City & State New York - All Content

There’s a lot of money – and competition – in the race to replace Rep. Jerry Nadler

Annie McDonough — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

12th District

Midtown Manhattan, the Upper West and East Sides and Central Park.

TLDR: Schlossberg and Conway may have political star power, but most expect this to be another East versus West battle between Assembly Members Alex Bores and Micah Lasher.

Incumbent: None. Rep. Jerry Nadler is retiring.

Candidates: Alex Bores, George Conway, Laura Dunn, Micah Lasher, Jack Schlossberg, Nina Schwalbe, Chris Diep, Patrick Timmins and Micah Bergdale

2025 Democratic mayoral primary results (first round): Cuomo 37%; Mamdani 33%; Lander 21%; Other 10%

The Z factor: Mamdani hasn’t weighed in yet – and most expect it will stay that way, since no leading candidate is running to the left – though Mamdani political adviser Morris Katz has reportedly rallied support for Lasher.

The X factor: There is no shortage of candidates able to raise millions on their own in this race, but outside spending – by Michael Bloomberg and dueling AI PACs – will dominate.

What you need to know: There is no registered Democrat in the vicinity of Manhattan’s 12th Congressional District who has not heard about the hottest primary race in the borough this year.

You might have heard about it from the onslaught of mailers and ads warning you against the ex-Palantir employee now hypocritically (the ads tell you) calling for ICE to be abolished.

You might have caught wind of it through endless mailers paid for by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the past month, propping up another candidate as the only one with the track record and experience to take the district’s fight to Washington D.C.

Anyone on TikTok or Instagram has probably heard of the John F. Kennedy grandson running as both political legacy and newcomer, promising to succeed where Democrats have long failed: Messaging to voters.

And any of the district’s many Trump-hating, cable news-watching liberals will recognize the former Republican Never Trumper running as a newly registered Democrat.

These snippets of the race – driven by massive outside spending and the gravitational pull of celebrity candidates – form just part of the whole picture. The race is between nine candidates, four of whom have dominated the conversation and who promise a vision for New York that even they admit is largely similar: To fight tirelessly against an authoritarian regime in D.C., protect immigrants from deportation, champion liberal causes like abortion access and combat climate change. In short, to be the new Democratic stalwart in the deep blue, deeply affluent swath of Manhattan stretching from the Upper East Side and Upper West Side down through StuyTown and Chelsea. “This is one of the most informed, active congressional district electorates in the country,” Assembly Member Micah Lasher, a leading contender, told City & State. “Voters are looking to see which candidate can most effectively stand up to Donald Trump and reverse the destruction that he has rained down on the rule of law.”

Lasher, along with Assembly Member Alex Bores, social media commentator Jack Schlossberg and attorney George Conway, are vying to replace the existing stalwart: retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler. Nadler, represented the West Side of Manhattan for decades before the district was redrawn to include the East Side, forcing a primary contest between Nadler and longtime East Side Rep. Carolyn Maloney in 2022. (The West Sider prevailed.)

Close watchers describe it as an open race, though one that is likely between Lasher and Bores, the two current Assembly members representing the West and East sides of Manhattan respectively. There has been no independent polling, though one Conway-backed poll in February showed Schlossberg in the lead and Conway in second, likely a capture of name recognition before spending had picked up. A March poll, conducted on behalf of the Bores campaign, suggested that Schlossberg may have more staying power than some thought: he captured 22%, while Bores got 19%, followed by Lasher at 14% and Conway at 10%.

While none of the leading candidates is having any trouble fundraising on their own, spending in the race is being dominated by outside groups, including Bloomberg, who has endorsed Lasher and dropped millions to support him, and dueling PACs funding by artificial intelligence industry giants OpenAI (spending against Bores) and Anthropic (spending in support of Bores). Bloomberg’s super PAC has already spent $4.3 million in support of Lasher, while the anti-Bores super PAC has spent $2.4 million and the pro-Bores PAC has spent $1.2 million.

Some, including Bores himself, have theorized that the spending against him stands to help as much as hurt him. “It’s not fun getting negative mailers sent to my mailbox, text messages on my phone every day telling me what an awful person this mysterious Alex Bores is,” Bores told City & State. But he’s eager to publicize Trump donors who have donated millions to the umbrella group affiliated with the PAC – a fact he called “clarifying to voters” in a race where everyone is promising to fight Trump.

Despite their similar visions, the candidates have clear distinctions. Bores, a computer scientist by trade, is leaning into the AI angle, pledging to be one of very few in Congress who actually understand the global economic and social upending that AI could cause and is therefore prepared to regulate it.

Lasher, an Assembly member for less than two years, has a long career in New York politics and policy behind him, having previously served as Gov. Kathy Hochul’s director of policy and Bloomberg’s director of state legislative affairs. If anyone has an on-paper edge going into June, observers say it is Lasher, whose face and name are starting to flood the district in mailers and ads, and who not only represents the vote-rich Upper West Side but who has also pulled a few East Side Democratic club endorsements south of Bores’ Assembly district.

Schlossberg’s relative inexperience in local politics has shown in some policy forums, and he lacks the institutional backing of local power players or clubs. (Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, of California, has endorsed him.) His campaign has come out with a few policy proposals, including one aimed at stopping the flow of illegal guns into the state. Despite being a scion of the Kennedy family, he is making a moral high ground argument as one of the candidates not benefitting from outside spending. “I think money in politics is the reason that our party is seen as out of touch and is a real drag on our system and the credibility of our government,” said Schlossberg, who does not have a super PAC backing him (not yet, at least) and has pledged not to take money from AI companies.

Conway, meanwhile, has raised enough to fund ads highlighting his record of standing up to Trump from within his own party. That argument and his familiarity to voters, however, may struggle to stand out in a field of longtime Democrats who are also pledging to fight Trump.

Behind this throng, of course, are a handful of other drowned out candidates, whose chances of breaking through the noise are slim. While some close observers of the race have said that it lacks a real lefty candidate – notable in the age of Mayor Zohran Mamdani – Nina Schwalbe, a vaccine and public health scientist, is arguably claiming that lane. While her pitch is largely centered around bringing her health expertise to Congress, she’s declared herself a progressive who sees health care and housing as public goods and is skeptical of market-oriented solutions to those problems.

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A test of Mamdani’s endorsement power in the race to represent NY-7

Rebecca C. Lewis — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

7th District

Parts of Brooklyn including Bushwick , Williamsburg and Downtown Brooklyn, and parts of Queens, including Long Island City, Astoria and Sunnyside

TLDR: It’s a battle of the progressives in New York City’s Commie Corridor.

Incumbent: Nydia Velázquez (retiring)

Candidates: Claire Valdez, Antonio Reynoso, Julie Won, Vichal Kumar, Paperboy Love Prince

2025 Democratic mayoral primary result (first round): Zohran Mamdani 65%; Andrew Cuomo 20%; Brad Lander 10%; Other 5%

The Z factor: Mamdani is swinging big for Valdez.

The X factor: The X factor here is the Z factor: Can the mayor get a largely unknown socialist elected to Congress?

What you need to know: The race for New York’s most left-wing congressional district got off to a spicy start from the moment the trailblazing Rep. Nydia Velázquez announced she would retire, and hasn’t cooled off since. Immediately, political observers began speculating who might run to replace her, with private conversations taking place as well that have since spilled into the public sphere.

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso announced first, after several other potential contenders expressed they would not run. Assembly Member Claire Valdez, a democratic socialist and early Mamdani backer, announced next. Within a day, the mayor endorsed her, drawing public rebuke from Velázquez, who felt slighted after trying to find a candidate that different progressive and community factions could back. She endorsed Reynoso soon after. City Council Member Julie Won was a late entrant, shaking up what might have otherwise been a straight proxy war.

Reynoso has picked up significant progressive and union support so far, even as Valdez has pitched herself as the labor candidate. The New York Working Families Party, 32BJ SEIU, DC 37, the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, New Kings Democrats and Citizen Action New York have all offered their support to Reynoso, along with several notable progressive elected officials. He has also gotten institutional support from the Queens Democratic Party, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and state Attorney General Letitia James.

Valdez, meanwhile, has the full support of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and has garnered the backing of influential democratic socialists, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and many of her fellow socialists in office in the state Legislature. She also has the endorsement of United Auto Workers Region 9A and UAW President Shawn Fain. Valdez previously organized clerical workers at Columbia University with the union.

Despite leading in endorsements and entering the race first, Reynoso trails the pack in fundraising. At the end of the first quarter, he had brought in just over $630,000 since launching. Won, despite her late entrance, raised slightly more – about $645,000 since announcing in February. Valdez, meanwhile, far outpaced her fellow candidates, having logged over $750,000 in contributions. But when it came to current cash on hand, Reynoso had the most, followed by Won and Valdez.

Although Won represents her own sort of X factor in the race, the dynamics can be simplified as testing the emerging strength of NYC-DSA against the more institutional left in the city. Valdez has proven herself a loyal cadre member, but with just a full year under her belt in the Assembly, her experience pales in comparison to Reynoso. As for Reynoso, he has real progressive credentials and extensive experience representing large swaths of the community, but he is not part of the DSA left.

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In NY-10 it’s Lander’s progressive relationships versus Goldman’s money

Holly Pretsky — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

10th District

Parts of Manhattan including the West Village, Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Tribeca and the Financial District, and parts of Brooklyn including Brooklyn Heights, Red Hook, Park Slope and Sunset Park.

TLDR: Former mayoral candidate Brad Lander is back in his old neighborhood, giving Rep. Dan Goldman a run for his (ample) money.

Incumbent: Rep. Dan Goldman

Challengers: Brad Lander

2025 Democratic mayoral primary results (first round): Zohran Mamdani 46%; Andrew Cuomo 23%; Brad Lander 23%; Other 8%

The Z factor: Mamdani has wholeheartedly endorsed Lander, even edging a DSA ally out of the race to clear his lane. Goldman never endorsed Mamdani for mayor, and that has apparently not been forgotten.

The X factor: Goldman’s pouring $1 million of his own money into the race, and he’s vowing to match others’ donations to himself.

What you need to know: Through a certain lens, there isn’t much contrast between the two middle-aged, white Jewish guys who want to represent the 10th Congressional District. Rep. Dan Goldman and his challenger Brad Lander have both shown up to protests against ICE at 26 Federal Plaza, both condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, both said they want to tax the wealthy. The pro-Israel progressive group J Street endorsed Goldman, but they also “approved” Lander.

But through a slightly more magnified lens, the differences are stark, both candidates claim. Lander says unlike Goldman, he’s part of the progressive vanguard in New York City led by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. He swore to donate campaign funds to charity if any super PACs get involved in the race to support him. (They haven’t.) And he says he would vote against military aid for Israel while the country continues to violate international law.

“I support and will cosponsor the Block the Bombs Act and the Ceasefire Compliance Act, which are the two specific pieces of legislation in Congress right now that would stop sending the 2000-pound bombs that Israel used, that we gave them, that they used to destroy the hospitals and schools and homes in Gaza,” Lander told City & State. “And at this moment, I would not support any additional U.S. military aid to Israel, offensive or or defensive.”

Until his failed run for New York City mayor, Lander represented the area in some capacity since he was elected to the City Council in 2010. Goldman was first elected 12 years later after he spent much of his ample personal wealth to prevail in a crowded race. With the announcement that he’s spending more than $1 million of his fortune this year, it looks like he wants to use that strategy again.

Goldman says that, unlike Lander, he’s been gaining seniority in Congress over nearly four years, he has cosponsored federal legislation to tax the rich and he’s used the courts and official visits to improve conditions for immigrants detained at 26 Federal Plaza.

There haven’t been recent public polls on the race, but a poll released in September before Lander launched his campaign found that he was favored over Goldman by 20 points. And he’s expected to win by more than 80% of wagerers on the betting markets Kalshi and Polymarket. It’s a progressive district: Mamdani beat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo by 23 points in the Democratic primary for mayor there last year – and that’s not counting the 23 points that Lander himself got in the district. “I mean, I feel good about the race,” Lander told City & State. “People are hungry for change.”

But Goldman, who generally seems averse to politics, is not going quietly. As of the latest filings, before he donated $1 million to himself, he had $1.5 million on hand, more than twice what Lander has. He’s been endorsed by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, as well as several local Democratic clubs. He’s highlighting his work to protect immigrants, particularly a lawsuit he joined to make sure members of Congress are not blocked from inspecting ICE facilities, something he frequently does. He’s also set up an immigration clinic in his office across the street from 26 Federal Plaza, which he claims has gotten 30 people released from detention. For his part, Lander got arrested during the mayoral primary while attempting to escort immigrants inside 26 Federal Plaza.

“I would urge voters to take a very close look at the way that both of us have approached this immigration problem and ultimately the effectiveness and success of our approaches,” Goldman said.

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DSA is targeting Rep. Adriano Espaillat in NY-13

Sahalie Donaldson — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

13th District

Upper Manhattan neighborhoods including Inwood, Washington Heights, East Harlem, Harlem and Morningside Heights; and Bronx neighborhoods including Fordham, Bedford Park and Kingsbridge.

TLDR: A Dominican-American uptown power broker gets a DSA-backed challenge.

Incumbent: Adriano Espaillat

Challengers: Darializa Avila Chevalier, Oscar Romero

2025 Democratic mayoral primary results (first round): Zohran Mamdani 47%; Andrew Cuomo 34%; Brad Lander 9%; Other 10%

The Z factor: The mayor has so far steered clear of the race despite his ideological similarities with Espaillat’s challenger.

The X factor: Does DSA have the clout to defeat the well-funded, well-known incumbent without Mamdani?

What you need to know: A clash between the Democratic establishment and the wave of youthful left-leaning enthusiasm that powered New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s historic rise is playing out in a congressional district in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx – a test of the city’s changing political climate.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, one of the state’s most influential Latino leaders who has represented the 13th District since 2017, faces an insurgent challenge from Darializa Avila Chevalier, an Afro-Latina Harlem-based organizer who has generated an increasing amount of attention as a first-time candidate. Oscar Romero, another candidate in the race who has raised around $11,000, has not picked up much traction.

Like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, fellow young upstarts who dethroned incumbents from the left, Avila Chevalier, who is 32, has endorsements from the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and Justice Democrats. She’s an anti-Zionist who played a prominent role in pro-Palestine encampments at Columbia University, her alma mater. Currently, she’s a PhD candidate at the City University of New York, a public defense investigator at the Neighborhood Defenders Services of Harlem and a member of United Auto Workers, which recently endorsed her. Justice Democrats specifically recruited her to run against Espaillat after a surprisingly high number of voters in the diverse district backed Mamdani in the primary and general elections. Last fundraising quarter, Avila Chevalier managed to outraise Espaillat, pulling in nearly $270,000 to his $230,000. (Espaillat still has far more on hand overall: nearly $1 million to the roughly $500,000 Avila Chevalier has raised in total.)

“I think a lot of folks underestimated this race because they underestimated the people who live here and how hungry we are for something different,” Avila Chevalier said.

Espaillat, the first Dominican and the first formerly undocumented immigrant to serve in Congress, is still the clear front-runner. A powerful, longtime powerbroker who has cultivated a cohort of local allies known as “the Squadriano,” has far and away more name recognition. He’s endorsed by Attorney General Letitia James as well as multiple big unions. While his staunch support of Israel puts him out of favor with the growing contingent of left-leaning New Yorkers in the district – and played a big role in Avila Chevalier challenging him – the rest of his voting record is fairly progressive. Still, he’s clearly taking her campaign seriously, certainly more than other recent challenges he’s faced.

“This is a grassroots campaign, and we’re fighting for a vision that puts working people first,” Espaillat said in a statement.

While Mamdani’s support would give Avila Chevalier a significant boost against the well-known incumbent, it’s unlikely that he’ll end up backing her despite their shared ideology. After endorsing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary, Espaillat went hard for Mamdani in the general election, emerging as one of his key backers. The mayor wouldn’t be eager to go to war with the powerful Democrat – doing so would likely draw the ire of key City Council members as well as a broad swath of Latino elected officials.

Regardless of the race’s outcome though, it’s clear the district and the forces that power it are changing. Whether it’s shifted enough for another longshot lefty upstart to topple a powerful establishment figure, is unlikely – but stranger things have happened.

“Four years ago we would never have had this conversation about a DSA candidate taking out Adriano Espaillat in this district,” Democratic political consultant Eli Valentin said. “It just speaks to (DSA’s) force and the fact that they’re expanding beyond North Brooklyn and Western Queens.”

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The 2026 NYC congressional primaries to watch

City & State — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

As is true in most years in deep-blue New York City’s midterm House races, most of the action takes place in the Democratic primary, set for June 23. This year’s congressional contests have been hot since September, when Rep. Jerry Nadler announced he wouldn’t seek reelection, setting the stage for a crowded primary. In late November, longtime Rep. Nydia Velázquez followed suit. But this year’s races are not just about a changing of the guard. They’re also a test of whether there will be significant coattails following New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory. Will his endorsement win elections? And will the Democratic Socialists of America – and its army of energized organizers, volunteers and followers – turn out again in strong numbers? It all leads to the question of what the future of the Democratic Party looks like and who will come out on top in New York City: the left or the far left? Here are our congressional races to watch, organized loosely in order of spiciness.

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Opinion: Striking at the second homers

Tom Allon — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

We’re 116 days into the Mamdani administration, and although there has been some foreshadowing of what the next four years will look like, the state government’s imminent adoption of a pied-à-terre tax is really the first salvo in the inevitable class struggle in the city.

Gov. Kathy Hochul found an elegant and smart solution to the ongoing debate about whether we should tax the wealthy to provide essential services to the city and to plug the upcoming $5.4 billion gap in the city budget.

The tax on second homes worth more than $5 million will only affect about 13,000 non-voting homeowners who have decided to invest in New York real estate and leave those apartments largely unused for most of the year.

The governor and others have said that many of these owners are Russian oligarchs and wealthy Chinese investors who are looking for a safe haven for their money. But, of course, some Palm Beach or Miami residents will also be affected and they will be the loudest voices of opposition through their right-wing mouthpiece, The New York Post.

Asking two-mansion families to pay another surcharge on top of the property taxes they’re already paying is not a bad idea, considering that they benefit from the city’s uniformed services, even when they’re not living here.

If their building is on fire, New York’s Bravest will show up to save the out-of-towner’s precious investment. The NYPD will patrol their neighborhood to ensure that no one ransacks their homes. Why shouldn’t they pay more taxes when others in the city who live and work here pay city taxes on top of their property taxes?

There are some very smart people in the business and real estate community who think that this new levy will hurt property values and thus cause less taxes to be paid into the city’s coffers. REBNY CEO Jim Whelan and Partnership for New York City President Steve Fulop, two civic leaders whom I respect, have come out against this tax, saying it will drive away real estate investment in New York. There is a precedent in London where a number of taxes on wealthy homeowners has driven many away and led to a drop in valuations.

So Whelan and Fulop may be right; I guess we’ll know more in the next two to three years as Mamdani’s social experiment plays out in our great metropolis.

One potential misstep by the mayor was personalizing this tax and making a video in front of Citadel CEO Ken Griffin’s $238 million home. Although Griffin may not live full-time in his penthouse apartment, he has been a generous philanthropist in New York, he employs thousands of New Yorkers who pay lots of taxes and he is about to build a large Park Avenue office building for his growing company. The mayor should not be demonizing anyone or risking losing philanthropists and large employers who are investing in our city. Mamdani got his win; no need to rub Griffin’s nose in it, lest he pull up his company’s HQ and move it to more business-hospitable states like Florida and Texas.

And while we’re on the topic of economic development and attracting and retaining jobs in New York, why hasn’t the mayor filled the all-important position of commissioner of the Economic Development Corporation? It’s almost four months into the Mamdani term and this key agency still needs a leader. The optics of keeping it vacant for so long does not send a positive message to New York’s vital business community.

But I think our leaders in Albany should take the pied-à-terre tax a step further. Until 27 years ago, New York levied a commuter tax on those who worked in the city, but didn’t live in the five boroughs. It was a pittance: 0.45% of their annual income. A worker who makes $80,000 annually would pay just $360. But this tax provided more than $300 million annually to New York City’s budget, from the almost 1 million people who work in the five boroughs but live in places like Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.

When the commuter tax was hastily repealed in 1999 to benefit a candidate in a special election, Upper East Side State Senator Roy Goodman said: “This will go down in the annals of this house as one of the most foolish pieces of fiscal folly ever perpetrated on the public.”

Like the real estate second homers, commuting workers benefit from our police, our firemen, our sanitation force, our parks and many other city services and amenities – and thus should pay their fair share of these urban expenses.

Next January, when the legislature convenes again, I’m hoping the governor will push to bring back this fair tax, but I’m not holding my breath. Even if the governor advocated for it, it’s unlikely it would advance in the legislature because the state Senate is led by Andrea Stewart-Cousins, whose district lies largely outside of the city.

But maybe our elected leaders in Albany will get the courage to do the right thing and spread the burden of paying for city services even more evenly.

Make no mistake, this new pied-à-terre tax would not have happened if either Eric Adams or Andrew Cuomo were elected mayor in 2025.

This was a win for the mayor and his DSA supporters. The governor wisely threw Mamdani and his base a bone in an election year when she couldn’t afford to raise taxes on either wealthy city residents or large corporations.

Raising those taxes could’ve given too much ammunition to Bruce Blakeman, the Republican nominee for governor. He will still use the pied-à-terre tax to attack the governor over the next six months, but I doubt he will sway many voters on this issue.

And it’s no great surprise that President Trump came down hard on this tax in a Truth Social post. He and his children all own second homes in New York that are likely north of $5 million in value and thus they could be subject to this new tax.

Since he took office almost four months ago, Mamdani has been laser focused on accomplishing his key campaign promises. With the help of the governor, in Mamdani’s first week in office, he got a down payment of more than $1 billion to start the rollout of universal day care, starting with 2-year-olds.

Mamdani has now achieved his tax on the wealthy, albeit those who aren’t New York City residents, and that is a symbolic victory that he and his followers can boast about for the rest of this year. But don’t think that the “tax the rich” cries will die down in 2027 because of this new tax. This will just feed Mamdani and his supporters’ push for other ways to make rich individuals and large corporations pay their fair share, and they may even find a more receptive audience in the governor once it’s no longer an election year.

Mamdani has also made plans to open up the first city-run grocery store in 2027. How that will work is still a bit of a mystery, but kudos to the mayor for following up on this so quickly.

The one area where he hasn’t made much progress is his promise of fast and free buses. He is making incremental progress on the “fast” part by trying to re-engineer traffic lanes to unclog the roads for city buses.

But the main reason why buses are a slow form of transportation is because the driver has to wait for all those who board to pay. Eliminating this requirement would surely speed things up. But at a time of fiscal scarcity, it’s hard to justify spending $700 million to enact this program.

One smart idea that seems to be gaining a bit of traction is the notion of monetizing all free parking on city streets. This might annoy car owners, but perhaps they can be pacified if this new program is coupled with the kind of relatively inexpensive residential parking permits that work so well in cities like Boston and Washington, D.C.

If we were able to monetize street parking, we would have plenty of money to pay the MTA the $700 million it gets from the low percentage of people who actually pay their fares. It is estimated that less than half of people who take the bus bother paying for their ride.

Perhaps in 2027, the mayor will make this his next priority. But for now, we get to see whether taxing wealthy second home owners who live outside the city will have any impact on our real estate market and subsequently on our tax rolls.

Electing Zohran Mamdani mayor was a revolutionary change for the city. Now that he is implementing his vision, we will see whether democratic socialism – as espoused by people like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – can actually work in large cities.

So far, the mayor has skillfully worked with both the governor and the president of the United States to get some wins for his agenda.

It will be interesting to see how far Mamdani can take that agenda in 2027 and beyond. By 2029, the voters will decide whether they like the results.

If they do, this will give our democratic socialist mayor another four years to take the city in a very different direction than it’s gone in the past half century.

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The 2026 New York City Power 100

City & State — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

The election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani in 2025 was a political earthquake that few predicted. And his rise continues to reverberate in 2026, from the shakeup of the city’s political hierarchy to the leftward shift in policy priorities to the controversies over Islamophobia, antisemitism and racism.

In this new landscape, past stalwarts like Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo have been reduced to rubble. Mamdani allies – Elle Bisgaard-Church, Sam Levine and Ali Najmi among them – have been empowered to build a city that’s more affordable and less beholden to the old elite. Most top-level appointees of the last administration have departed, although a few have stayed on, most notably NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Other political figures have come out ahead as well, including New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and City Comptroller Mark Levine.

This year’s New York City Power 100 reflects the seismic changes that have rocked the political establishment over the past 12 months. This prestigious list, researched and written by City & State’s John Celock, identifies the most influential public officials, business executives, labor leaders, advocates and activists in the new New York City.

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BOE findings put Bunkeddeko’s ballot position in jeopardy

Rebecca C. Lewis — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 14:11:00 -0400

State comptroller candidate Adem Bunkeddeko will need to fight for his life to remain on the ballot after a preliminary staff report from the state Board of Elections found he did not have enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the Democratic primary ballot.

According to the initial staff findings from the BOE, over 11,000 of the 22,000 petition signatures that Bunkeddeko submitted were invalid. If that finding stands, he would be left with a little under 11,000 valid signatures remaining – well below the 15,000 required to appear on the ballot.

The information from the BOE is strictly preliminary, and Bunkeddeko will have a chance to plead his case at a hearing on Monday. The numbers are subject to change based on the hearing and responses submitted beforehand, with a formal staff recommendation made to the board afterwards. The BOE commissioners will make a final determination at their next meeting on Tuesday on who will and won’t make it onto the June primary ballot.

The Bunkeddeko campaign expressed confidence that he will remain on the ballot following the Monday hearing.

The initial findings from the BOE staff came after fellow candidate Drew Warshaw’s campaign objected to tens of thousands of petition signatures from both Bunkeddeko and Raj Goyle, another Democrat running for state comptroller. The preliminary report found that Goyle submitted enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot, but just barely. The review determined that 15,000 of the over 31,000 signatures from Goyle were invalid, leaving him with just over 16,000 valid signatures. He will also have the opportunity to be heard at the BOE hearing next week.

The Democratic primary race for state comptroller, typically a noncontest, has quickly emerged as one of the most contentious of the cycle. All three Democratic challengers this year are seeking to unseat long-time state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli in his first-ever primary challenge since getting elected. DiNapoli has held the position for nearly two decades after members of the Assembly initially tapped him to fill it in 2007.

Goyle’s campaign celebrated the findings as a sign of support from thousands of New Yorkers who wanted him on the ballot, while criticizing Warshaw’s campaign for engaging in “backroom tactics” to limit voters’ choices. “Let’s be clear: their objections were baseless, frivolous, and a blatant attempt to silence candidates and voters of color across New York,” campaign manager David Alejandro Quesada said in a statement. “It was a desperate move from a campaign that knows it can’t win on ideas or momentum.”

The Warshaw campaign, meanwhile, lauded the preliminary staff reports as evidence its objections were sound. “The ballot should be open to anyone who follows the rules,” campaign attorney Leo Glickman said in a statement. “Candidates, especially for State Comptroller, should be expected to file petitions that comply with the basic standards of the well-worn law.” Glickman added that given the Goyle campaign’s “high failure rate,” attorneys for Warshaw would review all the findings ahead of the Monday hearing to ensure everyone on the ballot “has actually met the law’s minimum requirements.”

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Council considers options after Mamdani vetoes buffer zone bill

Sahalie Donaldson — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 13:18:03 -0400

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and her allies are weighing their options after Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would veto a controversial bill that would have required the police department to create and publicize plans to deploy security perimeters around educational facilities during protests.

Unlike the related “buffer zone” bill pertaining to houses of worship – which Mamdani said he’d let go into effect – 175-B didn’t pass with a veto-proof majority. Council members approved the legislation late last month by a 30-19 margin, four votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed to override a mayoral veto. That doesn’t necessarily mean the fight ends here. Several people familiar with Menin’s thinking said the speaker is contemplating whether to try and whip up enough votes to override the move, though they noted nothing has been decided yet. The New York Times was first to report on the mayor’s plan to veto the bill.

“While I appreciate that King Zohran will graciously allow one bill with a veto-proof majority to become law, his choice to veto a second bill may be forced to contend with democracy,” said one Democratic council member who supported both of the bills.

A spokesperson for the speaker’s office said that members will now discuss next steps.

Announcing his decision Friday morning, Mamdani said he’d reviewed both of the bills and come to different conclusions about them.

He said the bill pertaining to buffer zones outside houses of worship had initially raised serious First Amendment concerns, but the amended version of the bill “is narrower in scope and effect” and no longer “poses the same risks it once did.”

But the mayor said 175-B, the bill pertaining to buffer zones outside educational facilities, was “meaningfully different” from the other one and was “not a narrow public safety measure.” He pointed to the broad way in which 175-B defined an “educational institution” as well as what he described as the constitutional concerns it raises regarding New Yorkers’ right to protest.

“As the bill is written, everywhere from universities to museums to teaching hospitals could face restrictions,” Mamdani said in a statement. “This could impact workers protesting ICE, or college students demanding their school divest from fossil fuels or demonstrating in support of Palestinian rights.”

His rationale echoed the concerns that many of the bill’s critics have voiced in recent weeks. While much of the opposition – which includes civil rights groups, labor unions and some left-leaning politicians – have spoken out against both buffer zone measures over free speech concerns, the focus has increasingly been on the education version, which was sponsored by Council Member Eric Dinowitz. Menin herself sponsored the houses of worship version, though both were included in a package of bills known as the City Council’s “Five-Point Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism.” A spokesperson for the speaker’s office pointed out that the bills are essentially the same in bill language, scope and constitutionality – the only difference is the location.

Supporters of the buffer-zone bills, which were spurred by a protest outside a synagogue last fall, have argued that would protect students and worshipers in a way that would also bolster accountability over the NYPD’s protest protocols.

“I want students to be safe from harassment, from intimidation as they enter and exit school. With this veto, Mayor Mamdani does not want our students to be safe as they enter and exit schools,” Dinowitz said. “I want police transparency and with this veto, Mayor Mamdani does not want transparency.”

Mamdani’s veto, the first since he’s taken office, is likely to further heighten tensions between the two wings of City Hall. Menin, a moderate Democrat, has increasingly positioned herself as a counterweight to the mayor as budget discussions have intensified in recent weeks. Speaking at an unrelated event yesterday, the speaker passionately defended both of the buffer-zone bills, warning that a veto from the mayor would only lead to more divisiveness.

If Menin decides to pursue a veto override, that could also further strain tensions within the council’s own ranks. The vast majority of the council’s Progressive Caucus voted against the bill – so much so that it needed support from the body’s five Republican members to pass. Council Members Tiffany Cában, Shahana Hanif and Lincoln Restler recently spoke at a protest against the bills outside of City Hall in which they urged the mayor to veto 175-B. Now that Mamdani has done so, the City Council would need 34 votes to override it. It initially passed with 30 votes, with Council Member Gale Brewer abstaining from the vote.

There is currently one vacancy in the City Council, which will be filled in a special election on Tuesday. Mamdani and Menin are both backing rival candidates in that race with the speaker pitching her support behind Carl Wilson, the former chief of staff to the member who’d vacated the seat. A spokesperson for his campaign said he’d vote to override the veto if he wins the seat. Former gubernatorial aide Lindsey Boylan, who is Mamdani’s preferred candidate for that seat, and fellow candidates Layla Law-Gisiko and Leslie Boghosian Murphy all said they would vote against overriding the mayor’s veto.

If Wilson wins the special election and Brewer can be convinced to vote in favor of an override, then supporters of 175-B would only need to flip two “no” votes to override Mamdani’s veto. Brewer declined to comment at this time.

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This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

City & State — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Critics say New York is going to the dogs. They may have a point. New York City has treated our four-legged friends as a genuine constituency for a while, but this week Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced that dogs will be allowed to accompany their owners on the golf course. (Make that “FORE-legged friends.”) Downstate, Assembly Member Keith Powers introduced a new bill to get rid of sales tax on Fancy Feast and other pet food. What’s next, cats at Gracie Mansion? Read on for some of our non-canine winners (and losers) of the week.

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Editor’s note: When an arrest can help

Jeff Coltin — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

It’s a funny truth of New York politics that sometimes getting arrested plummets you into peril, and sometimes getting arrested propels you into power.

It all depends on the context.

For New York City Council Member Chi Ossé, his Wednesday arrest seemed purely politically positive. Nevermind that the deed theft he was protesting maybe wasn’t technically deed theft. What most New Yorkers saw was an elected official fighting for a Black Brooklynite who didn’t want to lose their family brownstone.

Ossé had deliberately turned his attention to deed theft a couple months ago. It’s an important issue affecting his Bed-Stuy district, and one that has the added political benefit of helping defend against the charge that democratic socialists like him and Mayor Zohran Mamdani don’t care about homeowners.

The arrest for obstruction and disorderly conduct seems likely to boost his advocacy – and expand the influence of the already popular young politician who every Democrat has been haranguing for help shooting social media friendly videos.

“His public advocate campaign begins today,” one Democratic operative said to me. And my Twitter feed was filled with calls for him to run against Rep. Hakeem Jeffries in 2028.

It’s not a new political phenomenon. Some Brooklynites flocked to Council Member Susan Zhuang after she was arrested for biting a cop while protesting a homeless shelter. Bill de Blasio’s mayoral campaign was boosted by his planned arrest protesting the closure of Long Island College Hospital. And Mamdani got attention after getting arrested protesting Israel outside Sen. Chuck Schumer’s home.

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And just like that, Eric Adams’ last PMMR is out

Annie McDonough — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:46:18 -0400

New York City’s latest report on agency performance was quietly released last month – the municipal equivalent of a kid shoving their report card in the bottom of their backpack.

There’s probably good reason for the lack of fanfare. Though the Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report for fiscal year 2026 was released in March, during Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration, and carries his name and that of Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson, it doesn’t actually include any data from the mayor’s four-month-old term. The preliminary mayor’s management report covers July through October 2025, the tail end of former Mayor Eric Adams’ term.

The preliminary Mayor’s Management Report and a full fiscal year Mayor’s Management Report (which usually gets more attention) are both charter mandated to be released every year, and are typically closely covered by publications (like City & State) as they provide the fullest available accounting of agency performance on metrics like how fast the city is processing applications for food and rental assistance programs, how many vacant lots are cleaned, the number of meals served at senior centers and how well the health department is keeping up with restaurant health inspections.

Though the hefty document rarely dives deeply into policy analysis or prescriptions, it does sometimes provide context for decreases in efficiency or any of the identified metrics moving in unfavorable directions. This new report, for example, blamed a shortage of inspectors for a 2% decrease in restaurant health inspections by the health department in the first four months of fiscal year 2026 compared to the first four months of fiscal year 2025. A “significant shortage of staff” at the Taxi and Limousine Commission was identified as the cause of an 18% decline in administrative summonses issued to drivers.

In a bright spot, the Human Resources Administration was faster at processing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and cash assistance applications in this time period compared to the same period last year, both of which are considered “critical indicators” in the report.

Spokespeople for City Hall did not respond to requests for comment on whether they had any takeaways from the report. Presumably they’ll have more to say in September, when the management report for the full fiscal year 2026 – which will cover the first six months of Mamdani’s administration – is due.

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Heastie doesn’t hate the budget player, but hates the budget game

Rebecca C. Lewis — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:12:09 -0400

He’s not mad. Please don’t put in the newspaper that he got mad.

As state budget talks drag into a fourth week, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie made a point to tell reporters he isn’t frustrated with Gov. Kathy Hochul. But he did express weariness with the rules she’s playing by as he echoed renewed calls from some of his members for a more even playing field in the negotiations.

Under the state constitution (thanks to changes made 100 years ago by the politico everyone loves to hate: Robert Moses) and a series of court decisions jointly referred to as Silver v. Pataki, the governor in New York holds immense power in the budgeting process. The executive-heavy process leaves the state Legislature with little negotiating leverage or statutory authority as governors have increasingly used their influence to get both spending and policy priorities jammed through.

Since becoming governor, Hochul has effectively held the spending plan hostage for long periods past the April 1 deadline every year in order to get what she wants. “My relationship with the governor is tremendous – there's no issues,” Heastie assured reporters on Wednesday in the state Capitol. “She's just using the tools that you know have been used by previous governors.”

It’s not Hochul, according to Heastie. It’s the process. And in an ideal world, that process would change. “Do I support a change in the budgetary powers?” he said. “Yes, personally, I do.” Heastie rarely offers his personal opinion on legislative matters in public, generally deferring to what a majority of his conference has offered support for.

The idea of passing a constitutional amendment in order to even the playing field during the budget process is hardly a new one. But the conversation has sprung to life again this year now that state leaders and legislators have found themselves at the end of April with a deal still elusive.

Assembly Ways and Means Chair J. Gary Pretlow offered a surprise while debating the fifth short-term spending stopgap of the year on Monday, clearly voicing his support for a state constitutional amendment to realign the powers in the process. “That would take a constitutional amendment at this point … That’s a time-consuming process that I think maybe we should undertake,” he said on the floor of the chamber.

Pretlow isn’t alone either. Several of his Assembly colleagues last week held a virtual press briefing on the need to pass a new state constitutional amendment to fix the budget process. “I think people bring this up and then they get afraid, and they back away from it,” said Assembly Member Emily Gallagher, who was one of several members on the call. She said that in the past, lawmakers may have feared that the governor would retaliate against anyone who tried to limit their power.

But Gallagher expressed hope that this year could be different, in part because of how the current budget talks have devolved, despite initial optimism that there could be an on-time budget this year. “The five of us and some others are feeling some real momentum,” Gallager said. “We are willing to stick our necks out here and say that we're for it, and we’re going to build that.”

Heastie said although he supports a constitutional amendment in theory, the “tough part” is actually passing the amendment – and he’s not ready for that fight. “Now you're in a campaign, governor versus the Legislature,” he told reporters. “Who's paying for that? … I'd love to change it, but it becomes a major campaign.”

And as he again made a point to clearly state, Heastie gets along just fine with Hochul despite his frustrations with the process. “I don't even want y’all writing about this because I'm not trying to – my relationship with the government is tremendous,” he said. (Heastie later berated reporters for allegedly not writing about the budget process, saying “y’all don’t write about it, y’all just want to ask me if I’m frustrated about it.”)

But Heastie isn’t wrong that passing a constitutional amendment to fix the budget process would be an uphill battle. The last time state legislators even came close was two decades ago, when they passed a resolution to make tweaks to the state constitution in order to begin offering solutions to the problem of months-late budgets. The measure would not have fundamentally shifted the power of balance between the two branches of government. But voters still overwhelmingly rejected the proposal when it appeared on the ballot in 2005.

That year was also the last time legislators approved a past version of an amendment that would have made the budgeting process more equitable and taken power away from the governor. But they never passed it the necessary second time for it to head to voters in 2007, and the measure has since bounced between sponsors from both parties. Currently, state Sen. Gustavo River and Assembly Member Anna Kelles carry the resolution.

A spokesperson for Hochul did not immediately return a request for comment, but in the past, Hochul has declined to weigh in on the prospect of amending the budget process. Just months into her tenure as governor, City & State directly asked her about the topic as she promised a new era of cooperation with the Legislature following the tensions of her predecessor. “I’m not giving a straight answer on that,” Hochul said at the time.

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Frank Carone’s lobbying firm isn’t a lobbying firm anymore

Jeff Coltin and Grace Thomas — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0400

Frank Carone left City Hall after just one year as chief of staff to Eric Adams and cashed in on his connection to mayor by building up lobbying and public affairs shop Oaktree Solutions. Now that Adams is out of power, everyone’s leafing Oaktree.

In the past few months, former Gov. Kathy Hochul aide Jeff Lewis has gone to Accenture, MirRam vet Onida Coward Mayers left to launch her own firm, Dan Tietz joined Kline Public Strategies and Matthew Quinonez went to the MTA. Former “Nightlife Mayor” Ariel Palitz and de Blasio admin aide Josh Sidis are also gone. In fact, the whole lobbying operation is done for.

Soon after Zohran Mamdani took office as mayor, The New York Times finally broke the long rumored federal investigation into Carone into public view in January. Oaktree’s leadership list was scrubbed from its website around then. So it’s not even clear who still works with the firm – since the core team were all independent contractors, rather than full-time employees.

Carone has kept the business going until recently. City lobbying records show Oaktree had been paid monthly lobbying retainers through March 31 by clients including Brooklyn Storehouse, an event venue in the Navy Yard, and by Destination Tomorrow, an LGBTQ+ center in the South Bronx. Records also show Oaktree lobbied the Department of Homeless Services about a shelter contract earlier this year, and lobbied council members on the budget for the nonprofit Center for Employment Opportunities.

Carone brushed off the turnover in a text, saying Oaktree is “going stronger than ever.” He said the core business is venture consulting, similar to Tusk Ventures or Teneo, and that the now-shuttered lobbying side only accounted for 10% of revenue. And instead of working with city government, he now wants to work against it – at least in his personal capacity.

“I’m going to do as much as I can to make sure Mamdani is a one-term mayor,” he said.

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Brian Benjamin is still waiting for the state to cover his legal costs

Jeff Coltin — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:45:51 -0400

It’s been 15 months since the feds dropped the corruption case against former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, and he still hasn’t seen a dime from the state to pay his lawyers, who are waiting on $10 million.

Benjamin will – eventually – be the beneficiary of Public Officers Law 19, which says the state will cover state employees’ litigation costs if they’re accused of wrongdoing while acting in the scope of their work, as long as they’re acquitted or the case is dismissed.

But it’s been seven months since Attorney General Letitia James’ office approved Benjamin’s request for reimbursement for “reasonable attorneys’ fees and legal expenses.” Now it’s up to Comptroller Tom DiNapoli to audit the bills and pay up. But DiNapoli’s in the midst of his first ever reelection battle, and his office is moving slowly.

DiNapoli spokesperson Jen Freeman said the timing is typical – “we call it doing our due diligence.” (After all, the late state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno once tried to bill the state for the time his lawyer spent talking to reporters.)

For now, Benjamin isn’t biting the hand holding the money. Like former Mayor Eric Adams, he’s targeted former U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, instead, slamming him as “an ambitious federal prosecutor with political ambitions,” and argued that “countless lives were irreparably harmed on what was effectively a wild goose chase” and now “New York taxpayers (are) left holding the bag.”

Williams, now a partner at law firm Jenner & Block, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Menin warns against potential Mamdani veto of buffer zone bill

Annie McDonough — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:43:25 -0400

At a conversation about “the future of being Jewish in New York,” three of New York City’s most prominent Jewish elected officials raised alarm bells about antisemitism and hate in the city while still trying to make the case that the city can be a beacon for Jewish New Yorkers.

The conversation, convened by the 92nd Street Y, included city Comptroller Mark Levine, City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal.

“On the one hand, I believe that the Jewish community of this city is, without a doubt, one of the strongest and largest and most dynamic and most culturally rich and most important that we have had anywhere in 3,000 years. We’ve built something miraculous here,” Levine said Wednesday. “On the other hand, we’re facing challenges that I think most of us thought we would not need to be confronting in 2026,” he said, mentioning the disproportionate number of anti-Jewish hate crimes reported to the New York City Police Department.

While the conversation spanned sweeping questions about Jewish identity and the leaders’ own experiences with antisemitism, it also delved into the leaders’ assessments of Mayor Zohran Mamdani so far. The panelists were not directly asked about whether they plan to run for mayor in the future, but both Menin and Levine are considered to be mayoral contenders waiting in the wings, keeping a close eye on Mamdani.

The event occurred as a piece of the City Council’s “Five-Point Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism” is facing a potential veto by Mamdani.

Two bills in that package, passed last month, would require the NYPD to develop policy to consider security perimeters (sometimes called buffer zones) around houses of worship and schools that proponents said will protect congregants or students from harassment or injury during protests while protecting constitutional rights to free speech and assembly.

Critics of the bills, including some left-leaning politicians and civil rights groups, have argued buffer zones would infringe on those constitutional rights, however. Mamdani has yet to say if he will sign the bills, with a spokesperson saying last month that he “wants to ensure both the right to prayer and the right to protest are protected.”

The first bill, concerning security at houses of worship, was sponsored by Menin and passed the council last month with a comfortable veto-proof majority. But the second bill, concerning security at schools and sponsored by Council Member Eric Dinowitz, passed with four votes shy of a veto-proof majority and as a result is seen as more vulnerable to a veto.

With the mayor facing a deadline of Saturday to either veto the legislation or let it pass into law, Menin gave a passionate defense of the legislation on Wednesday and warned against such a move. “I really hope that there is not a veto of that legislation, because I think that will lead to more divisiveness when we need less divisiveness,” Menin said.

Two City Council members speaking on the condition of anonymity told City & State they expect Mamdani will issue a veto. A City Hall spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the legislation or other remarks shared at the forum on Wednesday.

Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor and most prominent Muslim elected official, has also faced his share of hate. In early March, white supremacist protesters gathered outside Gracie Mansion, calling his mayoralty an “Islamic takeover.” The mayor was the focus of much of the conversation on stage Wednesday, particularly his criticism of Israel. Mamdani has resisted questions about whether Israel should exist as a Jewish state, answering it should be “a state with equal rights.” He has diverged with some of the leaders on stage on issues like the city investing in Israel bonds – a policy Levine defended Wednesday, calling it an important “financial instrument” despite his own criticisms of the government of Israel.

Hoylman-Sigal urged Mamdani to visit Israel as other mayors have done. But the Manhattan borough president also drew some boos from the crowd when he defended the mayor during a question about how he would advise Mamdani to address the many Jewish New Yorkers who did not vote for him. “I know his heart is in the right place,” Hoylman-Sigal said over audible protest from the audience. “He represents a generational change, which we have to acknowledge as Jews,” he continued, noting millennials are more skeptical about the “current state of Israel” and that “we need as Jews to help educate him about the history.”

“I think we have to take the mayor at his word that antisemitism is of serious concern until we're shown otherwise,” Hoylman-Sigal added.

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Opinion: Extreme storms are flooding New York City, but there’s a solution

Donovan Richards and Peggy Shepard — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:37:06 -0400

Climate change isn’t coming. It’s already here – look no further than what Queens residents had to endure twice in just three months.

On Aug. 1, a damaging deluge of heavy rain flooded basements and businesses, closed roads and overwhelmed the Bayside Long Island Rail Road station, stranding commuters and leaving Northeast Queens residents to pick up the pieces.

Just 12 weeks later on Oct. 30, the city experienced record-breaking rainfall yet again that swamped streets, overwhelmed our sewers and killed two New Yorkers trapped in basements.

One of the deceased, Juan Carlos Montoya Hernandez, was found in his apartment in Washington Heights. This demonstrates that even high elevation neighborhoods are ill-equipped to stay safe in an era of storms supercharged by climate change.

Unfortunately, this was not a new experience. Over a dozen Queens residents lost their lives to Hurricane Ida in 2021, and extreme rainfall has become a regular occurrence across New York. The 2023 National Climate Assessment found that the Northeast is experiencing more frequent and intense rainfall than anywhere else in the country.

Aging, impermeable infrastructure heightens the risk to waterfront communities from East Harlem in Manhattan to Howard Beach in Queens and beyond. With flood risk in Black communities projected to grow by as much as 20% over the next 25 years as well, failure to adopt lifesaving infrastructure only exacerbates the impact that policies like redlining have had in effectively restricting access to lending for homeownership – all while concentrating industrial land use in communities of color and limiting opportunities to develop high quality, expansive green spaces.

It is clear that New York City’s infrastructure is not prepared to manage these rain events, which will only grow more commonplace and severe due to climate change. New Yorkers should not have to worry that every time the sky darkens, their basements, apartments, businesses and subway stops are going to be inundated. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection cloudburst management projects and the city’s 11,000 rain gardens represent important progress for stormwater flood solutions, but more work needs to be done to make sure New York is ready for more rain.

Luckily, an existing policy could help do just that.

Legislation in Albany, aptly known as the Rain Ready New York Act (S4071/A7476), would provide the city Department of Environmental Protection with the tools it needs to respond to growing stormwater flooding. The bill would add the definition of “stormwater” everywhere “sewage” is defined in the state law. In simpler terms, the Rain Ready New York Act clarifies the ability for sewer and water authorities across the state of New York, like the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, to manage stormwater. In doing so, these agencies can create equitable incentive programs for expanding green infrastructure and taking other flood risk reduction measures. Even in communities with high water tables, programs that support neighborhood-wide deployment of technologies like stormwater planters, modified rain gardens and rainwater harvesting could mitigate flooding and allow for a less dangerous and costly future living with extreme flood events.

Other major cities across the country have already adopted this policy, including Washington, D.C., Seattle, and Philadelphia – and the latter’s clarification of stormwater management authority helped its water department establish its Green City, Clean Waters program.

By its sixth year, Philadelphia’s program had constructed enough green infrastructure to reduce stormwater overflow volume by 1.7 billion gallons – almost three times what had originally been estimated – and supported more than 430 jobs.

Successful stormwater management does more than protect communities from flooding; it also improves the health of our water bodies. New York is mainly served by a combined sewer system, which means that stormwater and sewage travel through the same pipes to wastewater treatment plants. When the volume of stormwater becomes too much for the plants to handle, which happens every time it rains, the untreated stormwater and sewage are discharged into the city’s waterways like Flushing Bay, the East River, the Hudson River and Little Neck Bay.

These combined sewer overflows are key drivers of poor water quality around the city. In the 2024 Long Island Sound report card published by the nonprofit Save the Sound, the inner and outer portions of Flushing Bay and Little Neck Bay received C and D grades for ecological health.

The organization’s 2025 Beach Report gave both Queens beaches failing grades for swimming safety. Combined sewer overflow pollution creates hazardous conditions for wildlife and threatens the health of those who live and fish on these waters. Healthy blue spaces are vital infrastructure that nurture biodiversity and offer free, natural relief from unrelenting heat exposure to environmental justice communities.

New York City needs every tool available to prepare our residents and businesses for extreme weather. By passing Rain Ready New York, the state will help unleash the kind of large-scale projects we need to capture and filter the increasing volume of rain falling on our communities.

The state Senate passed the bill with bipartisan support in 2025 and is expected to pass it again this year, but we need the Assembly to act. We urge the Assembly to take up this important bill so New York has the tools we need to be rain ready.

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Chi Ossé arrested after protesting deed theft

Holly Pretsky — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:55:44 -0400

New York City Council Member Chi Ossé took aim at Gov. Kathy Hochul after he was arrested outside the home of a constituent facing eviction Wednesday. The democratic socialist council member was already popular and already maintained a larger-than-life presence on social media, and Wednesday’s arrest only served to further boost his advocacy to prevent deed theft.

Ossé showed up along with progressive activists to stop New York City Marshals from entering the home of Carmella Charrington, who was also arrested last week as she resists eviction from her family’s brownstone on Jefferson Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Charrington remained on Rikers Island until Tuesday. The New York City Police Department arrived at 8 a.m. to manage the protest, an NYPD spokesperson said. In an altercation after 9:30 a.m. captured on video, multiple police officers forced Ossé to the ground and surrounded him, handcuffed him and then took him to the 79th precinct to be processed.

Council Member Chi Ossé was just arrested while defending his constituent, Carmella Charrington, from eviction. This is the result of deed theft and the ongoing displacement of Black homeowners in Bed-Stuy. Our office is closely monitoring this situation and will provide updates… pic.twitter.com/MsLF97Tkju
— Chi Ossé (@OsseChi) April 22, 2026

Ossé was one of four people arrested and charged with obstruction of governmental administration and disorderly conduct, according to the police department spokesperson. While he was detained, Ossé’s X account called for supporters to gather: “We encourage you to show up to the precinct to call for (Ossé’s) release and support the Black homeowners whose homes are being stolen through deed theft,” the statement read.

After he was released at approximately 12:30 p.m., Ossé said he has been trying to protect constituents, but is limited in his authority as a City Council member. “I went up to Albany two months ago after working with the People's Coalition to Stop Deed Theft to pressure the governor to do right by the people of New York and do right by Black homeowners in keeping them in their homes,” he said. “The governor bailed on our meeting.”

Jen Goodman, a spokesperson for the governor, said Ossé met with the governor’s housing team and that Hochul was never expected to attend that meeting. She said in a statement that the governor was relieved Ossé was released and called him a “strong advocate for his community.” “The Governor has proposed $40 million for the Homeowner Protection Program and enacted strong protections to crack down on illegal deed theft,” Goodman wrote. “Ensuring New Yorkers can stay in their homes remains a top priority, and the Governor will continue working with Council Member Ossé on these efforts.”

Deed theft, which describes the criminal taking of ownership of a home through fraud or forgery without the consent of the true owner, is a priority for Ossé. Homeowners who are in foreclosure or who have not officially passed their property on to their heirs are particularly vulnerable to deed theft. Ossé said it has particularly impacted longtime Black homeowners in his Central Brooklyn district, where housing prices have risen rapidly over the last two decades. As City & State first reported, he’s working with Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration on an initiative to address it.

Attorney General Letitia James’ office investigated Charrington’s case at her request last year. A spokesperson for the attorney general said Charrington’s eviction resulted from the sale of her father’s home by a court-appointed conservator and the heirs of her father’s co-owner. The attorney general’s office said while they have worked to support Charrington, they don’t classify the situation as deed theft, calling it a property dispute. The news outlet The City reported that the property had previously drawn interest from a group of speculators known for swooping in and taking over Brooklyn properties in gentrifying neighborhoods.

Ossé said his face was sore, and he felt “a little loopy and dizzy” after being manhandled by the cops. He said he would be filing a misconduct complaint. City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who sped over to the police precinct to support Ossé Wednesday, said she had spoken with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch about the incident. Menin called the video of the arrest a “deep, deep concern.” Council Members Sandy Nurse, Tiffany Cabán, Lincoln Restler and Shahana Hanif also showed up to support Ossé. Asked about Ossé’s arrest at an unrelated press conference, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he hadn’t seen the video, but that "The council member is rightly passionate about tackling the scourge of deed theft.”

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Upstate Dems push for pied-à-terre tax outside NYC

Kate Lisa — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:12:51 -0400

Upstate Democratic lawmakers want a piece of the extra revenue pie Gov. Kathy Hochul is serving New York City by taxing luxury second homes in the five boroughs.

Last week, Hochul announced a new late budget fight (as she tends to do) – proposing a pied-à-terre tax on second homes in New York City worth $5 million or more that are not rented out full-time or listed as the owner’s primary residence. Details remain scarce with no official language released to lawmakers or the public, but Hochul estimates it will generate a recurring $500 million for the city per year to help chip away at a projected $5.4 billion deficit.

State Sen. Pat Fahy told City & State that plenty of upstate communities – like Saratoga Springs, Lake George and Lake Placid – have high-value second homes that owners leave vacant for most of the year, which should be subject to the tax, too.

“During COVID, the second home market went on steroids,” Fahy said. “It has, in so many ways, crushed the affordability in many of these upstate and Long Island communities. This is a way to level the playing field.”

As budget talks drag on more than three weeks past the deadline, the Albany state senator is leading a push to impose a pied-à-terre tax that municipalities outside the city would opt-in to. She wants to reduce the threshold from $5 million to $2.5 million to account for the lower cost of living in the Hudson Valley, Adirondacks and other parts of the state. She also wants half of the money raised by the tax designated to Aid and Incentives to Municipalities, or AIM, funding to help struggling localities.

“Expensive second homes are mostly unused, yet, when the owners are there, they are still using police, fire, water and infrastructure,” Fahy said. “They're still using all the services that are barely compensated for because those places are left empty most of the time.”

“We have seen an exponential growth in luxury housing, which has priced out the residents ... local residents can’t afford to live,” she added.

It’s not a $5.4 billion budget gap, but upstate cities and municipalities are strapped for cash, too.

The city of Buffalo has a projected deficit over $100 million, and there’s a $15 million gap in the city of Albany and a $9 million hole hanging over the city of Kingston.

“Non-New York City members are getting frustrated that it seems like the governor is only trying to solve New York City problems,” said Assembly Member Sarahana Shrestha, who represents Kingston. “The governor is not the mayor of New York City. The governor is the governor of the state of New York.”

There’s support for the proposal, but lawmakers have not determined official details. Shrestha said any pied-à-terre upstate would need a provision requiring LLC transparency so second homeowners can’t hide behind them and evade the tax. And the Assembly member said the threshold for the tax should be set by each municipality.

"In my district, if you go to the town of Ulster, there may not be many, but if you go to Rhinebeck, if you go to Red Hook ... some of the homes are literal mansions,” Shrestha said. “When I canvass, sometimes some of the homes are mansions, tucked in there (with) very long driveways ... completely shuttered because they’re not there.”

Fahy said she’s spoken with several upstate Democrats in both chambers who support an optional pied-à-terre tax outside the city. Her office drafted a letter for lawmakers to sign and build momentum behind the proposal, but ultimately stopped circulating the document.

A few upstate lawmakers declined Wednesday to weigh in on the idea on the record, telling City & State that although they back it private, they are hesitant to publicly support a new tax.

Shrestha said she hadn’t heard the same but that reticence makes sense, which is one of the advantages of the budget process. “The reason people love to put things in the budget is you're off the hook – you're voting for the budget, you're not voting for one right item,” she said.

Legislative leaders have long backed proposals to increase taxes on New York’s millionaires and billionaires, so expanding the pied-à-terre is mainly up to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

During an interview Tuesday with Citizens Budget Commission President Andrew Rein, Hochul’s Director of State Operations Jackie Bray said the governor supports a specific pied-à-terre tax in New York City to narrowly target the ultrawealthy who don’t call the state home. And the governor told reporters at an unrelated event Tuesday she would not back any other new taxes in this year’s budget. Hochul has already announced targeted funding to help offset deficits in other cities, like $40 million in aid for Buffalo.

Last week, Hochul said she wouldn’t have proposed the pied-à-terre tax if it was not necessary, but she also said local leaders cannot rely on the state alone for financial rescue.

“It is the responsibility of the mayor and the City Council to find more savings, as they will have to do in Buffalo and Albany and Syracuse and elsewhere,” Hochul said. “Working together – that’s the collaboration that is essential to bring to us more savings as we continue to try and start closing out our budget as well.”

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Farah Louis kicked off secretive NYC Council Budget Negotiating Team

Holly Pretsky and Sahalie Donaldson — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:36:00 -0400

When New York City Council Member Farah Louis was raided by the feds as part of a corruption probe last month, City Council Speaker Julie Menin declined to take steps to remove her from her powerful perch as chair of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, citing the ongoing nature of the federal investigation. Louis has not been accused of wrongdoing.

But the speaker did quietly reprimand Louis, removing her from the council’s Budget Negotiating Team, a City Council source recently shared after City & State published a story about how Menin was handling the situation. A representative for Louis did not comment for this story.

The Budget Negotiating Team, handpicked by the speaker, is most directly involved in conversations with the mayoral administration about the city’s $127 billion budget. It’s a more informal group than the public facing committees and caucuses, but it’s the one everyone wants to be a part of. Known as BNT, they’ve met a handful of times so far this year, contributing to the council’s budget response to the Mamdani administration’s preliminary budget proposal. At meetings, the team reviews documents in person that they are not allowed to take out of the room to prevent leaks. Occasionally the group makes decisions by taking a vote. The team also has a role communicating budget priorities to the rest of the council.

“At its core, BNT is the Council’s budget clearinghouse,” former Council Finance Committee Chair Justin Brannan said in an email. “It’s where all 51 member priorities get triaged, negotiated, and turned into something workable. Think of it like dumping a pile of Legos on a table and then having to actually build a house out of them.”

The speaker’s office had repeatedly declined to share the list with City & State, but other council sources were less reticent. City & State pieced together a full list of members on the influential task force. It includes all of Menin’s leadership team except for Elsie Encarnacion, a first-term member the speaker appointed as deputy whip. Council Members Virginia Maloney and Phil Wong are the only first-termers on it. Council Members Crystal Hudson – Menin’s top rival in the speaker race – is on BNT, along with fellow Progressive Caucus members Chi Ossé, Shekar Krishnan and Jennifer Gutiérrez. Council Member David Carr is the only Republican on the team, though Wong, a conservative Democrat, is on the Common Sense Caucus with him.

Some notable people who were left off the BNT include Council Members Gale Brewer, the body’s most experienced member; Selvena Brooks-Powers, chair of the important Criminal Justice committee as the city looks to close Rikers Island; and Lincoln Restler and Althea Stevens, who teamed up to organize an internal vetting process last year to choose the next speaker.

“BNT is a big deal,” Brannan said. “Everyone wants to be on it because it feels like some elite, exclusive club, but once you get behind the velvet ropes, you realize it’s just more work and lots of it.”

Here’s the full list:
Julie Menin
Shaun Abreu
Linda Lee
Nantasha Williams
Kevin Riley
Eric Dinowitz
Yusef Salaam
Virginia Maloney
Sandra Ung
Shekar Krishnan
Lynn Schulman
Phil Wong
Jennifer Gutiérrez
Crystal Hudson
Chi Ossé
Chris Banks
Susan Zhuang
Mercedes Narcisse
Kamillah Hanks
David Carr

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Mamdani-aligned political group Our Time loses almost all staff

Peter Sterne — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:05:26 -0400

Our Time for NYC was founded as a nonprofit political group after Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor by members of the Democratic Socialists of America hoping to maintain the organizing energy.

But just five months later, Our Time has lost virtually all of its staff.

Emma Saltzberg, a member of Our Time’s board, confirmed that Executive Director Jeremy Freeman, Field Manager Magdalena Morańda and Organizing Director Sara Blazevic have all left the organization in recent months, and Deputy Director Divya Sundaram will be departing after this week. At that point, Communications Director Jesse Myerson, a former spokesperson for New York City Council Member Tiffany Cabán, will be Our Time’s only remaining full-time staffer. The group’s board has also undergone a reshuffling, with Saltzberg joining alongside new board members last month and one of the group’s two original board members stepping down last week.

Saltzberg said the board is currently in the midst of a “thoughtful and intentional strategy reflection process,” which will hopefully result in a new strategic direction for Our Time. “We are in a moment of pausing, reflecting, adjusting to meet the moment,” she said. “I think we're all really committed to doing what the moment requires of us, and being as effective as possible in fighting for the New York that we deserve.”

Freeman also confirmed that he left his role as executive director. “I stepped down to pursue other opportunities. I continue to be excited about and confident in Our Time’s work to advance the affordability agenda,” he said in a statement to City & State.

Our Time was created with great fanfare in November, following Mamdani’s victory in the mayoral election. The 501(c)(4) nonprofit was founded by NYC-DSA members who worried that Mamdani’s 100,000-strong army of volunteers would be demobilized once the campaign ended. Although some in DSA argued that those volunteers who wanted to keep fighting for Mamdani’s agenda should just join DSA, there was concern that less politically engaged volunteers might not want to join an explicitly socialist organization.

“Throughout the late 20th and early 21st century, there has been a real reluctance to identify with the term ‘socialist,’” said Grace Mausser, co-chair of NYC-DSA.

They underestimated the interest. NYC-DSA has continued its meteoric rise during the first 100 days of Mamdani’s administration. The group grew from 5,910 members in October 2024 (when Mamdani launched his campaign) to 9,650 members in June 2025 (when he won the Democratic primary) to 12,860 in November 2025 (when he won the general election) to 14,360 last month.

“It turns out that democratic socialism is more popular than we thought it was,” Saltzberg said.

“Zohran really embracing it, not only through the campaign, but also actively as mayor, I think, has made it a lot less kind of scary, alienating, esoteric as a term for many,” Mausser said. “So I mean, this is a positive development, from our perspective.

Mausser said DSA’s success may have sucked the wind out of Our Time. It’s not the case that all of Mamdani’s campaign volunteers joined DSA, but the most active ones did (if they weren’t already members) and the rest have proven more difficult than anticipated to mobilize. “I think we may need to figure out if the way Our Time was organizing itself was the best way to reach and activate those people,” Mausser said.

It doesn’t help that the Mamdani has kept his distance from the group aimed at appealing to his acolytes. Our Time acquired the Mamdani campaign’s list of volunteers, but that’s about it. While the mayor has repeatedly given DSA shout outs, and City Hall representatives meet regularly with the socialist group’s leaders, the same is not true of Our Time. And when Our Time helped organize a massive “tax the rich” rally in Albany in February, Mamdani skipped it,to avoid complicating his ongoing negotiations with Gov. Kathy Hochul. Turnout was much lower than anticipated. It’s difficult to mobilize pro-Mamdani volunteers when Mamdani doesn’t even show up.

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Hochul’s non-compromise on climate rollbacks

Rebecca C. Lewis — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:32:59 -0400

Gov. Kathy Hochul is doubling down on her plans to roll back the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act as the state budget drags on into a fourth week of negotiations past the April 1 deadline. Although her latest pitch to legislators ostensibly offers two potential paths forward, lawmakers and advocates alike seem to view it as a false choice between two bad options.

Hochul provided state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie with two options for compromise during a private meeting between the three leaders Monday, according to three Assembly sources briefed on the latest discussions.

Through the first door: a 2029 deadline to adopt necessary regulations such as a cap-and-invest program – incrementally sooner than the 2030 deadline the governor originally proposed earlier this year, but still much later than the 2024 date the state was meant to have enacted the rules. Also through the first door: a new, largely nonbinding 2040 emissions benchmark – absent a specific reduction goal. City & State previously reported that Hochul had suggested a new 2029 regulations deadline and the more flexible requirements for a 2040 emissions reduction target. Through the second door: keeping Hochul’s originally proposed 2030 regulations deadline and the binding 2050 emissions benchmark currently in the law of an 85% reduction in greenhouse gases compared to 1990 levels. It was not immediately clear whether the 2050 emissions reduction goal is on the table as part of budget conversations, though Hochul previously said that target date would remain unchanged.

The latest on Hochul’s other major proposed change to the law – amending the state’s emissions accounting methods, which is strongly opposed by lawmakers and activists alike – did not seem to be part of the talks described to City & State. The governor has said she wants to change from a nation-leading 20-year accounting method that more accurately reflects the impacts of methane gas in favor of a much more common, but less stringent, 100-year accounting method.

The latest proposals did not seem to leave Assembly members terribly pleased, according to two sources. One Assembly member said the proposals “fell flat” and were far too general without key specifics. The same member also suggested a shift from 2030 to 2029 for regulations is hardly a change, and too late regardless.

The state Senate had not met to discuss the newest proposals by late Tuesday morning, but Stewart-Cousins did not dispute City & State’s characterization of what the governor had presented her with in their meeting Monday. “We are all very, very clear that we need to do multiple things,” she told reporters. “We have to protect the environment. We have to continue our commitment to moving the ball forward, and we're also in a hostile environment on a national level as it relates to all the things we're trying to do.”

Stewart-Cousins said negotiations have centered around finding the right “balance” between current realities and committing to the state’s ambitious climate goals. She added that she “always” believes there’s room for more compromise, and expressed confidence Hochul wants to find the best solution. “I do believe that the governor is coming … in good faith, and would like to have been in a better position to really accomplish the goals,” Stewart-Cousins said.

Climate activists were far less charitable. “If accurate, the proposals are deeply concerning,” Justin Balik, states vice president at Evergreen Action, said in a statement. “There’s a path forward for reasonable adjustments to the CLCPA while ensuring we keep aggressively deploying cheap clean energy while keeping pollution in check … If the Governor’s proposals move forward as is, it would be a disastrous outcome for people’s wallets and the air they breathe. It’s time for the state to do everything in its power to make progress.”

Liz Moran, New York policy advocate at Earthjustice, used even stronger language. “It’s embarrassing that the Governor of NY’s climate agenda amounts to ‘no we can’t!’ when the Governors of TX, VA, IL, and CA – who also live in Trump’s America – continue to build out renewables and lower costs for struggling Americans,” she said in a statement. “The Legislature shouldn’t stand for anything less.”

Ken Lovett, senior communications adviser on energy and environment for Hochul, disputed activists’ interpretation of the state of play. “The advocates would rather bury their heads in the sand rather than recognize the very real challenges New York and other states with ambitious climate targets are facing,” Lovett said in a statement. “Reckless policies coming out of Washington D.C. are driving prices up across the board, and New Yorkers cannot be expected to shoulder higher costs. Governor Hochul is pushing for common-sense reforms that will ensure New York remains a national climate and clean energy leader while prioritizing affordability for all New Yorkers and businesses.”

Climate advocates with New York Communities for Change, Food & Water Watch, Climate Defiance and other groups protested Hochul’s attempts to change the climate law in Albany on Tuesday. They blocked the entrance to the governor’s office on the second floor of the state Capitol, prompting arrests by state troopers. “Hochul needs to shut the fuck up and pull her fucking bill back,” NYCC organizer Pete Sikora yelled as he was arrested. “Don’t do this in the dark of night, Hochul – stick with the people.”

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Report: Gig work has become a full-time, closely monitored gig

Annie McDonough — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

App-based gig work is not the flexible, self-directed job it’s cracked up to be, according to a new report from the Community Service Society. The economic security-focused nonprofit’s annual survey captured a swath of hundreds of gig workers, who described the algorithmic pressure and control they work under – a pressure that intensifies for the 51% of respondents who rely on gig work for their primary income.

In the nonprofit’s survey of 763 gig workers across the state last fall, nearly 80% said the app encouraged them to work at specific times through alerts or bonuses, and 70% said the app controlled when, where and how much they work. (A little over half of the respondents were based in New York City, while the rest were on Long Island, in Erie County, Westchester, the Capital District or Monroe County.)

“The job, though sold as flexible and you’re in control, is really defined by the app. The app is effectively the boss,” said Rachel Swaner, vice president of policy, research and advocacy at CSS. “It assigns work, it sets pay and it monitors workers.” The report doesn’t single out any particular companies, but looks at gig work as a broad category.

In the last few years, New York City has passed several laws aimed at enshrining protections for gig workers – who have historically lacked labor protections afforded to employees. The laws seek to protect against opaque algorithmic management and set pay rate and transparency rules.

Gig workers for food delivery platforms, for example, must be paid $22.13 per hour working on deliveries, and companies must provide details about how they calculate pay.

The City Council also passed a rule preventing app-based for-hire vehicle drivers from being fired without notice or recourse, except in cases of “egregious misconduct.” The Mamdani administration chalked those deactivation cases up to algorithms.

In their report, the Community Service Society calls for expanding those protections statewide, but also calls for new standards for permissible uses of tracking workers’ locations and transparency in how customer ratings affect working conditions.

The nonprofit may have an ally in that effort in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration. Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Sam Levine has been aggressive in enforcing regulations against app-based giants including Uber and DoorDash. A copy of the CSS report was shared with DCWP ahead of publication, as well as with advocacy organizations including the New York Taxi Workers Alliance and Los

Deliveristas Unidos.

“App-based delivery workers deserve fairness and security on the job, period. DCWP is committed to enforcing NYC’s Delivery Worker Laws – among the strongest protections in the country – without fear or favor,” Levine said in statement in a CSS press release about the report. “We applaud CSS for shedding light on these important issues and the barriers hardworking deliveristas face. The platforms profiting from New York labor must provide workers with dignity and pay they deserve.”

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Getting ‘jazzed’ telling New Yorkers about city jobs on social media

Annie McDonough and Alisha Allison — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Yume Kitasei spent her first day as New York City’s new Department of Citywide Administrative Services commissioner on the freezing roof of the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building. Unlike some of the elected officials and reporters gathered there by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Kitasei seemed genuinely excited to be out in the frigid cold to announce that the rooftop would open to the public this summer.

“I was supposed to start later in the month and I was so excited about it that I moved up my start date,” Kitasei told City & State.

Kitasei has worked in public service for 15 years, previously serving as chief of staff to then-First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright during the Eric Adams administration and to then-City Council Member Margaret Chin.

As commissioner, Kitasei leads the Department of Citywide Administrative Services in providing resources to city agencies, such as employee recruitment, procurement and a slew of administrative responsibilities like leasing property and reducing carbon emissions. She describes DCAS as the “back-end agency that’s serving all the other agencies.”

City & State spoke with Kitasei a few months into the job about how the department is supporting city hiring, the thrall of a government job and the looming deadline for her next speculative fiction novel. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The New York City Department of Small Business Services is doing hiring halls again, and I noticed that DCAS has been holding civil service information sessions. What other work is DCAS doing to recruit and retain city workers?

City recruitment is hugely important for us, especially as agencies are staffing up (with) the 2-for-1 (hiring rule) going away. We have an office of recruitment that can help agencies recruit. We also think more broadly. As the stewards of the civil service system, we work very closely with every agency on their hiring strategies.

Are you experimenting with any new strategies?

It’s going to sound corny, but actually, the thing that I’m most jazzed about right now, as my team will tell you, is expanding our reach through social media. I think that there’s a huge untapped potential there, both through telling a broad swath of New Yorkers what jobs we have, but also explaining the civil service system and how you access those jobs.

Are there steps the city could take toward making it easier procedurally to recruit and get people through the civil service system?

First of all, I will just say I’m a huge fan of the civil service system. It was created over 100 years ago for a very good reason, and those reasons still remain, which is to ensure that our government is staffed based on merit. … But I do think that most people would agree that the system does need to be modernized, and so we’re working closely with our partners in labor and elected officials to build a vision of what that modern civil service looks like. So definitely more to come on that.

One of the changes at DCAS that City & State reported on in February were some firings and pay cuts as part of a reorganization related to efforts to root out corruption. Has the department continued to reorganize or terminate staff?

When I came in, I had a very clear vision about the way that I wanted to organize the leadership in order to make sure that we were positioned to deliver on the big things that we want to do. And I also want to make sure that people have confidence in DCAS as an agency of integrity. There are a lot of great staff here, and the changes we made were really about sort of juicing the structure and the ability to get things done. And I’m really excited that we brought in a new deputy commissioner for real estate, PJ Berg, who has a fantastic reputation. … He is right now doing a deep dive to build up the team and build our capacity and make sure that we have a good reputation for being good at what we do.

Have more employees been terminated since early February?

Not related to any restructuring. Obviously, there’s normal attrition. I came in with a pretty clear vision, so I was able to move pretty quickly on that. That was my goal, I wanted to start off at a run and I didn’t want to leave people with any sort of questions about what we’re here to do, and what the plan was going to be.

Is DCAS still conducting a review of contracts that were under former Deputy Commissioner for Real Estate Jesse Hamilton’s purview? Any updates, if so, on when that might be released?

Our new deputy commissioner for real estate, as part of his getting acquainted with the portfolio, is doing sort of a broader, deep dive into everything that has been done recently. We’re not working on a formal report, but obviously if we discover anything that needs to be shared, we’ll be sure to do so.

You started your career in government as an intern in the city comptroller’s office. What is your pitch for someone who is looking for a job in a very difficult job market and might want to consider city government work?

I love when I have the opportunity to pitch people on this. I’m always trying to convince my friends that city government is actually the best career that you can do. … When you meet city government employees, every single one is there because they want to make the city better, and they want to help New Yorkers. … The problems that you’re responding to are constantly changing, and you’re constantly meeting new people. … And if you’re somebody who likes to learn, there’s just an infinite number of things that you get to do. And I think people discount that the benefits in city government are actually really great.

You also have an illustrious career as an author of speculative fiction. Are you still finding time to write in the new job?

That depends, is my editor reading this interview? The short answer is, I am on deadline. So yes. But obviously, balancing a job like this with the writing, it’s a challenge.

Any sci-fi movies you’ve loved recently?

“Project Hail Mary” was amazing. Loved it.

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Editor’s note: Just call the president, since he might pick up

Jeff Coltin — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0400

Many New Yorkers were curious about President Donald Trump’s social media post on April 16 saying: “Sadly, Mayor Mamdani is DESTROYING New York!” It may be signaling an end to their remarkably friendly relationship.

But only one New Yorker – as far as I know – actually called the president to ask him about it. That was independent journalist Timmy Facciola, whom Trump told no, he didn’t have a falling out with Mamdani. “Not at all. He’s going to ruin the city, however,” the president added. “His policies are no good.”

Facciola is a determined reporter and a former colleague at Politico New York, but you wouldn’t necessarily think the 28-year-old Substacker would have a direct line to the most powerful person on Earth. However, we’re in an interesting time where reporters have realized that if you call the president directly, sometimes he’ll talk.

It reminds me of something Zohran Mamdani said in the wee hours of New Year’s Day. Mamdani recounted that, as he was on his way to the most momentous event of his life, about to be sworn in as mayor of New York City, WNYC reporter Ramsey Khalifeh called him trying to confirm who the transportation commissioner would be.

Mamdani didn’t pick up the phone. But he did check his voicemail to see what Khalifeh was asking about.

That’s the thing about being a journalist. You’ve got to try your sources.

Nobody knows that better than City & State’s Rebecca C. Lewis, who has been reporting on New York’s climate laws for years, and cooked up an Earth Day special explaining where we’re at on the state’s emissions goals and how we got here. Don’t hang up just yet.

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