The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s fresh $1.5 billion climate plan—replete with flood pumps and higher subway entrances—arrived in New York just as Brooklyn endured a rainstorm fierce enough to turn day care pick-ups into lifeboat drills. W…
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s revival of the Sunnyside Yard mega-project—a $21 billion scheme for 12,000 homes atop a still-busy Queens railyard—has raised neighborhood hackles, especially as talks with President Trump seek billions in federal funds but offer little clarity. Locals, it seems, are united chiefly in confusion, as the world’s largest deck may well rest on airier foundations than advertised.
As oil prices leapt 32% nationwide to $4.02 per gallon, New York Governor Kathy Hochul championed a slower energy transition, citing the immediate costs and hiccups of renewables. Critics, led by analysts and environmentalists, warn that betting on fossil fuels leaves the Empire State exposed to global price tantrums and say official cost estimates ignore the long-term perks of free wind and sun. For now, the law remains more ambitious than reality.
Donald Trump threatened retaliatory strikes on Iran’s power stations and bridges next Tuesday should Tehran continue its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy artery. The blustering comes after U.S. forces rescued two downed pilots in Iranian mountains, an episode the president called “audacious.” We await Monday’s White House press briefing, expecting more fireworks—or possibly just more smoke than flame.
A sweeping new study in Nature Medicine, drawing on three decades of data from 204 countries, places the blame for over 4 million annual deaths from ischaemic heart disease squarely on diets low in nuts, seeds, whole grains and fruit—plus a universal fondness for salt. Even so, where people eat better, heart mortality has plunged 44%. Evidently, progress really is what we dish up.
New York’s budget season has smuggled in Governor Kathy Hochul’s “online safety” bill, which would force websites to verify users’ ages via government ID or biometric data—ostensibly to protect children, but at the expense of privacy and free speech. Critics warn this could endanger immigrants, LGBTQ+ youth, and anyone needing anonymity online, proving yet again that unintended consequences are the city’s most consistent legacy.
Weeks before Sam Altman's brief dismissal last year, OpenAI’s chief scientist Ilya Sutskever quietly compiled scores of messages alleging Altman misled both board and staff about AI safety, even as the non-profit’s founding ideal was to safeguard humanity above profit. Sutskever’s cloak-and-dagger tactics suggest that when it comes to revolutionising intelligence, trust is in shorter supply than GPU chips.
City & State’s 2026 Trailblazers in Transportation list introduces the likes of New York City Council’s Shaun Abreu and Capital District Transport’s Frank Annicaro, plus grassroots crusaders such as Mayra Aldás-Deckert, all intent on overhauling how New Yorkers get around. With e-scooters, ferries, and even autonomous cars vying for a slice of the action, gridlock may soon have more competition than just angry horns.
Uber and New York’s trial lawyers are trading pointed letters over a state bill to limit auto insurance payouts, with the company lobbying Albany hard to ease famously princely premiums, while the lawyers’ association claims such caps would shortchange accident victims. With vast lobbying war chests on both sides, we suspect that only the actuaries are sleeping soundly—at least until the next amendment arrives.
