New York City’s scramble to replace expired Emergency Housing Vouchers—after a Trump-era warning left 70,000 households nationwide in limbo—has yielded a two-year patch for 2,000 families, courtesy of local housing officials. Meanwhile, the city’s housing authority failed to secure federal backing for 5,500 more at risk, as state and city coffers run dry. As ever, hope continues to enjoy more staying power than government funding.
New York City in brief
Top five stories in the five boroughs today
After a January snowstorm blanketed New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani lauded the city’s prompt plowing and open bars—but noted, with less cheer, that at least five homeless New Yorkers died as temperatures plunged below zero, despite enhanced “Cold Blue” outreach. Officials scramble to prove they can shelter the city’s most vulnerable, but Mother Nature is less susceptible to press conferences than most constituents.
About $30 million in federal funding has been unfrozen for the Gateway Tunnel Project, a much-delayed rail link under the Hudson between New York and New Jersey, after litigation prodded the Trump administration to relent. While Senator Schumer hailed this glimmer of government action, the remaining $200 million is stuck in bureaucratic limbo until next week—proof, again, that building tunnels is easier than navigating Washington.
Nurses at Mount Sinai and Montefiore are trickling back to work after nearly a month on strike, having secured a three-year contract with higher pay and safety guarantees—though some 4,200 NewYork-Presbyterian nurses remain on the picket lines. While union brass at NYSNA tout wins of over 12% pay rises and better staffing, it seems New York’s coldest negotiations have been anything but clinical.
Harlem’s long-promised Second Avenue Subway extension faces yet another delay, as the Trump administration withholds federal funds over a bureaucratic spat, risking a setback to vital tunnelling contracts at 106th and 125th Streets. The MTA, lauded for completing projects ahead of time and under budget, insists it’s ready to deliver service for 100,000 daily riders—just as soon as Washington stops waiting for the perfect station name.