Dina Levy, freshly minted as commissioner of New York’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, says she’ll forge new ways to prevent tenants from being ousted when they can’t pay rent—a tall order in a city where affordable housing is as rare as a short subway delay. Backed by the “City of Yes” rezoning push, Levy faces a familiar Big Apple riddle: more policy, fewer evictions, but still no magic wand.
New York City in brief
Top five stories in the five boroughs today
After years of false starts, the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan for Long Island City squeezed through New York’s City Council last November, promising some 14,700 new homes (4,300 “affordable”), plus 15 acres of green space and a $2 billion windfall for public goodies ranging from dog parks to sewage fixes. For once, neighbourhood opposition yielded to consensus—proof that even in New York, patience occasionally pays dividends.
From March 16th, commuter trains will roll over the new Portal North Bridge in Kearny, New Jersey, replacing an ancient lift bridge notorious for holding up 200,000 daily riders on America’s busiest rail corridor. NJ Transit promises the second track by autumn, presumably to double the pleasure. With any luck, the Hackensack won’t see such hair-raising delays until the next bridge lasts 116 years.
New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and FIFA chief Gianni Infantino wrapped up closed-door talks fine-tuning their grand plans for July’s 2026 World Cup final at MetLife Stadium—where billions will watch and not a few dollars will change hands. Logistics sparkle, controversy lingers: President Trump has “welcomed” Iran’s team, only to caution them to stay home. Apparently, even football can’t quite dribble past geopolitics.
With a $5.4bn budget hole looming, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s radical memo to Albany proposes slashing New York’s estate tax exemption from $7m to $750,000 and boosting the top rate to 50%—measures billed as “tax the rich” but likely to catch many an unsuspecting brownstone in their sweep. If enacted, the mayor could find the exodus of assets rivals the flight of pigeons from Central Park.