New York City in brief

Federal funding cuts driven by Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act are poised to cost 450,000 New Yorkers their Essential Plan coverage in July, with up to a million ultimately affected statewide. Governor Kathy Hochul’s counterproposals scarcely put a dent in the shortfall, leaving activists calling for higher taxes on the state’s richest residents. It seems the cure for public hospitals’ ills is money—preferably flowing, not trickling, in.

A study of 1.6 million New York City children, published in JAMA Pediatrics, suggests universal pre-K may sharply reduce city neglect investigations—by 7% in its first year and 22% by year three, especially among Black and Latino families. Freeing parents from $26,000 annual childcare bills is one fix with staying power; perhaps bureaucracy has finally met its match in a well-timed nap and snack.

Kathy Hochul, Nueva York’s governor and erstwhile darling of green activists, is poised to unwind key parts of the 2019 climate law, swapping the ambitious 2030 emissions cut for a 60% reduction by 2040 and adopting a friendlier 100-year measurement for greenhouse gases. The 2050 goal remains—on paper. We suspect “reality” now weighs more in Albany than a recent *Time* magazine accolade ever did.

Despite New York City’s record $43 billion splurge on public schools—an eye-popping $44,000 per pupil—student numbers and test scores continue their slow waltz downward, with many classrooms half-empty and academic results stuck firmly in the middle of the pack. As lawmakers juggle costly class-size laws and glum projections of further enrollment loss, we note: investing in shrinking schools may someday prove the city’s most expensive tradition.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has appointed Elizabeth Adams as his senior adviser for “fast and free” buses, undaunted by Albany’s reluctance to fund systemwide fare abolition. Pilot routes have boosted support, but City Hall’s $700 million annual estimate is outpaced by the MTA’s $1 billion price tag. Still, upgrades are under way—bus lanes, speed targets, and one implacable obstacle: reality’s stubborn farebox.