Frigid weather and a faltering shelter system have turned JFK’s AirTrain terminal into a haven for unhoused New Yorkers, to the chagrin of travelers and the apparent indifference of Port Authority police. With over 158,000 homeless statewide—a fifth…
At a frostbitten January sit-down in Queens’ Middle Village, Community Board 5 mulled over affordable housing legislation, with zoning chair Daniel Heredia flagging City Council moves to override former Mayor Eric Adams’ triple veto: one law may give nonprofits crack at buying properties before developers, while another stretches “affordable” up to $100,000 incomes—an elasticity likely lost on local wallets. Book sales and bicycle rides were brisker news.
The United States has inverted its once-sacrosanct food pyramid, putting vegetables center stage and prescribing more protein—1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilo, if we must count—while easing up on dietary fats and eggs. Harvard-trained Carlos Jaramillo hails the shift as science finally bidding adieu to old myths and cereal-makers’ lobbying; though for those fond of boxed breakfasts or sweet drinks, the new regime may prove a sobering start to the day.
Bruce Blakeman accused New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul of doling out commercial truck licences to undocumented immigrants, some apparently named “No Name Given”—a flourish not endorsed by Chaucer. While the state insists all drivers are cleared through federal channels, two recent crash fatalities with such license-holders have fuelled Blakeman’s rhetoric; in the race for governor, it seems the road to public safety is full of political potholes.
The latest U.S. dietary guidelines have doubled down on animal protein, placing red meat and whole milk front and center and urging adults to consume at least 100 grams of protein daily—preferably from non-vegetable sources. Nutrition experts say Americans already eat enough and question the scientific rationale, warning the real risk may be a boom in protein water and snacks. It seems the “war” has ended, but the confusion marches on.
New Jersey’s attorney general filed suit against Clark Township and former mayor Sal Bonaccorso, alleging police leaders were told to “keep chasing the spooks out of town”—part of a pattern in which Black drivers were 3.7 times more likely to be searched than white ones. Officials and lawyers duly debate who’s grandstanding, while Clark proclaims its reformed ways; data, ever inconvenient, refuses to forget.
A&E Real Estate, among New York’s heftier landlords, agreed to a $2.1 million settlement after city officials flagged over 4,000 code violations and harassment claims across 14 properties in Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. Mayor Zohran Mamdani credited persistent city enforcement for the record payout, while A&E insisted on its collaborative spirit; tenants, for now, may dare to hope that roaches and leaks are not roommates for life.
The US Social Security system quietly gives spouses a lifeline: those with spotty work records may claim up to half the “Primary Insurance Amount” of their partner’s retirement benefit—though only if married at least a year, aged 62 or caring for a young or disabled child. Divorcees get a shot too, unless remarried themselves; bureaucratic romance, with actuarial strings most keenly felt in the fine print.
New York’s public service hopefuls are poring over a fresh slate of state exams, with roles spanning Manhattan cubicles to upstate motor pools—details and deadlines, readers will be delighted to learn, remain safely locked behind a layer of government websites and phone lines. We trust ambition will triumph over bureaucracy, though anyone expecting swift progress in Albany may wish to pack a lunch.
