Thanks to tariffs imposed during Donald Trump’s tenure, over two dozen upstate New York solar and wind projects—enough to power some two million homes—are stuck in limbo, as construction costs have jumped by as much as 30%. Though developers have pe…
Citing “defensive necessity,” Iranian parliamentary chief Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf declared that navigation in the Strait of Hormuz—which channels a fifth of global crude—is changed for good, as attacks on vessels and retaliatory closures drive oil above $100 a barrel. The UN’s World Food Programme warns of rising hunger as shipping falters, but American promises of naval escorts remain more notional than nautical for now.
Rising operating costs—up 40% since 2017, with insurance alone jumping 110%—are pushing over half of New York’s affordable housing developments into negative cash flow, as rent collection drops and nonprofit owners wobble. Governor Kathy Hochul’s budget tackles insurance opacity and tosses a lifeline via revamped J-51 tax breaks, but until expenses stop outpacing rents, New Yorkers may find their “affordable” homes an increasingly rare species.
The MTA has sued the Trump administration in federal court for halting a $3.4 billion grant needed to extend New York’s Second Avenue subway into East Harlem, citing an unresolved review of minority contracting as the snag. The spat over federal commitments echoes last year’s Gateway tunnel drama—where a judge ordered funds released—reminding us that, in infrastructure politics, the light at the end of the tunnel may simply be litigation.
After Mayor Zohran Mamdani trimmed funding for CityFHEPS—the biggest US rental assistance program—dozens gathered at City Hall to vent about dashed promises to expand aid for tenants and homeless New Yorkers. Costs have ballooned from $25 million in 2019 to $1.1 billion for 2025, spurring fiscal hand-wringing. As campaign vows fade, we note that in New York, budget math remains a stubbornly unsentimental partner.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared New York City will trim speed limits to 15 mph at over 800 school zones by year’s end, invoking 2024’s “Sammy’s Law”—a telling nod to safety over speed. The city expects to reach 1,300 sites this year, with all 2,300 eligible zones slated by 2029, presuming bureaucracy moves faster than gridlock. Data will decide which schools are first in this municipal slow-motion race.
New York’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani aims to throttle school-zone speed limits to 15 mph citywide by 2029, and citywide limits to a stately 20 mph—an effort the New York Post derides as “left-wing” overreach and a “cash grab.” Data inconveniently point out that speed cameras cut violations by 95 percent, so if this is a racket, it’s one that profits mostly in safer streets and fewer headlines.
With the Department of Homeland Security hobbled since February 14th, President Trump now hints at dialing down elements of his brittle migration enforcement in hopes of coaxing Democrats to fund the agency. In a letter to GOP senators including Susan Collins, the White House dangled concessions like more congressional oversight and body cameras—proof, perhaps, that even the toughest walls sometimes need a gate in the appropriations process.
As fees at New York’s elite private schools keep climbing — Trinity and Dalton nodding along at over $60,000 a year — nervous parents and school heads fret over an affordability crisis thickening the already chunky economic barrier to top-tier learning. We note that as “need-blind” admissions meet the blind certainty of math, equity sometimes takes a back row seat in the classroom.
