As New York City grapples with an unprecedented influx of migrants, it is becoming increasingly clear that its leadership is failing in their response to this crisis. The city’s inability…
Sanitation and containerization are an easy policy area for New Yorkers to take for granted, but investing in it is crucial. Still, this seemingly simple policy area produces some of…
The recent flooding from torrential rain exposed two uncomfortable facts to New Yorkers: the consequences of climate change are already here, and New York’s infrastructure is critically unprepared to handle…
The Rose Reading Room at Bryant Park is perhaps the most picturesque study spot in New York City. While the Fifth Avenue Branch is known for its grandiose architecture, it’s…
Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) has seen a rapid fall from grace in recent weeks, with dozens of lawmakers calling for his resignation. Photo courtesy of Artur Widak (via Vanity Fair).…
A young man and his mother had just left Brooklyn Criminal Court. A mere block from the courthouse, two plain-clothed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the man, and dragged him to an unmarked vehicle. The mother thought that her son was being kidnapped. Neither officer would answer her simple question: “Who are you?” As the mother cried for help, a third officer appeared, shoved her against a wall, and repeatedly told her to “shut up.” The vehicle drove off and the mother was left sobbing on the street. She didn’t know what had happened until her son called from an ICE processing facility the following day.
Photo courtesy of the New York Post The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a ‘budget’ as “a plan for the coordination of resources and expenditures.” Unfortunately, New York State is either illiterate…
Traffic near Grand Central Station. Photo courtesy of Getty Images. Update: As of April 1, the State Legislature and Gov. Cuomo passed the 2020 budget, congestion pricing included. Although the…
The First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn Heights opened their doors this past Saturday, March 23 for a tenant town hall meeting discussing universal rent control. The meeting, organized by the Housing Justice For All coalition, outlined nine points they want state legislators to pay attention to come June 15 when the state’s current rent laws are set to expire.
Valentine’s Day fell on a Thursday this year. Although most New Yorkers had plans to celebrate after work, a conference room in Downtown Brooklyn was buzzing with excitement and it was barely two o’clock in the afternoon. A staff member of New York Communities for Change had just interrupted an ordinary meeting to inform everyone that Amazon was pulling out of the deal to bring half of their second headquarters to Long Island City, Queens. The news broke on Twitter, but soon all the major media platforms had confirmed the news. This was an enormous victory for NYCC, one of the grassroots organisations that vehemently opposed the deal. It was also a victory for Jonathan Westin, NYCC’s executive director, who stood among his staff smiling, in disbelief.