Zohran Mamdani

NYC Ferry boosts service this summer ahead of the FIFA World Cup

Five custom-wrapped NYC Ferry vessels will celebrate each borough this summer. Photo courtesy of NYCEDC

May 20, 2026

NYC Ferry boosts service this summer ahead of the FIFA World Cup

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City ferry service is receiving a major boost this summer, just in time for the FIFA World Cup. The summer schedule for NYC Ferry will offer the most extensive service in the system’s history ahead of an expected influx of visitors for the soccer tournament at MetLife Stadium, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the city's Economic Development Corporation announced on Tuesday. Running now through September 13, the extra service includes additional route connections, expanded weekend service, and the return of the Rockaway Rocket and Rockaway Reserve ticket programs. The city also unveiled five wrapped vessels featuring World Cup-inspired branding that highlights each borough.
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First city-owned grocery store to open next year at mixed-use development in Hunts Point

Credit: WXY Studios

May 18, 2026

First city-owned grocery store to open next year at mixed-use development in Hunts Point

By Aaron Ginsburg

Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday announced that New York City’s first city-owned grocery store will open next year at a new affordable housing development in the South Bronx. The store will be located at The Peninsula, a Bronx project transforming the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center in Hunts Point into a mixed-use development with 740 affordable apartments. The announcement builds on Mamdani’s campaign pledge to open five city-owned grocery stores, one in each borough, and follows a plan announced last month for a store in East Harlem.
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What makes New York a sanctuary city—and is its status under threat?

Photo credit: via Pixabay

May 18, 2026

What makes New York a sanctuary city—and is its status under threat?

By Michelle Cohen

With a proud history of immigration through Ellis Island, New York City is home to more than three million foreign-born residents, 38 percent of the population, and over 500,000 undocumented immigrants, according to the Center for Migration Studies. With a long-held reputation as a safe haven, the city prides itself on being a “sanctuary city,” with policies firmly in place that aim to protect anyone targeted by immigration authorities, regardless of their status, except those with serious criminal convictions. New York City offers some of the nation’s most robust protection, but state legislation has lagged behind. What do sanctuary laws actually accomplish—and what's being done to improve their reach?
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Policy

NYC launches World Cup ‘neighborhood passport’ to help fans explore the city

Graphic courtesy of Team Wonder. Photo of Mayor Mamdani announced “Soccer Streets,” courtesy of Kara McCurdy, Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

May 14, 2026

NYC launches World Cup ‘neighborhood passport’ to help fans explore the city

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is launching a “neighborhood passport” to help New Yorkers and visitors explore the five boroughs and find affordable ways to experience this summer’s FIFA World Cup. Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the initiative on Thursday, which will allow participants to collect stamps from hundreds of community organizations and public events across the city while encouraging exploration of immigrant neighborhoods, cultural institutions, and small businesses. NYC Tourism + Conventions will also launch a new calendar and interactive digital map to help users discover low-cost events, promotions, and activities during the tournament.
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Events & Things To Do

‘Soccer streets’ coming to 50 NYC public school blocks

Credit: Kara McCurdy / Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

May 12, 2026

‘Soccer streets’ coming to 50 NYC public school blocks

By Aaron Ginsburg

Open streets outside 50 public schools across New York City will be transformed into soccer pitches ahead of the FIFA World Cup this summer. On Monday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced "Soccer Streets," a traveling series of field days that will convert car-free streets into soccer pitches, art stations, and block-party celebrations. The initiative launched on May 1 and will visit a different school each day through the end of the school year on June 26.
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NYCHA tenants can voice concerns in new forum series with city officials

Wilson Houses in East Harlem. Photo credit: Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

May 11, 2026

NYCHA tenants can voice concerns in new forum series with city officials

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City public housing residents will be able to raise concerns directly with city officials as part of a new engagement campaign. Mayor Zohran Mamdani last week announced “NYCHA in Your Neighborhood,” a series of events in May and June that will allow residents to speak with agency officials about issues including repairs, community programming, pests and waste, faulty elevators, lead, and public safety. The forums will focus on neighborhood-wide clusters of NYCHA developments rather than individual properties. The first event will take place in the Bronx on May 20, followed by meetings in Brooklyn on June 3 and Manhattan on June 17.
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City-owned site in Bed-Stuy to become 100% affordable housing and community space

The vacant city-owned lot. Credit: HPD

May 7, 2026

City-owned site in Bed-Stuy to become 100% affordable housing and community space

By Aaron Ginsburg

The city began the community engagement process for a new development coming to public land in Bed-Stuy. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) on Thursday announced plans to redevelop the run-down Bedford-Stuyvesant Multi-Service Center (MSC) and neighboring vacant city-owned land on Fulton Street into a mixed-use project with 100 percent affordable housing and social services. The project, called “Fulton-Howard West,” is the first public development site under Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration.
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New Developments

NYC announces record $31M in penalties against two Bronx landlords

Streetview of 480 East 188th Street © Google 2022

May 6, 2026

NYC announces record $31M in penalties against two Bronx landlords

By Devin Gannon

New York City secured $31 million in penalties against negligent owners of two Bronx apartment buildings, marking the largest judgment ever obtained by the city. Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced on Wednesday a record-setting settlement against landlords Karan Singh and Rajmattie Persaud, who own Robert Fulton Terrace and Fordham Towers. After tenants faced years of hazardous conditions, including lack of hot water, rat infestations, and elevator outages, and hundreds of housing code violations, the city sued the owners in 2024, and the properties later entered foreclosure.
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Policy

Bike boulevards planned for Brooklyn’s Bergen and Dean Streets

Mamdani joins the Bergen Bike Bus in Brooklyn on National Bike & Roll to School Day. Photo credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

May 6, 2026

Bike boulevards planned for Brooklyn’s Bergen and Dean Streets

By Aaron Ginsburg

Mayor Zohran Mamdani took to Brooklyn on two wheels Wednesday to announce plans for 10-mile "bike boulevards" along Bergen and Dean Streets. Joining the Bergen Bike Bus, a weekly caravan of parents and students who bike to school together, Mamdani said the city’s Department of Transportation will redesign the two streets between Court Street and East New York Avenue to prioritize cyclists and pedestrians while maintaining local vehicle access. The multi-phase project is still in its early stages, with DOT beginning public outreach through an online feedback portal as it develops design plans expected to be released later this year.
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Mamdani creates NYC’s first office to prevent deed theft

Mayor Mamdani and Council Member Ossé. Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

April 24, 2026

Mamdani creates NYC’s first office to prevent deed theft

By Devin Gannon

Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday announced the creation of the city's first-ever Office of Deed Theft Prevention to crack down on scammers who take ownership of homes through fraud and deception. The new office comes just days after Council Member Chi Ossé was arrested after defending a Bed-Stuy homeowner facing eviction from a brownstone she has called home for six decades.
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Policy

Popular Articles

Judge halts plan to move men’s homeless intake shelter to East Village after lawsuit

Streetview of 8 East Third Street © 2022 Google Maps

April 23, 2026

Judge halts plan to move men’s homeless intake shelter to East Village after lawsuit

By Aaron Ginsburg

A state judge has paused Mayor Zohran Mamdani's plan to relocate a men's homeless intake shelter from the shuttered Bellevue facility in Kips Bay to the East Village after residents filed a lawsuit. Judge Sabrina Kraus issued the order on Wednesday, blocking the city from opening the intake center at 8 East Third Street on May 1 as originally planned and setting a May 7 court date for the administration and plaintiffs. Last month, Mamdani announced plans to close the Bellevue shelter, citing decades of neglect and deteriorating conditions, and to relocate its roughly 250 residents to existing shelters in the East Village.
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Policy

Brooklyn’s dangerous Linden Boulevard to get center-running bus lanes, pedestrian islands

Aerial view of Linden Boulevard. All images courtesy of DOT

April 22, 2026

Brooklyn’s dangerous Linden Boulevard to get center-running bus lanes, pedestrian islands

By Aaron Ginsburg

Parts of Brooklyn’s Linden Boulevard, one of the borough’s most dangerous corridors, will be redesigned with center-running bus lanes and other safety upgrades by 2027. Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday announced that the city's Department of Transportation (DOT) will begin installing the lanes later this year along the stretch between Fountain and Conduit Avenues in East New York. The changes aim to improve safety along the corridor, which saw more than 440 traffic-related injuries and one death between 2021 and 2025. Those crashes have been linked to the road’s current design, which encourages speeding, forces pedestrians to cross multiple lanes of traffic, and leaves buses stuck behind double-parked cars, according to amNY.
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NYC announces 6 more districts to fully containerize trash by end of 2027

Photo Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

April 17, 2026

NYC announces 6 more districts to fully containerize trash by end of 2027

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is expanding its trash containerization program, selecting additional districts in all five boroughs to fully adopt containerized trash collection by the end of next year. Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday announced that the city’s Department of Sanitation (DSNY) will deliver at least one fully containerized community district in every borough by the end of 2027, with a target of citywide containerization by 2031. The districts will receive the city’s new Empire Bins, which will be collected by automated side-loading garbage trucks.
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Policy

Mamdani proposes city-backed insurance program to cut costs for some NYC landlords

Credit: Jason Hawke CA on Unsplash

April 16, 2026

Mamdani proposes city-backed insurance program to cut costs for some NYC landlords

By Aaron Ginsburg

While Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration has so far focused on affordability for renters, the mayor announced a plan to help landlords on Thursday. A new program managed by the city will reduce the cost of property and liability insurance for affordable and rent-stabilized housing. As the New York Times reported, the proposal is seen as a peace offering to property owners, whose interests have often been at odds with the administration. According to the city, the self-sustaining program will help address the rising cost of insurance, which has more than tripled since 2017.
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Hochul proposes pied-à-terre tax on NYC second homes worth over $5M

Photo by Jakub Hałun on Wikimedia

April 15, 2026

Hochul proposes pied-à-terre tax on NYC second homes worth over $5M

By Devin Gannon

Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday proposed a yearly tax on non-primary residences in New York City. After resisting calls to tax high-income earners led by progressive leaders like Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the governor is now embracing a surcharge on secondary homes in the five boroughs valued at $5 million and above. Known as pieds-à-terre, these properties are occupied by part-time residents who usually stay there while working or visiting the city. While it's not the first time such a tax has been proposed in recent years, the new push for the surcharge comes as the city deals with a multibillion-dollar budget gap.
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Mamdani announces plans for city-owned grocery store in East Harlem

Photo courtesy of Kara McCurdy | Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

April 14, 2026

Mamdani announces plans for city-owned grocery store in East Harlem

By Devin Gannon

Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday announced plans to build a city-owned grocery store in East Harlem, advancing one of his core campaign promises. Located under the Park Avenue Viaduct between 111th and 116th Streets, La Marqueta was opened by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in 1936 as one of the city's original public markets. Over the years, the marketplace has struggled and has shrunk its footprint and its number of vendors. As the New York Times first reported, the city plans to spend $30 million to build the store at the site of La Marqueta, which is expected to open by 2029.
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Policy

Landlord income up 6 percent as board considers rent adjustments for NYC’s stabilized apartments

Tenant advocates called for a rent freeze during the Rent Guidelines Board final vote on June 30, 2025. Photo courtesy of New York State Tenant Bloc.

March 27, 2026

Landlord income up 6 percent as board considers rent adjustments for NYC’s stabilized apartments

By Devin Gannon

The Rent Guidelines Board (RGB), the nine-member group that decides annual rent adjustments for New York City's one million stabilized apartments, kicked off its annual review of economic conditions for both landlords and tenants this week. During the first of many sessions before a final vote on rent changes this summer, the board on Thursday released a report detailing the 2024 incomes and expenses of the city's rent-stabilized housing stock. According to the data, the net operating income (NOI), or the amount of revenue landlords received after operating costs, rose 6.2 percent between 2023 and 2024 citywide, the third year in a row that NOI increased.
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Policy

Brooklyn Bridge to get separate bike and pedestrian entrances in Manhattan

The Brooklyn Bridge bike lane when it opened in 2021. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

March 27, 2026

Brooklyn Bridge to get separate bike and pedestrian entrances in Manhattan

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City this week launched another new street safety project ahead of the FIFA World Cup this summer. Starting in April, the city will fully separate the cyclist and pedestrian entrances to the Brooklyn Bridge in Manhattan for the first time, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Friday. Dedicated cyclist and pedestrian entrances from Centre Street and Park Row will allow bike riders to access the bridge without cutting through crowds. Slated for completion in June, the redesign will also convert a left-turn bay on Centre Street between Chambers Street and the bridge entrance into a two-way protected bike lane.
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Mamdani launches new office to support NYC street vendors

Credit: Christoph Birken on Unsplash

March 27, 2026

Mamdani launches new office to support NYC street vendors

By Aaron Ginsburg

A longtime advocate for New York City’s street vendors will now represent the small businesses at City Hall. Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday officially launched the Office of Street Vendor Services and appointed Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, co-director of the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center, as its first executive director. As part of the Department of Small Business Services, the new office will conduct outreach to the city’s roughly 23,000 street vendors and educate them on local laws and the permitting process. Legislation reforming street vending that passed the City Council last year mandated the creation of the new office.
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Policy

Mamdani appeals housing voucher expansion, breaking campaign pledge

Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to the press during February’s state budget hearing. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

March 26, 2026

Mamdani appeals housing voucher expansion, breaking campaign pledge

By Aaron Ginsburg

After failing to reach a deal with housing advocates, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has appealed a court ruling that ordered New York City to expand its housing voucher program, a move that departs from one of his key campaign pledges. Filed on Tuesday, the appeal puts Mamdani in the position once held by former Mayor Eric Adams, whose initial opposition sparked a legal battle that has stretched for nearly three years. In February, Mamdani indicated he no longer intended to support the program’s expansion due to the city’s projected $7 billion budget deficit, and after negotiations failed, his appeal now extends the legal battle indefinitely.
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Policy

NYC to fast-track affordable housing on city-owned land

The city-owned vacant lot at 784-800 Myrtle Avenue in Bed-Stuy will be fast-tracked for affordable housing. Streetview © Google

March 25, 2026

NYC to fast-track affordable housing on city-owned land

By Devin Gannon

New York City is launching another program aimed at speeding up the development of affordable housing across the five boroughs. Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday launched the Neighborhood Builders Fast Track, which will include a roster of prequalified developers to be selected for projects on city-owned land, shortening the time it takes before construction can begin by eight months. The new initiative joins the Expedited Land Use Review Procedure (ELURP), which the city rolled out last month, in helping build more homes more quickly.
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NYC breaks ground on Bronx crosstown bus service upgrades around Yankee Stadium

Credit: NYC DOT

March 25, 2026

NYC breaks ground on Bronx crosstown bus service upgrades around Yankee Stadium

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City has broken ground on a project that will improve crosstown Bronx bus service and enhance street safety near Yankee Stadium, ahead of baseball season’s opening day on Wednesday. Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday announced the project, which will add westbound bus-only lanes, including converting the 161st Street underpass to bus-only use. The redesign will also include pedestrian safety upgrades and new amenities for bus riders, such as shelters, benches, and leaning bars, along with infrastructure to make boarding buses safer and more accessible.
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NYC to end criminal summonses for minor e-bike and cycling offenses

Credit: Elvert Barnes on Flickr

March 19, 2026

NYC to end criminal summonses for minor e-bike and cycling offenses

By Aaron Ginsburg

E-bike riders and cyclists will no longer face criminal summonses for low-level offenses, as Mayor Zohran Mamdani rolls back a policy of his predecessor. On Wednesday, Mamdani announced that, beginning March 27, the NYPD will rescind a policy introduced under former Mayor Eric Adams that issued criminal summonses for minor violations, like running a stop sign, which required riders to appear in criminal court. Instead, officers will issue standard traffic tickets to cyclists, the same given to drivers.
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See what NYC’s new backyard apartments could look like

All renderings courtesy of NYC’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development

March 18, 2026

See what NYC’s new backyard apartments could look like

By Devin Gannon

New York City could gain roughly 25,000 basement, attic, and backyard apartments, also known as accessory dwelling units (ADUs), over the next 15 years under rezoning rules approved in 2024. The city on Wednesday released a series of new tools to help New Yorkers navigate the process, including a library of pre-approved ADU designs that are compliant with city code. The library currently has designs for backyard cottages, but more will be added once approved by the Department of Buildings.
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Policy

NYC to reduce speed limit to 15 mph in 800 school zones this year

Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

March 17, 2026

NYC to reduce speed limit to 15 mph in 800 school zones this year

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City will lower the speed limit to 15 miles per hour at 800 school zones this year, with plans for so-called slow zones at all 2,300 school locations by 2029. Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the city's Department of Transportation (DOT) announced on Monday plans to use Sammy's Law, state legislation that allows the city to lower speed limits, to expand slow zones for schools.
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