Policy

Holiday open streets will return to Fifth Avenue for just one Sunday

Credit: Alex Haney on Unsplash

November 10, 2025

Holiday open streets will return to Fifth Avenue for just one Sunday

By Aaron Ginsburg

A large stretch of Fifth Avenue will once again be closed to vehicles for the holidays—but just for one day. The Fifth Avenue Association announced that Holiday Open Streets will return on Sunday, December 14, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., turning the iconic corridor between 47th and 57th Streets into a pedestrian-centric, holiday-themed promenade. The event, held across three Sundays in 2022 and 2023, was reduced to a single day in 2024, and will remain so in 2025 due to “logistical challenges” tied to increased security at Trump Tower, according to Gothamist.
Find out more

JFK, LaGuardia, Newark airports affected by FAA cuts

LaGuardia Terminal B. Photo by Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

November 7, 2025

JFK, LaGuardia, Newark airports affected by FAA cuts

By Aaron Ginsburg

Flights at New York City and New Jersey’s major airports will be reduced starting Friday due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. This week, President Donald Trump's administration announced plans to cut air traffic at 40 of the country's busiest airports, including New York City's John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, as well as at Newark Liberty and Teterboro airports in New Jersey, by 10 percent. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) directive, airlines will be required to cut scheduled flights by 4 percent starting Friday, increasing to 6 percent by Tuesday, 8 percent by Thursday, and the full 10 percent by Friday, November 14.
Learn more

15 NYC food banks and soup kitchens accepting donations this holiday season

Photo courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

November 7, 2025

15 NYC food banks and soup kitchens accepting donations this holiday season

Throughout the day, I’ll think about what I’m going to have for my next meal. Maybe I’ll step out and grab a salad for lunch, and then choose a fun recipe to make for dinner. And I’m the first to admit that I can easily lose sight of the number of people who don’t have that luxury. Instead of arguing with their partner about whether to order pizza or Thai, they’re worrying if they can afford to buy food for their family's dinner. To put this in perspective, the New York City Council reports that New York City’s poverty rate is nearly twice the national average—23 percent compared to 12 percent. The most recent data shows that 20 percent of NYC residents are enrolled in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), a number that jumps to over 40 percent in the Bronx. This means that nearly 1.8 million residents of the five boroughs are currently affected by the Trump Administration’s refusal to release federal SNAP funds for November. If you’re wondering how you can help, we’ve rounded up some of the biggest NYC food banks, pantries, and soup kitchens accepting donations to support New Yorkers now, as well as throughout the holiday season.
READ MORE

New Yorkers vote to pass housing ballot proposals

Credit: Open Journalism Network by InOldNews on Flickr

November 5, 2025

New Yorkers vote to pass housing ballot proposals

By Aaron Ginsburg

New Yorkers voted to approve several housing ballot questions as part of this year’s general election. After turning out in record numbers on Tuesday, voters elected Zohran Mamdani as the city’s next mayor and voted yes on four proposals aimed at redesigning the process for building more housing across the five boroughs, as the city faces a housing shortage and affordability crisis.
learn more

MTA boosts weekday service on A and L subway lines

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

November 4, 2025

MTA boosts weekday service on A and L subway lines

By Aaron Ginsburg

A and L line riders should see shorter wait times as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority boosted weekday service on Monday. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the upgraded service, providing more frequent trains and shorter waits for the more than 100,000 weekday riders of both lines.
get the details

MTA to spend $1.5B on new fleet of modern subway cars

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

November 3, 2025

MTA to spend $1.5B on new fleet of modern subway cars

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will buy nearly 400 new subway cars as part of its ongoing effort to modernize New York City’s fleet and signal system. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday announced that the MTA Board approved a $1.5 billion contract for 378 R268 subway cars for the system’s "B" Division, featuring signals compatible with the agency’s transition to Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) technology. Funded through the MTA’s 2025–2029 Capital Plan, the new trains are expected to begin arriving in fall 2028.
more here

NYC to install seating at nearly 9K bus stops over the next decade

Credit: NYC Department of Transportation on Flickr

October 31, 2025

NYC to install seating at nearly 9K bus stops over the next decade

By Aaron Ginsburg

More New Yorkers will soon have a place to sit while waiting for the bus, as the city expands seating at nearly 9,000 bus stops. On Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced a $40 million investment to install benches at roughly 8,750 bus stops across the city that currently lack seating. Starting in November, the city will add benches at about 875 stops per year for the next decade, offering seating at a vastly larger number of bus stops citywide.
Find out more

NYC Council approves Jamaica rezoning, paving the way for 12,000 new homes

All images courtesy of DCP

October 31, 2025

NYC Council approves Jamaica rezoning, paving the way for 12,000 new homes

By Aaron Ginsburg

Nearly 12,000 new homes are coming to Jamaica, Queens, following the City Council’s approval of the neighborhood’s transformative rezoning on Wednesday. The Jamaica Neighborhood Plan updates zoning rules across 230 blocks of the transit-rich area, paving the way for thousands of new homes—roughly 4,000 of which would be permanently affordable. The plan, which includes the largest mapping of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) in the city, will also add two million square feet of commercial space, create more than 7,000 jobs, and deliver $400 million in infrastructure upgrades.
Discover more

Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment approved by City Council

All images courtesy of NYCEDC, unless noted otherwise

October 30, 2025

Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment approved by City Council

By Aaron Ginsburg

The City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a plan to transform the Bronx’s long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory into a mixed-use community hub with roughly 500 affordable homes. Led by the city’s Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the El Centro Kingsbridge project will convert the historic armory into a vibrant facility featuring an event venue, recreation center, sports fields, and a public plaza, with a new affordable housing building next door. The approval marks a major milestone for the long-stalled site, following two failed redevelopment attempts that collapsed amid community opposition.
Learn more

City Council committees approve Long Island City neighborhood rezoning

Photo © Ondel Hylton

October 30, 2025

City Council committees approve Long Island City neighborhood rezoning

By Aaron Ginsburg

The proposed rezoning of Long Island City — which could deliver the most homes created by a neighborhood rezoning in 25 years — took another step toward reality this week. On Wednesday, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and Committee on Land Use approved the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan, expected to bring nearly 15,000 new homes, including 4,350 permanently affordable units, to a 54-block stretch of the Queens neighborhood. The vote followed Council Member Julie Won’s last-minute deal securing nearly $2 billion in city commitments, according to QNS.
Find out more

Popular Articles

New York sues Trump administration to resume SNAP payments

Credit: Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

October 29, 2025

New York sues Trump administration to resume SNAP payments

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing the Trump administration to block its plan to halt SNAP payments during the federal government shutdown. On Tuesday, James announced plans to sue the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its intentions to cease SNAP benefits starting Saturday, arguing that the move violates federal law. James says the USDA is legally obligated to continue distributing assistance as long as it has funding, and that billions in contingency funds approved by Congress are available to sustain payments during the lapse.
Learn more

Policy

500-unit high-rise coming to Surf Avenue as first phase of Coney Island West plan

All renderings by IMC Architecture unless otherwise noted

October 29, 2025

500-unit high-rise coming to Surf Avenue as first phase of Coney Island West plan

By Devin Gannon

The city this week revealed details for the first housing project under the Coney Island West development plan. Rybak Development will build a $350 million 28-story mixed-use tower with over 500 apartments on a city-owned parking lot on Surf Avenue, between West 21st and West 22nd Streets. The development of "Parcel A" kicks off Mayor Eric Adams' vision for this section of the neighborhood, west of the amusement district, which includes 1,500 new homes, new retail, and upgrades to the boardwalk and streetscape.
details here

Majority of affordable housing in NYC built in just 10 of 51 NYC Council districts, new report finds

Credit: Nelson Ndongala on Unsplash

October 29, 2025

Majority of affordable housing in NYC built in just 10 of 51 NYC Council districts, new report finds

By Aaron Ginsburg

Just 10 of New York City’s 51 Council districts have produced more than half of all new affordable housing since 2014, according to a new report. Released as a special update to the New York Housing Conference's NYC Housing Tracker Report, the analysis—titled "Why Charter Land Use Reforms Are Needed"—finds that 13 districts have built more than 4,000 affordable homes, while 10 have added fewer than 300, and four have produced under 100. The report comes as New Yorkers are currently voting on four housing-related ballot questions, which would change the city's land use review process and, according to critics, give the mayor more power and remove Council oversight.
Find out more

Metro-North Bronx expansion delayed by three years

Photo: Megan Armas / MTA on Flickr

October 28, 2025

Metro-North Bronx expansion delayed by three years

By Aaron Ginsburg

Metro-North's planned Bronx expansion, including four new stations and direct service to Penn Station, has been delayed by at least three years. According to the New York Times, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) this week said the project will likely not be completed until 2030, and blamed Amtrak for refusing to close its tracks to allow work to proceed on schedule. MTA officials proposed an alternative plan to open three of the four planned stations and deliver roughly half of the anticipated service by 2027, the year the agency originally slated the entire project for completion.
Find out more

Adams considers stacking Rent Guidelines Board to block Mamdani’s rent freeze pledge

Credit: NYS Tenant Bloc

October 27, 2025

Adams considers stacking Rent Guidelines Board to block Mamdani’s rent freeze pledge

By Aaron Ginsburg

Before leaving office, Mayor Eric Adams is considering stacking the city’s Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) with allies in an effort to block mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani’s rent freeze proposal. As first reported by the New York Post, the mayor could appoint at least six new members to the nine-person board, which determines rent changes for the city's one million rent-stabilized apartments. One of the contenders is reportedly Douglas Elliman real estate agent and reality TV star Eleonora Srugo, who has since told the New York Times she intends to decline the offer to focus on her television career.
Find out more

Hillside Avenue in Queens gets first bus lane upgrades in more than 50 years

Credit: NYC DOT

October 23, 2025

Hillside Avenue in Queens gets first bus lane upgrades in more than 50 years

By Aaron Ginsburg

More than 215,000 daily bus riders who travel on Hillside Avenue in Queens will now benefit from faster and safer commutes. On Thursday, Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced the completion of nearly eight miles of new and upgraded bus lanes along the corridor, one of the longest bus priority projects in the agency’s history. The project adds offset bus lanes from 139th Street to Springfield Boulevard, improving service for 22 routes that together carry more riders than the entire populations of Yonkers and Rochester.
Find out more

Noho block named after Jean-Michel Basquiat

Credit: Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit on Flickr

October 23, 2025

Noho block named after Jean-Michel Basquiat

By Aaron Ginsburg

A Noho block has been co-named for artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, officially recognizing the site of his former studio and home. The New York City Council and the estate of the late artist on Tuesday unveiled "Jean-Michel Basquiat Way" on the corner of Great Jones Street and Bowery. Basquiat lived and worked at 57 Great Jones Street, renting a second-floor space from Andy Warhol, from 1983 until his death in 1988 at age 27, according to ARTnews.
Learn more

Policy

Adams unveils plan to transform ‘The Hole’ with new drainage system, 5,000 homes

Credit: Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

October 22, 2025

Adams unveils plan to transform ‘The Hole’ with new drainage system, 5,000 homes

By Aaron Ginsburg

A long-neglected, low-lying area on the Brooklyn-Queens border known as “The Hole” may finally be getting attention from the city. On Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams announced a $146 million investment in the area, also known as the Jewel Streets, to install a long-needed sewage system in the neighborhood, which regularly floods even after light rainfall. The plan also calls for a 17-acre city-owned site to become 1,400 housing units, a rezoning to unlock an additional 3,600 homes, and other flood-prevention infrastructure.
Learn more

NYC wants to redesign Chinatown’s chaotic Chatham Square

October 22, 2025

NYC wants to redesign Chinatown’s chaotic Chatham Square

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City has a plan to redesign Chinatown's notoriously chaotic Chatham Square as a safer and more welcoming pedestrian space. The Department of Transportation (DOT) on Tuesday released new renderings of the proposal, which would significantly expand pedestrian areas, simplify the complex intersection, and improve safety for both pedestrians and drivers. The plan also introduces more trees and greenery, including upgrades to Kimlau Square, the park at the center of Chatham Square.
get the details

Developer’s plan for 30-story tower behind row of 19th-century homes in Downtown Brooklyn is stalled for now

The Duffield Street Houses at 182-188 Duffield Street. Photo by Epicgenius on Wikimedia

October 22, 2025

Developer’s plan for 30-story tower behind row of 19th-century homes in Downtown Brooklyn is stalled for now

By Aaron Ginsburg

A developer's plan to build a 30-story tower behind a row of landmarked homes in Downtown Brooklyn has been sent back to the drawing board. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on Watermark Capital’s proposal for a glass and beige brick tower on a small lot behind the historic homes at 182-188 Duffield Street, four individual landmarks dating to the 1830s and 1840s. Commissioners and preservationists were skeptical of the proposal, which involves removing the rear facades of the four properties while combining the interiors to create a community space and a lobby for the 99-unit building behind them. The commission took no action on Tuesday and directed the developers to revise the design so it does not "overwhelm" the block's historic character.
Learn more

City halts 34th Street busway after threats from Trump

October 20, 2025

City halts 34th Street busway after threats from Trump

By Devin Gannon

New York City halted a plan to add a busway to Manhattan's 34th Street after the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal funding for other projects. Unveiled by the city's Department of Transportation in May, the project adds a dedicated bus lane for a 1.1-mile stretch of the busy corridor, from Third to Ninth Avenues, as a way to speed up notoriously slow bus service. Last week, Federal Highway Administration Administrator Sean McMaster said the agency had several concerns with the busway, including the absence of a plan "to accommodate truckers" and "maintain access for emergency vehicles."
details here

Judge orders $34M in counterterrorism funds for NYC subway be restored

Credit: Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

October 17, 2025

Judge orders $34M in counterterrorism funds for NYC subway be restored

By Aaron Ginsburg

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to release nearly $34 million in counterterrorism and transit security funding for New York City’s subway and regional rail systems that it had been withholding. In the ruling, the judge described the withholding of funds as “arbitrary, capricious and a blatant violation of the law,” issuing a permanent injunction that requires the government to release the money to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, according to the New York Times. Last month, Gov. Kathy Hochul and State Attorney General Letitia James sued to restore the funding, which the MTA was slated to receive from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Learn more

Trump says Gateway project is ‘terminated,’ but DOT denies program is canceled

Credit: Gateway Development Commission

October 16, 2025

Trump says Gateway project is ‘terminated,’ but DOT denies program is canceled

By Aaron Ginsburg

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his administration on Thursday had "terminated" funding for Gateway, a project that includes two new tunnels under the Hudson River and is considered the most urgent infrastructure project in the country. During a White House press conference, Trump said his administration had used the federal shutdown to kill federally funded projects, particularly in Democratic states, including the $16 billion tunnel program. But, as Politico reported, the Transportation Department has no current plans to end the program, and construction continues.
Find out more

Interborough Express enters environmental review process

Credit: MTA

October 16, 2025

Interborough Express enters environmental review process

By Aaron Ginsburg

The environmental assessment for the transformative Interborough Express (IBX) has officially begun, bringing the long-anticipated transit connection between Brooklyn and Queens one step closer to reality. On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced the start of the review process under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), marking another major milestone for the project after it entered the preliminary engineering and design phase in August. The MTA will host two in-person public meetings to outline the project scope and review process on October 29 and November 6, followed by a virtual session on November 12.
Learn more

Brooklyn Mirage files for demolition following permit and financial issues

Credit: Chris Lavado

October 15, 2025

Brooklyn Mirage files for demolition following permit and financial issues

By Aaron Ginsburg

East Williamsburg's Brooklyn Mirage, the outdoor music venue that canceled its entire summer lineup amid permit issues and bankruptcy, may be closing permanently. As first reported by The Real Deal, the venue’s operator has filed full demolition permits for the roughly 32,000-square-foot venue, part of its larger Avant Gardner complex. The company filed for bankruptcy in August, citing “several months of financial distress," exacerbated by the Mirage’s failed reopening, scheduled for May following a major renovation and called off just hours before.
Learn more

Policy

1
2
3