Thousands of New York City residents will find their emergency housing vouchers expiring by year’s end, as federal funds vanish four years ahead of schedule—a timing faux pas for those hoping for shelter. State Senator Brian Kavanagh and housing adv…
American households now owe $1.28 trillion on credit cards—a jump of 66% since the pandemic, per the New York Fed—with average balances hitting $11,500 at a bruising 23.7% interest. Despite “improving” US economic data, incomes lag, prices stay high, and roughly 111 million adults carry balances, delaying even basic medical care. At this rate, creditors might soon know more about us than our doctors do.
In Manhattan’s marble halls, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Council Speaker Julie Menin have closed ranks to tackle New York City’s looming $5.6 billion budget gap before a constitutionally mandated June 30 deadline. Their plan—trim spending, squeeze Albany for a PTET credit tweak, and inveigh against the city’s perennial funding shortfall—met Governor Kathy Hochul’s flat “not happening.” Apparently, New York’s economic engine must run on chutzpah and hope alone.
As New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani waits, hat in hand, for Governor Kathy Hochul to pump more cash into his $5.4bn budget gap, Albany’s own $263bn fiscal wrangling drags past the 25-day mark, giving both leaders ample opportunity for unhurried brinkmanship. A delayed executive budget now looks increasingly likely—after all, nobody rushes to play the villain when someone else can wear the horns.
America’s Supreme Court heard arguments over whether Mr. Trump’s administration could end Temporary Protected Status, a policy shielding 360,000 Haitians and Syrians (and perhaps, by extension, 1.3 million people from 17 countries) from deportation. Previous federal judges ruled the government overstepped; now the conservative bench will decide if nixing TPS was lawful—in Washington, a city suddenly flush with nervous visitors holding rather more paperwork than usual.
With New York City facing a $5.4bn budget hole, Council President Julie Menin and Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani found rare common ground: they urged Albany to tax the wealthy more and pare back a generous transfer tax credit, boldly expecting a fairer fiscal cut. Governor Kathy Hochul, presumably allergic to tax hikes, dryly retorted that the city has already had its helping—serving cold fiscal comfort with clarity.
New York legislators, led by Andrea Stewart-Cousins, say they are inching toward deals with Governor Kathy Hochul on overdue budget items, from car insurance reforms and tweaks to a climate law irking both advocates and lawyers, to changes nudging more homes onto the market and fresh immigrant protections. With the budget nearly a month late, we are—by Stewart-Cousins’ own metric—approaching the end of the middle, which presumably beats circling the beginning.
New York’s Deputy Mayor for economic justice, Julie Su, has vowed to grow the city’s economy by building 200,000 apartments and universal child care, while curbing fat tax breaks for developers who don’t help the working class—though she’s vague on the fine print. With a $5.4 billion deficit and state resistance to taxing the rich, this “bigger pie” recipe may need some inventive baking.
American regulators proposed making driver-monitoring cameras—think sharp-eyed backseat drivers—compulsory in all new cars by 2027, with technology that can immobilise a vehicle if a motorist appears drowsy or drunk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims the move could prevent thousands of crashes, though libertarians may prefer their windshield views free from digital scrutiny, if only so Big Brother doesn’t judge their karaoke performances at red lights.
