New York City in brief

New data show New York City’s monthly evictions have rebounded to their highest since 2018, with marshals removing an average of 1,500 households each month so far this year. As housing courts chip away at their post-pandemic backlog and 497,000 cases stack up since 2021, would-be reformers from Eric Adams to Andrew Cuomo promise affordability—though it seems tenants are still waiting for delivery, not just for pizza.

Zohran Mamdani, Queens assemblyman and Democratic Socialists of America-backed New York mayoral frontrunner, pledges to halt prosecution of misdemeanors—including shoplifting and non-violent assault—criticizing current policing as class warfare. He insists the NYPD should focus on “serious” crime but tiptoes around how much he’s softened from prior police-abolition zeal. Voters must decide if this is criminal justice reform or merely a perpetual get-out-of-jail-free card.

We note New York Mayor Eric Adams’s “get stuff done” mantra acquired an extra layer of meaning this week, as prosecutors indicted close adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin, her son, and deputy commissioner Jesse Hamilton for veering from civic service to classic bribery—mostly benefiting real estate developers navigating city hall’s legendary bureaucracy. All plead not guilty, while Adams himself remains uncharged and, apparently, untarnished—at least officially—by friends in low places.

President Trump, wagering that his brand of federal muscle improves city streets, now proposes to deploy armed National Guard units to crime-ridden Chicago, with New York next on his list—after facing backlash for militarising Washington, D.C. Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth promises troops will soon tote weapons, though the Pentagon’s silence on specifics leaves us guessing whose nerves—criminal or civilian—might be steadier under such conspicuous “protection.”

MarketWatch Guides’ latest number crunching finds that homebuyers in New York now need to pocket $182,319 a year—roughly double the state’s median income—to afford a typical $796,000 abode, with Los Angeles and San Diego residents facing even costlier hurdles. Nationally, the gap yawned in all but one top-ten city, suggesting the American dream may soon come with a luxury price tag—and considerably fewer dreamers.