New York City in brief

The United States now finds itself about 10 million homes short, driving up prices and stretching affordability to the breaking point—buyers need roughly $117,000 a year to snag an average house, up nearly 50% since 2020, according to Bankrate. Regulators, armed with plans and good intentions, aim to boost supply and tame costs, though we note that concrete tends to set more quickly than housing policy.

Work has begun on the long-delayed Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline, set to channel gas from Pennsylvania through New Jersey and under New York Harbor to supply over 2 million homes in the city by 2027—charmingly enough, the same project spiked by New York regulators in a prior political era. Federal officials trumpet jobs, lower bills, and “America’s future”—as ever, the pipes seem easier to lay than consensus.

New York’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani, joined by Deputy Mayor Julie Su, has unveiled a $70 million scheme for five city-run food shops aimed at undercutting soaring grocery prices—66% higher since 2013—by stocking basics at below-market rates. Local grocers are hardly thrilled, fearing ruin by municipal competition, but the first public marqueta opens next year; whether affordable eggs scramble the city’s retail ecosystem remains, as ever, anyone’s guess.

Preparations have begun in North Bergen for boring the Gateway Tunnel, a long-delayed rail link beneath the Hudson River connecting New Jersey and New York. Despite hard rock, legal wrangling, and the federal government’s unpredictable largesse, engineers promise tailor-made tunnels, cut by 1,700-ton machines crewed by up to 40 workers apiece. The result, we’re assured, will fit like a custom suit—albeit one that tests our patience as well as rock saws.

Donald Trump’s push for stricter Medicaid regulations in his latest domestic policy bill has sent New York’s officials scrambling to devise backstops, lest hundreds of thousands lose health coverage. Albany’s proposed fixes may soften Washington’s blow, but we suspect a game of regulatory whack-a-mole will keep lawyers and actuaries busier than the patients—who, as ever, await their turn.