New York City in brief

Roughly 123,000 New Yorkers are now subject to new SNAP work rules, courtesy of last year’s cumbersomely named One Big Beautiful Bill. Adults deemed “able-bodied” must clock 80 hours a month of work or similar activity—or risk hunger, if not the dole. Exemptions for the homeless, veterans and foster youths have quietly vanished, leaving the city’s bureaucracy busily mailing instructions while many recipients eye their calendars, and their pantries, with some unease.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has dusted off the $21 billion Sunnyside Yards redevelopment in Queens, pitching a Washington-backed plan for 12,000 homes—half under the Mitchell-Lama program—atop a 115-acre railyard. While Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez acknowledges the potential for “transformational” investment, local politicians warn of déjà vu, citing gentrification fears, scant public approvals, and a notable absence of community consensus. Apparently, hope—and controversy—sprouts as stubbornly as New York weeds.

From March 1st, thousands of healthy New Yorkers without dependents will need to clock at least 80 hours monthly of work, job training, or community service to keep their SNAP food assistance—a familiar federal requirement dusted off after pandemic-era waivers expired. Those falling short will see benefits cut after three months, though we suspect public appetite for navigating the bureaucracy may far outlast the groceries themselves.

Patients insured by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield have found themselves out in the cold after a contract standoff with Mount Sinai forced their doctors out-of-network in January—only for both parties to trade blame and leave patients to pay dearly or doctor-shop. In America’s spirited market for healthcare, it seems patients are invited to the negotiating table mainly as the hors d’oeuvres.

After a joint American-Israeli strike killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on February 28th, a cascade of violence has gripped the region, with six U.S. troops killed so far. Donald Trump, never shy of hyperbole, rated the crisis a “15 out of 10”—an enthusiastic scoring that suggests his scale, like the conflict itself, may soon require recalibration.