New York’s democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, found himself in the Oval Office pitching President Donald Trump, a fellow Queens native, on a $21 billion federal grant to deck over Sunnyside Yard for 12,000 affordable homes—half to follow a …
Queens Mayor Zohran Mamdani made waves in Washington, pitching President Donald Trump on $21 billion in federal grants to jump-start the long-idle Sunnyside Yards housing scheme: 12,000 affordable units perched atop train tracks, with open space and the odd new station for good measure. Trump, channeling Gerald Ford, got a tabloid souvenir—though this time, “Let’s Build” replaced “Drop Dead.” Optimists might say hope is back on track.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority gave the U.S. Department of Transportation until March 6 to release $60 million in frozen funds for its $7 billion Second Avenue subway extension or face a lawsuit. Federal cash has been withheld since October amid rules on race- and gender-based contracting, stalling 18 billion transport dollars in New York. The feds’ radio silence might just rival the city’s quietest subway platforms.
A memo from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority suggests Governor Kathy Hochul’s climate mandates could cost upstate households over $4,000 in higher bills—no small sum when gasoline may add $2.23 a gallon. The governor, now hinting at rollbacks to the 2019 law, observes that “the world has changed dramatically”—though perhaps not in ways that make decarbonization any cheaper.
As New York City’s “Rental Ripoff” hearings kick off in Brooklyn, Met Council volunteers gird themselves for another barrage of tenant pleas, ranging from byzantine lease transfers to existential eviction threats. The marathon hearings, spanning all five boroughs, aim to inform new housing policy—and, with luck, produce something more actionable than a doorstopper report. Until then, the hotline handles both the despair and the paperwork.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, facing New York’s worst winter in a decade just weeks into his term, has won cautious praise from business leaders for a robust storm response, despite having as much executive experience as the average snow shovel. While right-wing critics and ex-rivals blamed him for storm casualties and sluggish services, we note that even as transit tangled and dissent swirled, his learning curve appears less icy than forecast.
Following a 41-day strike, nearly 15,000 nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, and Montefiore are back on duty, having secured a 12% pay bump over three years, preserved premium-free health care, and wrangled commitments on staffing and security. While their union hails this as a triumph, rank-and-file grumbling persists—and hospitals, less flush than during the COVID windfall, may be quietly nursing their own wounds.
Twelve years after a federal court ruled that the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk tactics violated constitutional rights, a monitor’s latest report finds the force still underperforms on reforms—officers make illegal stops, underreport encounters, and face scant oversight. NYPD brass assure us of future compliance, but with three strikes still on the board, optimism had best wait for extra innings.
With federal funds for New York's Second Avenue Subway halted since October—thanks to a new rule requiring contract criteria by sex and race, per White House Budget Director Russell Vought—the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has warned Washington it will sue if nearly $60 million in reimbursements remain frozen past March 6. We suspect public transit delays may yet prove more reliable than any government timetable.
