Author: Newyorki

New York officials are exploring an ambitious new approach to one of the subway system’s most persistent summer problems: extreme heat on underground platforms. The proposal would use a thermal energy network to remove heat from subway stations and eventually reuse that energy to warm nearby municipal buildings during the winter. Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Governor Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced the initiative this week, beginning with an approximately $800,000 feasibility study focused on the interconnected Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall 4/5/6 and Chambers Street J/Z stations in Lower Manhattan. The location was chosen in part because of its notoriously…

New York City students are calling on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to overhaul its Student OMNY card program, arguing that the cards are too fragile, frequently malfunction and can be difficult to replace when damaged. High school students gathered on the steps of New York City Hall on Wednesday to demand changes to the program and release a report documenting problems students say they regularly encounter while using the cards to travel to school and other activities. The findings were based on a survey of nearly 700 students. According to the report, 88% said their Student OMNY cards had been…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is effectively retreating from one of his campaign commitments, acknowledging that building affordable housing on the Elizabeth Street Garden site in Lower Manhattan has become extremely difficult following actions taken by former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration. During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani backed plans to develop affordable housing on the roughly one-acre garden in Nolita. The proposed project, known as Haven Green, envisioned 123 affordable apartments primarily for low-income seniors, while retaining a smaller amount of public green space. But the legal landscape surrounding the property changed dramatically shortly before Mamdani took office. In November…

New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James have sharply criticized a federal plan to equip U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers with gloves capable of delivering painful electric shocks, escalating an already intense dispute between New York officials and the federal government over immigration enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security is considering spending between $10 million and $20 million to purchase thousands of devices known as the G.L.O.V.E. — Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter. The equipment resembles ordinary patrol gloves but can be activated to deliver an electrical shock through direct contact with a person’s skin. Federal…

Federal authorities have charged 11 people in New York in connection with what prosecutors describe as one of the largest marriage-fraud operations ever prosecuted in the United States, accusing the group of arranging sham marriages to help foreign nationals obtain green cards and legal immigration status. The alleged operation was run from New York and continued for more than a decade. According to the U.S. Justice Department, the network is believed to have arranged more than 1,000 fraudulent marriages, primarily involving Chinese nationals seeking permanent residency in the United States. Prosecutors allege that organizers recruited American citizens willing to enter…

A 10-year-old girl suffered devastating injuries after an illegal M-80 firecracker exploded in her hand at a Staten Island park, while a New York City Parks Department employee has been charged in connection with the incident. The explosion occurred Tuesday evening at General Douglas MacArthur Park in Dongan Hills, where police say the child had found the firework in a nearby field and was trying to get someone to help her light it. According to authorities and court documents, 24-year-old Parks Department employee Joshua Moe allegedly provided the girl with a lighter that she then used to ignite the M-80.…

New York City is getting a break from the recent stretch of unsettled summer weather on Wednesday, August 12, with generally brighter conditions expected before the chance of thunderstorms increases again on Thursday. According to CBS New York’s First Alert Weather team, Wednesday will feature mostly sunny skies with a forecast temperature around 85°F (29°C) and only a slight possibility of an isolated shower. The relatively quiet conditions offer New Yorkers a more favorable window for outdoor activities following periods of intense summer heat and thunderstorms across the Tri-State Area earlier in the week. The calmer pattern, however, may be…

New Yorkers will have an opportunity to witness a partial solar eclipse today, Wednesday, August 12, as the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun during one of the most anticipated astronomical events of 2026. New York City lies outside the path of totality, but residents will still see the Moon partially obscure the Sun. According to NASA timing reported by ABC7 New York, the eclipse is expected to reach its maximum in New York City at approximately 1:54 p.m. Eastern Time. The event is part of a much larger total solar eclipse sweeping across sections of the Northern Hemisphere.…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani held a closed-door meeting with a group of prominent rabbis at City Hall as his administration faces continuing questions over relations with the city’s Jewish community, antisemitic hate crimes and his outspoken criticism of Israel. The roughly hour-long meeting brought together 10 rabbis from Reform, Conservative and Modern Orthodox communities. Participants described the conversation as candid and respectful, with several raising concerns that Mamdani’s rhetoric regarding Israel could leave some Jewish New Yorkers feeling increasingly isolated or unsafe. The discussion also focused on antisemitism and security in New York City. Rabbis pointed to recent…

A new political and legal battle is unfolding in New York City over the pied-à-terre tax, a controversial surcharge targeting luxury homes that are not used as their owners’ primary residences. The dispute intensified after Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Wayne Ozzi temporarily blocked parts of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration’s rollout of the tax following a lawsuit by three homeowners. The challenge focuses largely on how the city implemented the surcharge, rather than the underlying legality of the tax itself. The measure targets luxury second homes valued at $5 million or more and was promoted by Mamdani and New York…