New data from New York’s Health Department show a so-called “super flu” (really just H3N2 with better marketing) is overwhelming the city: weekly case counts halved on Staten Island, but hospitalizations surged to 130. Across the state, admissions a…
Vowing to keep New York livable, Governor Kathy Hochul’s latest State of the State address in Albany laid out over 200 initiatives, from a $1.7 billion boost in childcare funding to curbs on insurance costs, more housing, and better services for migrants. We welcome her realism about the Big Apple’s wallet-busting reputation, though whether these promises will bite or just nibble at runaway costs remains anyone’s guess.
Kathy Hochul, New York’s governor, announced plans to extend the Second Avenue subway into Harlem and modernize Jamaica Station in Queens, aiming to shave costs and time for an estimated 240,000 daily riders. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s tunnelling contract is already north of $1.9 billion, with service not due until 2032—proof that when New York builds a train, even eternity needs an ETA.
Nearly 15,000 nurses at three of New York City’s biggest hospital systems strolled off the job after talks with management—Mount Sinai, Montefiore, and NewYork-Presbyterian—foundered over wages, staffing, and healthcare benefits. While administrators bemoan “reckless demands” and scramble for replacements, unions say patient safety is at stake. The two sides remain stalwart; for now, tempers and temp agencies are both running overtime.
Governor Kathy Hochul used her 2026 State of the State address to promise a long march toward universal child care in New York, vowing that by 2029 every 4-year-old will have a pre-K seat, with city-specific expansions for 2- and 3-year-olds. Skeptics, including local Republicans, called her agenda more wishful than workable, though we expect the inevitable budget maths to dull some of Hochul’s more utopian edges.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has joined Mayor Zohran Mamdani and tenant groups in opposing the $451m sale of 5,000 rent-stabilized apartments—formerly owned by bankrupt Pinnacle—to Summit Properties USA, citing thousands of unresolved housing code violations in Summit’s portfolio and cozy ties to notorious landlords. Summit claims it will improve matters, but trust does not seem poised to break the city’s housing crisis gridlock anytime soon.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s latest State of the State address promises a more affordable New York, borrowing liberally from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wish list—free childcare for two-year-olds, a slightly expanded rent freeze, and penalties for predatory landlords. Alas, free buses remain off the itinerary. Most plans hinge on legislative approval, though the spectral presence of election season might prove a more immediate spur to action than Albany’s famed bureaucracy.
Pledging to tackle New York’s housing crunch and soothe restive voters ahead of November, Governor Kathy Hochul proposed speeding up construction by easing SEQRA, a 1975 environmental review law much loved by litigious neighbors. We also heard calls to expand subway mental health teams and bar ICE raids at “sensitive” sites. All this, plus pilot childcare for two-year-olds—suggesting Albany remains addicted to serving up big asks with small print.
Zohran Mamdani, age 34 and Mayor as of January 1st, wasted no time, signing executive actions on housing within hours of his midnight swearing-in by Bernie Sanders—thereby marking both a generational shift and a progressive bow at City Hall. Tens of thousands braved frosty Manhattan streets for the ensuing inauguration, discovering that in New York, enthusiasm, like wind chill, knows few limits.
