Breaking News

The Department of Motor Vehicles Office in West Haverstraw is staying in West Haverstraw. After spending the last year or so considering a move to Clarkstown, local officials announced yesterday a deal had been struck to keep the DMV where it’s been for more than 50 years. At a press conference at the DMV, North Rockland state senator James Skoufis said had the DMV moved it would have devastated the community and took jobs with it…

West Haverstraw mayor Robert D’Amelio said he’s proud his village occupies a unique place in the county…

Rockland assemblyman Ken Zebrowski said lots of local officials got together to make sure the state didn’t make the DMV pack up and leave…

The Haverstraw DMV is set to undergo some revitalization in the coming months.

COVID micro-clusters in Rockland are showing improvement over last week, but the red zones haven’t changed yet. The state says the COVID positivity rate went down from 4.5 to 3.6. The governor has criticized lax social distancing by some in those areas of Ramapo that have been hardest hit, mostly in Orthodox and Hasidic populations. Ramapo supervisor Michael Specht says everyone needs to follow the rules regardless of the zone they are in…

Though some have called and filed complaints that they see children in private schools not adhering to social distancing rules, Rockland County Executive Ed Day says school bus companies and school districts are being held responsible for violations…

If you see a violation you can call the local police or sheriff, or contact the state’s task force at 833-789-0470.

Several New York micro-clusters have reportedly shown reductions in positivity rates, so the governor eased restrictions there, but not in Rockland…not yet. Areas of Queens and Far Rockaway were the beneficiaries while red zones in Rockland and Orange Counties and Brooklyn have shown progress, but aren’t quite ready to re-open. The governor yesterday also took on COVID fatigue, which he called “real and frightening.” Governor Andrew Cuomo said it has caused significant anxiety among many people, and he worries, the longer it goes on, the worse it is getting…

Cuomo says the state is working to increase availability of services across the board.

New Jersey governor Phil Murphy is in self-quarantine after he was exposed over the weekend to staff member who tested positive for coronavirus. Murphy said he tested negative for the virus on Monday and again on Wednesday, and was not showing any symptoms, but decided to self-quarantine out of an abundance of caution.

COVID-19 by the numbers now, here in Rockland, another fatality has been added to the death count, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 683, that’s three over the last two days. We’ve got two in the hospital being examined, another 20 have been confirmed with coronavirus, and a total of 1,048 active cases. The state says since the crisis began, we’ve had a total of 17,453 reported cases, 184 more than Wednesday.

Two have been added to the Rockland COVID-19 death count, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 682. COVID-19 by the numbers now, here in Rockland, we’ve got one in the hospital being examined, another 19 have been confirmed with coronavirus, and 1,026 active cases. The state says since the crisis began, we’ve had a total of 17,269 reported cases, 62 more than Tuesday.

Arizona and Maryland have been added to New York’s COVID-19 travel advisory. No areas have been removed. The eleven states not on the list include Oregon, Maine, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Vermont, Washington, California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut. Those last three meet the criteria for the travel advisory, but the governors of each say putting them on the quarantine list is impractical. They highly discourage non-essential travel to and from those areas for now but won’t make residents quarantine if traveling among the three.

The state’s moratorium on COVID-related commercial evictions and foreclosures has been extended through January 1st. This gives commercial tenants and mortgagors additional time to catch up on rent or mortgage, or renegotiate lease terms to avoid foreclosure. The moratorium on residential evictions has also been extended to January 1st.

COVID-19 numbers improved in Rockland over the weekend, but not enough to let our movie theaters open with the rest of the state just yet. Governor Andrew Cuomo gave his blessing for theaters around the state to open at 25% capacity or 50 people per screen starting Friday, though the counties of Rockland, Orange, Broome, which includes Binghamton, and New York City are excluded…

To be able to open the county would have to have an infection rate below 2% on a 14-day average with no COVID-19 hot spots. Cuomo said Rockland and other micro-clusters are moving in the right direction. Ramapo supervisor Michael Specht says a half-dozen town employees are working with the governor’s task force to enforce the rules…

Meanwhile, the Rockland Health Department has updated its new COVID-19 mask order, requiring that all educational institutions, school-age childcare programs, adult learning programs including colleges and universities and school transportation companies, are responsible to require all children, students, faculty and staff to wear masks at all times, other than during approved breaks where social distancing can be maintained.

Ski resorts in New York can reopen at 50% indoor capacity November 6th. They also must follow the state’s social distancing and health protocols.

COVID-19 by the numbers now, here in Rockland, we’ve got 18 in the hospital confirmed with coronavirus, and a total of 1,310 active cases. The state says since the crisis began, we’ve had a total of 17,063 reported cases, 91 more than Friday, and the Rockland Health Department says we have 680 total fatalities.