Election administrators and policymakers are weighing various changes to New York’s nine-day early voting program, some of which may curtail access if enacted.
By Jarret Berg
More than 2.98 million New Yorkers voted early in the 2024 General Election, excluding mail-in ballots. That’s an increase of 20% (or more than 477,000 voters), compared to the 2.51 million New Yorkers who turned out during the 2020 early voting period. In 2024, the vast majority … <Read More>
By Mark Chiusano
On the same day last month that heavily armed federal agents gathered for a widely-publicized immigration raid in the Bronx, the New York City Hospitality Alliance sent out an email with the subject line “What To Do if ICE Knocks on Your Door.”
For President Donald Trump’s new administration, the day was full of bombast, with new Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem riding along and talking about getting “dirtbags” off the streets.… <Read More>
By Mark Chiusano
Ya-Ting Liu was appointed New York City’s inaugural chief public realm officer two years ago this month. How has the realm changed so far during her tenure?
That was the subject of Liu’s talk at New York Law School’s 196th CityLaw Breakfast on Wednesday, during which she described well-used public space as “the secret sauce of cities” and how she thinks pedestrians should be “the main character” in New York City design. … <Read More>
By Liz Fine
The new year. A time for celebrations, for resolutions – and in Albany, for the launch of the State budget process. Far more than in most states, a year’s worth of policy making will get crammed into several weeks of work and thousands of dense legislative and budget pages.
I have had a long career in government. I worked in the White House, Congress, and as General Counsel to the New York … <Read More>
By Jim Caras
This month the Mayor releases his Preliminary Budget, marking the start of the City’s annual budget process for the 2026 fiscal year that begins July 1, 2025. The City Charter, in Chapter 10, requires the Mayor to propose a budget and the City Council to adopt a budget for each fiscal year. The City budget is a vitally important document that sets the City’s spending priorities by determining funding levels for various … <Read More>
By Mark Chiusano
There are countless ways to demonstrate the forever-controversial nature of alternate side parking (ASP) in New York City, but only one involves Mayor Ed Koch’s voice whining from a mechanical street sweeper.
That was the gimmick the then-mayor unveiled in 1988 to encourage illegally parked cars to move, so the street sweepers could clean. “Get it outta here,” his tape-recorded voice implored.
It’s just one example of how alternate side parking – … <Read More>