New York City in brief

Although Donald Trump’s war in Iran has upended oil markets, toppled a Supreme Leader, and cost Americans over $11 billion in under two weeks, the President has reserved only a fraction of his 220 recent Truth Social posts for the topic. He prefers soapboxing about Gavin “Newscum”, Asian carp, and election grievances—leaving us to guess if silence is golden or merely strategic reticence.

A federal judge dismissed most of Gateway Development Commission’s lawsuit over halted funding for the $16 billion Hudson River tunnel, leaving two counts barely standing while the trains of New York and New Jersey inch toward a 2035 finish. After a legal back-and-forth triggered by rule changes and a $205 million payout, we’re left hoping bureaucratic brinkmanship proves less durable than the region’s threadbare commute.

New York City plans to extend free child care to all 2-year-olds this autumn, promising relief for beleaguered parents and a logistical jigsaw for the Mamdani administration. The offer currently ends at 2:30 p.m.—well before most workdays—leaving working families to ponder afternoon arrangements. If City Hall finds funding to stretch those hours, we suspect the applause might last longer than nap time.

After years of commuter hand-wringing, NJ Transit is steering trains onto the new $2.3bn Portal North Bridge over the Hackensack River, promising to swap unpredictable waits and the odd hammer-wielding repair for swifter travel—90 mph instead of 60. The upgrade, vital for 200,000 daily passengers, only applies eastbound for now; the real feast, we’re told, awaits with the Gateway tunnel, assuming funding survives Washington’s menu shuffles.

A federal judge, Richard Hertling, dismissed one lawsuit around the embattled $16 billion Gateway Tunnel project beneath the Hudson, saying New York and New Jersey already forced Uncle Sam to unfreeze $205 million in funding. But with the Department of Transportation still eyeing a clawback—and more court tussles waiting in Manhattan—the only thing rushing faster than trains between the states may be the lawyers.