New York City’s 1,800 public schools, some nearing their centenary, now account for a third of local building pollution—earning failing marks for their creaky heating, leaky roofs, and moldy interiors, per a new ALIGN report. The nonprofit claims a yearly $2.2bn facelift could halve energy bills and spawn 64,000 jobs, but history suggests roofs rarely mend themselves overnight—especially in the Big Apple.
New York City in brief
Top five stories in the five boroughs today
As New York City prepares for its next mayoral face-off, we survey a line-up more colorful than any Broadway cast: incumbent Eric Adams touts lower crime and trash wrangling, Andrew Cuomo seeks a political comeback, Zohran Mamdani brings progressive zeal from Albany, and Curtis Sliwa reprises his guardian-angel routine—while attorney Jim Walden discreetly exits, leaving voters to choose which old script still plays in Gotham’s ever-demanding spotlight.
More than 11,000 New York City households have faced eviction so far in 2025, with the Bronx leading the tally—3,749 involuntary departures—while Staten Island remained relatively unscathed at 406, according to city data parsed by the Staten Island Advance. Niche neighborhoods like West Brighton-New Brighton-St. George bore the brunt locally, sparing Annadale-Huguenot-Prince’s Bay-Eltingville, which clocked a mere three cases—small comforts, but only if one’s address is correct.
President Trump’s new executive order, signed in July, prods cities like New York to make psychiatric or addiction treatment a precondition for homeless housing, yanking federal funds from the “housing first” strategy the city credits with keeping thousands—including nearly all veterans—off the streets. Local providers grumble it’s déjà vu with worse odds, but one suspects Manhattan’s sidewalk philosophers will find talking points anyway.
New York’s City Planning Commission approved the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan, clearing the way for 14,700 new homes—of which 4,300 should be affordable—and 14,400 fresh jobs in Long Island City. Mayor Eric Adams hailed this next chapter as a fix for the city’s housing woes; we suspect, however, that more revisions to Queens’ patchwork zoning await before the waterfront breezes truly reach everyone.