Manhattan’s median rent has broken yet another record, hitting $5,000 in February according to The Corcoran Group, with a vacancy rate stuck stubbornly at 2% and inventory scraping four-year lows. Well-intentioned laws like the FARE Act and Housing Stability and Protection Act, alongside Mayor Mamdani’s rent-freeze plans, may have simply made apartments scarcer and dearer—a lesson in unintended consequences with a five-figure monthly price tag.
New York City in brief
Top five stories in the five boroughs today
A week of American and Israeli strikes left large swathes of Iran’s leadership—plus at least 175 civilians in Minab, including many children—dead, but Donald Trump, toting an oversized U.S.A. cap at Mar-a-Lago, assured Americans this was all to pre-empt “imminent threats.” While his team barked “NO PANICANS!” online, conflicting justifications rained down faster than the bombs; the truth, it seems, took cover.
From March 1st, the Small Business Administration stopped offering its core 7(a) and 504 loans to “green card” holders—a move causing palpitations among New York’s predominantly immigrant small-business owners, who make up roughly half the sector. Local bodegas and restaurants now eye private lenders, while municipal trade groups scramble to sway Governor Kathy Hochul and friends; for now, entrepreneurial “streets of gold” seem a touch bronze.
New York governor Kathy Hochul outlined proposals to relax the state’s ambitious 2019 climate law, citing cost concerns and a less-than-warm White House. She urged lawmakers to delay emissions regulations until 2030’s end, revise carbon limits, and change counting methods, arguing that affordability trumps deadlines. Lawmakers may balk at loosening green targets, but compromise often generates more heat than light in Albany.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed delaying enforcement of the state’s sweeping climate law until 2030, citing fears that current rules might encourage steep rises in electricity prices—a hard sell for her budget-weary constituents. The plan, debated in Albany this week, leaves activists fuming but lawmakers hedging; we might soon discover just how flexible a “binding” climate commitment can be when utility bills get politicians’ attention.