Tag Archives: SUNY

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Mayor Eric Adams says he’ll make decision on Key 2 NYC, school masks next week; state school masking mandate lifts March 2

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NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — New York state is dropping it’s school masking mandate Wednesday, but for now, masks will remain in New York City public schools.

Mayor Eric Adams said he will decide next week if students and staff inside city schools can unmask after he takes a look at the numbers this week.

He said he will look at the same indicators before deciding if the Key2NYC mandate, which requires vaccines for restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues, could also go away.

Adams said he is giving businesses the week to adapt while monitoring the numbers, while the city employee vaccine mandate will remain in place for now.

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For many, this is a step in the right direction.

“We think it’s a fantastic thing,” Keuka Kafe and Wine Bar owner Olga Sakhmo said. “People should come out and enjoy themselves.”

Adams released a statement on Sunday, saying in part:

“I want to thank the millions of New Yorkers who have gotten vaccinated to help stop the spread. New Yorkers stepped up and helped us save lives by reaching unprecedented levels of vaccination. I also want to thank Governor Hochul for her partnership in the fight against COVID-19 and for making clear that parents should be part of this conversation. Additionally, New York City’s numbers continue to go down day after day, so, as long as COVID indicators show a low level of risk and we see no surprises this week, on Monday, March 7 we will also lift Key2NYC requirements. This will give business owners the time to adapt and will allow us to ensure we are making the best public health decisions for the people of New York.”

Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York announced that in light of the announcement made by Governor Kathy Hochul, they are no longer legally obligated by New York State to mandate mask-wearing in school as of Wednesday March 2, and that effective March 2, the wearing of a mask by an adult or children in all Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York will be recommended but not required.

In addition, most school districts outside the city are lifting their mandates starting Wednesday.

“My friends, the day has come,” said Hochul, citing recent CDC guidance which classified much of the state as “low risk” for coronavirus infection.

Hochul said there will be additional guidance for counties that have a higher positivity rate.

“We will lift the statewide requirement based on all the data,” Hochul said. “However, there are some counties that have higher rate of transmission. We will allow them to determine what is best for their county.”

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She added that parents will have the choice to continue to send their children to school with masks and urged people to not bully those who still chose to wear them.

Hochul also said certain indoor settings like adult care facilities, nursing homes, correctional facilities homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, and public transit will still have masking guidance.

This announcement moves the original timetable up about a week. Hochul pointed to the CDC guidance and current metrics for making the decision sooner.

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SUNY Potsdam student Elizabeth Howell was struck three times in drive-by shooting

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SUNY Potsdam student Elizabeth “Beth” Howell was struck by three bullets fired from a car and ran a short distance before collapsing, witnesses told police of the mysterious murder.

Howell, 21, was walking just off campus when three shots were fired during the drive-by shooting at around 5:45 p.m. on Friday, according to the Potsdam Police Department.

Responding officers found the music education student unresponsive on the side of the road at the corner of College Park Road and East Drive, the statement said. Authorities administered life-saving measures at the scene, but the Patterson, NY native was later pronounced dead at Canton Potsdam Hospital, police said.

Cops later arrested Michael J. Snow, 31, for the murder but are asking the public’s help in getting information about his gray Honda Civic that was caught on surveillance footage in the area.

It remains unclear if Snow and Howell knew each other, but the school said the alleged shooter had any affiliation with the school “either as a student, employee or graduate.”

A memorial was created in honor of SUNY Potsdam student Elizabeth Howell, who was killed in a drive-by shooting.
SUNY Potsdam/Twitter

But a college spokesperson told Syracuse.com on Tuesday that Snow’s uncle works at the college and his mother is an alumna.

Michael J. Snow was arrested and charged for Howell’s murder.
Potsdam Police Department/Facebo

State Department of Environmental police were searching for the gun used in the killing along the St. Regis River on State Highway 11B, WWNY-TV reported.

Snow, who was arrested Saturday at his home in Massena, is now being held at the St. Lawrence Correctional Facility without bail.

Police said he drove his Honda in a 90-mile arc Friday night crossing through Potsdam, Hopkinton, Malone, Westville, Hogansburg and Messina from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Potsdam is about 30 miles from the US border with Canada.

Potsdam police are asking residents in the area to review home or business surveillance footage “for evidence of Snow or his vehicle in the area in the hour leading up to the shooting.”

Howell, who played in the school’s Crane Symphony Orchestra, was set to graduate this year. Her parents told The Post in an emotional interview that they believed their daughter was in the “wrong place [at the wrong time.”

“She was the type of person that didn’t have enemies, and certainly no one that would want to kill her,” grieving dad Joe Howell said in an interview at the family’s home in Putnam County.

Police released a photo of Snow’s gray Honda Civic used in the shooting.
Potsdam Police Department/Facebo

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SUNY Potsdam student Elizabeth Howel killed near school, Michael Snow arrested

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A student at an upstate college was gunned down on a street just off campus by a man who had no affiliation with the school, cops and administrators said.

SUNY Potsdam music education student Elizabeth Howell, 21, died Friday after she was found lying on the side of College Park Road with gunshot wounds, New York State Police said.

Alleged shooter Michael J. Snow, 31, was arrested Saturday and slapped with a second degree murder charge, police said. Police had initially urged locals to keep their doors locked and travel in groups, before announcing the shooting appeared to be an isolated incident.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Snow and Howell knew each other but the school said Snow had “no affiliation with the College, either as a student, employee or graduate.”

Howell, who is from Patterson in Putnam County, was scheduled to graduate this year, the school added.

Michael J. Snow was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, as the school said he had no affiliation with the college, either as a student, employee, or graduate.
Twitter/ Brian Dwyer, Spectrum News 1

SUNY Potsdam canceled classes for Monday and has also canceled or rescheduled various activities as the campus grieves Howell’s death. The concert hall at the school’s Crane School of Music has been designated as a memorial space for the campus, school officials said in a social media post.

“Beth was a cellist who performed with the Crane Symphony Orchestra, and she was an aspiring educator with a bright future ahead of her,” the post stated. “No words can express the sadness we share as a campus community following this tragic loss.”

Potsdam is in St. Lawrence County, 30 miles from the US border with Canada.

Elizabeth Howell was a music education student at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music and was set to graduate this year.
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Elizabeth Howell, a student at SUNY Potsdam, died after she was fatally shot on a street in close proximity to the campus.
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With Post wires



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Jim Malatras, SUNY Chancellor, to Resign After Disparaging Cuomo Victim

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As chancellor, Mr. Malatras was tasked with overseeing one of the country’s largest higher education systems, comprising nearly 400,000 students across 64 campuses, and widely credited with successfully spearheading its operations amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr. Malatras was appointed chancellor by the system’s board of trustees — most of whom are appointed by the governor, with approval from the State Senate — in August 2020 after the previous chancellor, Kristina M. Johnson, resigned to become president of Ohio State University.

Citing the urgency of responding to the pandemic, the board did not conduct a broad, national search for a chancellor as in the past, an approach that was criticized by some board members, as well as students and faculty.

Others debated whether Mr. Malatras’s close ties to Mr. Cuomo would erode SUNY’s independence or if his relationship with the governor and his experience in state government would bring more resources to the university.

Mr. Malatras, who received a $450,000 salary plus a $60,000-a-year housing allowance, became the first SUNY graduate to be named chancellor. He nonetheless drew scrutiny for his lack of academic leadership compared to past chancellors, many of whom had presided over large universities before taking over SUNY.

Mr. Malatras began working as a policy adviser to Mr. Cuomo in 2007 when Mr. Cuomo was state attorney general, later serving as the former governor’s director of state operations, a top role tasked with overseeing the state’s day-to-day operations.

He also served as vice chancellor and chief of staff to a former SUNY chancellor, Nancy Zimpher, for about a year, until late 2014. In 2017, he was appointed president of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, a SUNY-affiliated think tank. And in 2019, the SUNY board appointed him president of Empire State College in Saratoga Springs, which has about 10,000 students.

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