Author Archive
News & Politics
Politics
Pheffer Amato ekes out election night lead, but waits to declare victory
Assembly Member Stacey Pheffer Amato, a moderate Democrat representing a conservative South Queens district, led her Republican opponent by about 1,000 votes.
Campaigns & Elections
Politics
Party loyalist wards off challenge to Queens Dems’ grip on Surrogate’s Court
Cassandra Johnson, who was backed by the county party, beat insurgent candidate Wendy Li in the first contested surrogate’s court election since 1962.
Policy
Policy
At 57 New York hospitals, safe staffing law falls apart
Before thousands of New York City nurses prepared to strike, a new staffing law produced disagreements in about 1 in 4 New York hospitals – exacerbating a morale crisis that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personality
Personality
New York City’s forgotten labor stronghold
Staten Island is the city’s most unionized borough – and the home of many labor leaders.
Policy
Policy
Buffalo Starbucks workers say the company illegally fired them. Will a conservative federal judge agree?
A pending labor case in Western New York could tip the scales for the Starbucks union after a recent victory in Tennessee.
Health Care
Policy
Why isn’t New York enforcing its nurse staffing law?
The state health department has delayed putting staff ratios in place, even as nurses continue to be overwhelmed by patient loads.
Labor
Policy
Tension builds within the UFT over reducing class sizes
A new coalition within the union dubbed United for Change won a vote to force a referendum on the issue, signaling a growing divide.
Bill de Blasio
Policy
New Staten Island Amazon facility could exacerbate truck traffic
NYC’s freight plan aims to reduce congestion, but the state is subsidizing an Amazon fulfillment center that could exacerbate truck traffic.
Labor
Policy
The Republican take on organized labor post-Janus
State Sen. Fred Akshar calls for balancing of labor and business after the Janus ruling.
Labor
Policy
The state of labor in New York City
Bob Linn and I. Daneek Miller on Janus, collective bargaining and the upcoming elections.
New York City
Policy
The battle for Hudson Yards
The construction trades and Related Companies are at war over nonunion labor at Hudson Yards. But the data behind the nonunion sector’s growth is murky.
MagazineShow All
Transportation
Policy
Waiting for the Brooklyn-Queens Connector
Despite a 2017 deadline, there's still no release date for the feasibility study for Bill de Blasio's Brooklyn-Queens Connector.
Donald Trump
Politics
Manafort trial is an explainer in New York real estate money laundering
Paul Manafort's trial is an explainer for New York real estate money laundering.
Transportation
Policy
On the looming L train shutdown
With the L train shutdown less than a year away, the trickle of cautionary measures and hand-wringing from government officials and local politicians serves as a reminder of the fragility of the ecosystem connecting New York City’s mass transit and its local economy.
Eric Adams
Policy
Houses of worship providing affordable housing in Brooklyn
Borough President Eric Adams wants churches to build affordable housing units on their unused tax lots.
Politics
Inside the IDC’s legally questionable campaign funding account
The state Board of Elections ruled that former state Senate Independent Democratic Conference members must return funds from a committee set up by the Independence Party. Here’s an explainer on what was illegal, whether the IDC will actually pay back the money, and more.
Politics
Cynthia Nixon triggers a reckoning in the Democratic Socialists of America
Since gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon proclaimed herself a democratic socialist and began courting the support of the Democratic Socialists of America, the members of DSA’s New York City branches have remained split on the matter of endorsing her. One issue stands out as a fundamental question of the organization’s role in our political climate: the limits of its involvement in electoral politics.
Andrew Cuomo
Policy
The projects transforming Queens
Queens has rarely garnered as much attention as neighboring Manhattan or Brooklyn, but it is increasingly becoming a destination. Here’s a rundown of some of the biggest projects in the borough.
Labor
Policy
Gottfried's Janus workaround reopens labor debate
Assemblyman Richard Gottfried's plan would allow unions to collect reimbursement for the costs of collective bargaining from the state rather than from employees who opt out through agency fees. Conservatives argue that Gottfried’s bill would also be ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority because they believe it to fall under compelled speech.
