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.

New York City

Politics

The Brooklyn boom

Where things stand for Brooklyn's biggest issues.

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.

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.