New York City in brief

Around 450,000 New Yorkers will lose access to the state’s Essential Plan for low-cost health insurance in July, as post-HR1 federal rules squeeze those just above the poverty line. Though the state wrangled a partial waiver and legislators like Amy Paulin and Gustavo Rivera urge Albany to bridge the gap, budget-makers insist billions are needed—an amount apparently too rich for New York’s current tax palate. Prevention, it seems, remains cheaper than cure.

With contract talks between the Long Island Rail Road’s five unions and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority stalled, over 300,000 daily New York riders face a looming May 16 strike. Both sides agree on modest retroactive raises, but deadlock persists over final-year pay and work rules—raising the prospect of picket signs and disrupted commutes, while the MTA’s cheery advice to “work from home” lands with all the usual optimism.

With a Long Island Rail Road strike still possible come Saturday, the MTA and five unions remain at loggerheads over a fourth-year pay raise—workers want 5%, management counters with 3% plus some sweetener. Both sides agree this isn’t rocket science, but 300,000 daily commuters may disagree when the agency’s “just work from home” solution collides with buses running more on hope than horsepower.

The Long Island Rail Road faces its first potential strike since the 1990s as union leaders and the MTA remain locked in pay negotiations before Saturday’s deadline; nearly 300,000 daily commuters from Long Island and New York City might soon swap packed trains for tortuous shuttle-bus odysseys. Governor Kathy Hochul, striving to balance wage fairness and public spending, hopes crisis-averting compromise proves more reliable than timetables.

As the clock ticks toward Saturday’s deadline, the MTA and five unions representing 3,500 Long Island Rail Road workers are still haggling in Nassau County over the fine print of a four-year, retroactive contract—mainly a fourth-year pay bump, with 0.5% separating the sides. Governor Kathy Hochul favors compromise, but commuters fear gridlock if talks derail; shuttle buses and remote work await as fallback, promising few creature comforts.