Pope Francis urged countries in his Easter message to quicken distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly to the world’s poor, and called armed conflict and military spending during a pandemic “scandalous”.
GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a COVID-19 vaccine distribution partnership with Publix grocery stores weeks after the company gave $100,000 to his PAC, CBS’ “60 Minutes” reported. DeSantis and Publix deny any wrongdoing.
Don’t laminate your vaccine card. But do take a picture of both sides of it with your phone.
Coronavirus shots should be rolled out to over 100 countries in the next couple of weeks, from 84 at present, with a shortage of supplies the limiting factor, said one of the leaders of the World Health Organization’s vaccine initiative.
Starting tomorrow, everyone 16 years of age or older can make an appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccine — opening up vaccination in New York to everyone of any age regardless of health condition or job.
New York Rep. Ritchie Torres blamed lower COVID-19 vaccination rates in the Bronx on the “digital divide” — as the state prepares to open the shots to all this week.
President Biden’s proposed tax increases on corporations as part of a $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan have drawn a skeptical reaction from some Democrats, who favor borrowing to pay for the investments or raising other levies, like the gas tax, to do so.
The Biden administration apprehended more than 170,000 migrants at the southwest border in March, the most in any month for at least 15 years and up nearly 70 percent from February.
The administration has taken a series of steps to prioritize dealing with white supremacists and militias, especially after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
If you haven’t already received your $1,400 stimulus check, the U.S. government is expected to send out the remaining payments this month, according to the Internal Revenue Service and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
With more than one in 10 households reporting they lack enough to eat, the Biden administration is accelerating a vast campaign of hunger relief that will temporarily increase assistance by tens of billions of dollars and set the stage for lasting aid expansions.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers are nearing a budget agreement that would increase corporate and income taxes by $4.3 billion a year and would make top earners in New York City pay the highest combined local tax rate in the country.
The additional tax revenue would be used to increase school aid and create new funds for undocumented immigrants, small businesses and tenants who are behind on their rent.
Discussions over a $2 billion fund for “excluded workers” continue and are holding up budget talks. The top-line budget total is not yet final, but the proposed budgets from the Assembly and Senate were more than $200 billion — the largest in New York history.
Dozens of New Yorkers and politicians gathered outside Cuomo’s Midtown Manhattan office for an Easter “service” to demand he approve a $3.5 billion fund for “excluded workers” not reached by benefits during the pandemic.
Dozens of upstate business owners on Saturday urged New York officials to back the creation of a fund to aid workers affected by the pandemic who were not included in the last year’s worth of federal stimulus aid.
State lawmakers are on track for an agreement that would expand pre-kindergarten programs across New York while also boosting direct aid for education by $1.4 billion annually over the next three years, a legislative source familiar with the talks said.
Lawmakers are expected to be back in Albany today – either in person or remotely – to wrap up talks and possibly vote on the budget, which is already past due.
As Cuomo contends with a series of scandals that could derail his plans to seek a fourth term, or maybe result in his impeachment before he has the chance, New York Democrats are entering a period of upheaval unseen since the 1970s fiscal crisis.
“It would be a mistake to replace Mr. Cuomo with someone who pursues actual progressive policies with the same brutal aggression. We need someone who can get things done without leaving a path of abuse in his or her wake.”
The NY Post ran a front page story on the demise of Cuomo’s relationship with Sandra Lee, quoting the governor as saying: “Any suggestion that I had a sexual relationship with any member of my staff or that I was unfaithful to Sandy is false.”
Cuomo made a number of moves to assess and bolster his political standing, even as his state was engulfed in the first deadly wave of the pandemic, underscoring how consumed he was with burnishing his image amid one of the most acute moments of the crisis.
Among other things, Cuomo used government-issued computers in violation of state ethics rules to print versions of his infamous “New York Tough” poster, which was paid for by his campaign.
Even amid multiple scandals, a weakened Cuomo is trying to railroad through a city-changing land deal that would reshape Manhattan’s skyline. And the project’s detractors, until very recently, were few and relatively muted.
New York’s new cannabis law is largely mirrored after Colorado’s system that has helped to establish a network of close to 1,000 boutique shops selling everything from cannabis to pain creams and edibles.
Biden has been a conspicuous outlier among Democrats when it comes to supporting marijuana legalization. But Schumer said the president’s reticence won’t deter the U.S. from taking aggressive action to loosen federal restrictions.
New York City plans to reopen many of its municipal buildings to government workers in May, but the effort has been complicated by an increase in Covid-19 variant cases and union leaders raising concerns about the virus spreading in offices.
Dozens of protesters gathered in Times Square yesterday to condemn the recent spike in attacks targeting Asian-Americans in the Big Apple — including the shocking assault of a woman in Midtown last week.
Coronavirus lockdowns have led a growing number of Big Apple Orthodox Jews to rethink their roles in the community — with many opting to flee to a more secular lifestyle, according to a report.
The way New Yorkers move around the city has been upended during the pandemic — and it’s up to the next mayor to navigate a transportation crisis unlike any other in history.
With less than three months before Primary Day in New York City, most of the Democratic candidates for mayor appear to be quickly tiring of two things: mayoral forums on Zoom, and Andrew Yang’s presumptive role as front-runner.
Former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly slammed the current mayoral candidates for not taking strong stances against crime — as he called last week’s broad-daylight attack on an Asian woman in Manhattan indicative of a city in decline.
City Councilman Mark Levine is powering his campaign for Manhattan borough president with an army students and recent grads doing the yeoman’s work for free.
Many of the glitzy Hamptons communities on Long Island’s eastern tip will increase fees for out-of-towners using their beaches this summer, in part to offset Covid-19-related costs.
It may have been a free show, not even an hour long, without sets, costumes or much else that defines a dramatic event. But for the invited audience of about 150 on hand Saturday at Broadway’s St. James Theatre, the occasion felt like a return to normalcy.
Yankee Stadium welcomed fans last Thursday, and some high-end hotels are opening their doors. But a widespread rebound from Covid-19 in New York City could take years.
Churches across New York are hoping increased attendance for Holy Week services will help bring back lost donations that have led to financial hardship during the pandemic.
The Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo is locked in a contentious battle with city officials over whether, and how, it should change.
A local real estate analyst predicts that New York City’s long-running exodus, which precedes the COVID-19 outbreak last year, will end in April.
Republican Liz Joy will challenge U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, again in 2022, according to paperwork she filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Students should be allowed to walk the stage at high school and college graduations this year, Republican state Sen. Jim Tedisco said.
The Clinton Avenue ramp will close permanently today in preparation for the construction of Albany’s elevated Skyway park.
The Apple Barrel owner’s 2012 letter to the state DOT about trucks crashing into his parking lot due to failed brakes foreshadowed the deadly Schoharie limo crash six years later.
The family whose home partially collapsed down a crumbling embankment last spring said that the Town of Waterford is exacerbating their loss by demanding they pay a $1,500 fine for owning an abandoned house.
This year, you can do more than just admire photos of cute calves, sweet little lambs, baby bunnies and kids of the four-legged variety at Indian Ladder Farms’ Baby Animal Days.
Amtrak announced it would add rail service to Albany and enhance service across the country after Biden revealed his infrastructure bill will award the corporation $80 billion over eight years for improvements.
Stanford snapped a 29-year title drought to end a season that at points seemed uncertain to be completed during the coronavirus pandemic, claiming the N.C.A.A. women’s basketball championship with a tight win Sunday over Arizona, 54-53.
An unorthodox year for movies and TV shows was celebrated with an unprecedented ceremony at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
For the first time in SAG Awards history, each of the four movie honors for individual actors went to performers of color; the late Chadwick Boseman won best actor for his portrayal of a headstrong horn player in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
“Godzilla vs. Kong” made a whopping $48.5 million at domestic theaters between its release last Wednesday and yesterday, giving it the most prolific North American opening of any movie during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earl Simmons, the rapper known as DMX, was on life support yesterday and was in a “vegetative state,” said his former manager, who said she has been in contact with his family. Simmons’s longtime lawyer said he had been hospitalized after a heart attack.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a salmonella outbreak that’s infected 19 people and hospitalized 8 is linked to songbirds, especially those that congregate around bird feeders.
