Donald Trump

Trump will release funds for Second Avenue Subway extension

Photo by Shinya Suzuki on Flickr cc

April 17, 2026

Trump will release funds for Second Avenue Subway extension

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Trump administration on Thursday agreed to release nearly $60 million in federal funding for the Second Avenue Subway extension, ending a monthslong dispute that began during October’s government shutdown. According to the New York Times, in a letter filed in Federal Claims Court, a lawyer for the government said the administration would resume payments to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority after the agency sued in March over the withheld funding. The funds were initially held while the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) reviewed the MTA's race- and sex-based contracting requirements, which the agency now says have been satisfied.
details here

Trump administration agrees to display Pride flag at Stonewall after lawsuit

Credit: Will Alatriste/NYC Council Media Unit on Flickr

April 14, 2026

Trump administration agrees to display Pride flag at Stonewall after lawsuit

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Pride flag will be displayed permanently at Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village after the Trump administration agreed to reverse its decision to remove it. As part of a court settlement reached on Monday, the federal government agreed to reinstall three flags on the monument’s flagpole within a week, according to the Associated Press. Filed by a group of nonprofits after the flag's removal on February 9, the lawsuit argued that the administration illegally targeted LGBTQIA+ people and violated a policy allowing the National Park Service (NPS) to display "non-agency" flags at federal sites when they provide historical context.
Discover more

Policy

Congestion pricing lives on after federal judge rules Trump’s effort to end program unlawful

Credit: Mike Chavarri on Unsplash

March 4, 2026

Congestion pricing lives on after federal judge rules Trump’s effort to end program unlawful

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's congestion pricing program will live on, as a federal judge on Tuesday ruled that the Trump administration's attempt to nix the toll system was unlawful. In a 149-page decision, Judge Lewis J. Liman called U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s move to end the program "arbitrary and capricious," but he did not bar future attempts to halt it. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which sued the U.S. DOT in February 2025 to prevent the program’s elimination, can now continue operating the system indefinitely.
Discover more

Trump partners with Pakistan in strange plan to redevelop NYC’s Roosevelt Hotel

Image via WikiCommons

February 27, 2026

Trump partners with Pakistan in strange plan to redevelop NYC’s Roosevelt Hotel

By Aaron Ginsburg

An unlikely player has entered Midtown’s Roosevelt Hotel redevelopment: President Donald Trump and the federal government. As first reported by Reuters last week, the United States government's General Services Administration (GSA) signed an agreement with Pakistan, which owns the iconic but shuttered hotel at 45 East 45th Street, to jointly redevelop, renovate, operate, and maintain the property. The pact, negotiated by New York real estate developer and Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff, marks a surprising turnaround for the project, which returned to the drawing board last week after Pakistan restarted its search for a broker and financial advisor, according to The Real Deal.
Learn more

Policy

MTA threatens to sue Trump over stalled Second Avenue Subway funds

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

February 26, 2026

MTA threatens to sue Trump over stalled Second Avenue Subway funds

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it will sue the federal government unless funding for the Second Avenue Subway expansion resumes within a week. The MTA on Wednesday sent a letter to President Donald Trump's administration, warning that the agency will pursue legal action unless the federal government restores more than $58 million owed for the project by March 6, citing concerns that further delays could stall the long-planned expansion. Funding for the Second Avenue Subway was halted during the October government shutdown, along with funding for the Gateway project.
Learn more

NYC officials re-raise Pride flag at Stonewall

NYC Council Members and Speaker Julie Menin hold a protest over the removal of the LGBTQIA+ flag from the Stonewall National Monument. Photo Credit: Will Alatriste/NYC Council Media Unit on Flickr

February 11, 2026

NYC officials re-raise Pride flag at Stonewall

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City officials followed through on their promise to restore the Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village, re-raising it Thursday after the National Park Service removed it earlier in the week. The flag was first taken down on Monday by the agency, which has overseen the site since it was designated a national monument by former President Barack Obama in 2016. The agency told Gay City News that the removal was required under policy permitting only the U.S. flag and other "congressionally or departmentally authorized flags" to fly on NPS flagpoles, despite the site’s recognition as the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement, which the Pride flag symbolizes.
Find out more

Policy

Judge allows Trump’s Gateway funding freeze to continue until Thursday

Credit: Gateway Development Commission

February 9, 2026

Judge allows Trump’s Gateway funding freeze to continue until Thursday

By Aaron Ginsburg

After ordering the Trump administration to resume funding for the Gateway project, a federal judge has agreed to temporarily allow the funding freeze to continue while an appeal moves forward. The order, issued Friday by Manhattan Judge Jeannette Vargas, follows a lawsuit filed by NY and NJ seeking emergency relief to stop the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) from withholding funds for the project. However, after the administration filed an appeal Sunday, Vargas agreed to pause the order until February 12 to allow the appeal to proceed, according to New Jersey Monitor.
Find out more

Trump said he’d restore Gateway funding if New York renames Penn Station after him

Photo of Penn Station by Don Ramey Logan via WikiCommons

February 6, 2026

Trump said he’d restore Gateway funding if New York renames Penn Station after him

By Aaron Ginsburg

President Donald Trump told Sen. Chuck Schumer last month that he'd resume funding for the Gateway project, but only if New York's Penn Station and Washington’s Dulles International Airport are renamed after him. Trump said he would release $16 billion in previously allocated federal funds for the critical infrastructure project on that condition, as CNN reported. Funding, which had been secured under the Biden administration, was frozen during October’s government shutdown. Construction on the project will stop at 5 p.m. on Friday if the funding does not resume.
Find out more

Trump’s childhood home in Queens back on the market for $2.3M after gut renovation

All photos by Allyson Lubow for Brown Harris Stevens

November 10, 2025

Trump’s childhood home in Queens back on the market for $2.3M after gut renovation

By Devin Gannon

Like the East Wing of the White House, Donald Trump's childhood home is unrecognizable after a gut renovation. While not quite bulldozed, the Tudor-style property in Jamaica Estates, Queens, where the president lived until he was four, was totally rebuilt after a burst water pipe led to mold all over the home, which has been vacant except for a colony of feral cats. After selling for $835,000 earlier this year, the home at 85-15 Wareham Place is now back on the market for $2,300,000.
take the tour

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

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

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

Hochul criticizes Trump for withholding $34M in counterterrorism funds

Credit: Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

October 10, 2025

Hochul criticizes Trump for withholding $34M in counterterrorism funds

By Aaron Ginsburg

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday criticized the Trump administration for withholding $34 million in transit security funding for New York City’s subway and regional rail systems. According to a press release, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority had been slated to receive the funds through the federal Transit Security Grant Program, established after 9/11 to support critical counterterrorism and transit security operations. But the agency was notified last week that it would be the only one among 21 applicants nationwide to be denied funding.
Learn more

Statue of Liberty to stay open during federal shutdown, Trump says

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

October 2, 2025

Statue of Liberty to stay open during federal shutdown, Trump says

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Statue of Liberty will remain open during the U.S. government shutdown, President Donald Trump's administration said Thursday. The shutdown leaves federal workers without pay and closes federally funded museums and monuments, like Lady Liberty. After Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state would not pay to maintain the monument during the shutdown, the Trump administration announced the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island would remain open.
Find out more

Policy

Trump withholds $18B for Second Avenue subway, Gateway tunnel projects

Rendering courtesy of the MTA

October 1, 2025

Trump withholds $18B for Second Avenue subway, Gateway tunnel projects

By Devin Gannon

President Donald Trump's administration announced it is withholding $18 billion for two critical New York City infrastructure projects, the Second Avenue Subway and the Hudson River Gateway Tunnel, citing the state's "unconstitutional DEI principles." In a statement, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said funds for the two projects are frozen until the department can review what it calls "discriminatory, unconstitutional contracting processes." The move from Trump came hours after the federal government shutdown.
more here

Policy

Trump Organization loses bid for Central Park’s Wollman Rink

Credit: Yomex Owo on Unsplash

September 11, 2025

Trump Organization loses bid for Central Park’s Wollman Rink

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Trump Organization's bid to reclaim control of Central Park's iconic Wollman Rink has failed. As first reported by The City, the Department of Parks and Recreation submitted a limited liability corporation that Related created to submit a proposal for the rink to the Department of Investigation for a background check. The president's company operated the rink for many years before former Mayor Bill de Blasio canceled the contract in 2021 following the January 6 riot at the Capitol. According to The City, the proposed agreement will still need to go through a review committee.
Learn more

Trump reportedly wants to take over the 9/11 Memorial & Museum

Photo by Kaabii Kiseki on Unsplash

September 5, 2025

Trump reportedly wants to take over the 9/11 Memorial & Museum

By Aaron Ginsburg

President Donald Trump is considering taking federal control of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum after victims’ families criticized the site’s funding and management. As first reported by the New York Times, two White House officials said preliminary discussions have begun, though it remains unclear how the federal government would assume control. During his campaign last year, Trump pitched designating the site as a national monument, and at a rally last September, said he wanted to ensure the "hallowed ground" and the memory of those who perished would be "preserved for all time."
can he do that?

Policy

Penn Station revamp to begin in late 2027, Trump says

Photo by Don Ramey Logan on Wikimedia

August 28, 2025

Penn Station revamp to begin in late 2027, Trump says

By Aaron Ginsburg

Construction on the long-delayed revamp of Penn Station will start in late 2027, the Trump administration announced on Wednesday. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said proposals will be accepted starting in October for the redevelopment of the busy train hall, with a goal to start construction in two years. The news comes after the feds put Amtrak in control of the project over Gov. Kathy Hochul in April. It's unclear how much the project will now cost under the updated timeline and possibly new design, but previous estimates from the MTA listed a $7 billion price tag.
Learn more

Rudy Giuliani sells Upper East Side penthouse for under $5M

45 East 66th Street. Photo by Epicgenius via Wikimedia Commons

August 14, 2025

Rudy Giuliani sells Upper East Side penthouse for under $5M

By Aaron Ginsburg

Rudy Giuliani has sold his Upper East Side penthouse for under $5 million, marking another price cut for the residence once slated to be turned over to two Georgia election officials as part of a lawsuit. As first reported by Crain's, the former New York City mayor and Trump attorney sold the three-bedroom unit at 45 East 66th Street for $4.95 million, after first listing it for $6.5 million in 2023 and later cutting the price by $1.4 million in March to $5.175 million. The penthouse was among the possessions Giuliani was ordered to surrender in October 2023 after losing the lawsuit. A settlement was reached in April 2024, allowing him to keep the home.
Learn more

Trump signs executive order making it easier for cities to forcibly remove homeless residents

Photo by Robert V. Ruggiero on Unsplash

July 25, 2025

Trump signs executive order making it easier for cities to forcibly remove homeless residents

By Aaron Ginsburg

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order calling for tougher enforcement on homelessness, including expanded use of involuntary commitment of people living on the streets. The "Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets" directive urges cities and states to clear encampments and place people into mental health or addiction treatment programs. It also proposes shifting federal grants away from housing-first initiatives and toward programs that mandate sobriety or treatment, as well as to cities that enforce encampment bans.
details here

Policy

Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from ending congestion pricing

Credit: André Eusébio on Unsplash

May 28, 2025

Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from ending congestion pricing

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has scored a legal win against the Trump administration as the battle over congestion pricing continues. U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman issued a temporary restraining order on Tuesday blocking the administration from withholding federal funding for New York transit projects, which it had threatened if the MTA didn’t end the program by May 28. Liman ruled that the federal government cannot withhold any funding until the MTA’s lawsuit over the toll program is resolved.
Find out more

NYC officials predict 17 percent drop in international tourists due to Trump policies

Photo by Lerone Pieters on Pexels

May 9, 2025

NYC officials predict 17 percent drop in international tourists due to Trump policies

By Devin Gannon

After a strong tourism year in 2024 when New York City saw nearly 65 million visitors, the second highest figure in the city's history, officials predicted an even better 2025. Last year, New York City Tourism + Conventions projected the five boroughs would make almost a full economic and tourist recovery from the pandemic. And then President Donald Trump took office. With the administration's tariffs, detainment of immigrants, and threats to Canada's sovereignty, the city revised its forecast to reflect a 17 percent drop in international travelers this year.
find out more

Policy

NYC sues Trump administration over ‘unconstitutional’ housing grant conditions

Credit: Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

May 5, 2025

NYC sues Trump administration over ‘unconstitutional’ housing grant conditions

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City, joining seven other local governments, sued the Trump administration last week over new conditions related to federal housing grants. Filed on Friday, the lawsuit challenges the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) over provisions prohibiting grant recipients from using funds for programs related to diversity, equity, "gender ideology," and immigration. The cities argue that the new conditions imposed on the HUD grants are unconstitutional and an overreach of the executive branch.
Learn more

1
2
3