The Hochul administration in New York is awaiting something more concrete than televised threats from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who announced federal food stamp funds to 21 Democrat-led states, including New York, would cease unless they share recipients’ personal data. With $640 million monthly at stake for SNAP, and a lawsuit from Letitia James ongoing, we expect a robust paper chase before anyone misses a meal.
New York City in brief
Top five stories in the five boroughs today
New York’s debate over universal childcare, championed by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and eyed by Governor Kathy Hochul, has reached fever pitch as city and state leaders shape fresh plans. While free care could ease burdens for many, analysts warn it risks mostly aiding well-off families and nudging up costs elsewhere, leaving the least well-off still paddling upstream—a potential triumph of intention over outcome.
A report from the Center for an Urban Future finds New York City’s social service nonprofits—already trimming food aid and axing staff thanks to Trump administration cuts—face deeper woes as federal support shrinks further in 2026-27. With agencies like Food Bank for New York City and SAGE slashing programs, our famed safety net may soon be little more than a threadbare patchwork, albeit a fiscally “efficient” one.
Eager not to let New York’s $9 congestion fee outlive his social media proclamations, Donald Trump’s administration has pressed Judge Lewis Liman for a swift verdict to end the embattled toll south of 60th Street. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, smelling victory after an earlier court win, insists federal officials acted capriciously. With both sides urging Liman to wrap things up by year’s end, we brace for gridlock, judicatory or otherwise.
Con Edison’s latest plan to nudge New York electricity prices up another 2.8%—with gas not far behind—arrives as winter chills and wallets thin, prompting familiar protests from groups like Sunrise Movement and Equal Planet. Even the White House weighed in, noting fuel costs have fallen. The city’s Public Service Commission will settle the issue, but for now, heat and light remain luxuries one in three New Yorkers must juggle—financial gymnastics, Gotham-style.