Government

New York, NY—New York realized about $54 billion from the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill that was enacted at the end of last year. The bill’s signing was in doubt for months because Democrats and Republicans haggled over the price tag. President-elect Joe Biden recently announced a nearly $2 trillion American Rescue Plan, and Republicans are already balking. But U.S. Senator ...

New York, NY—Parents on the Upper East Side were thrilled when, after their hard work and support from elected officials, the Department of Education opened a pre-K French dual language program last October. The parents, however, had also worked with the DOE to identify a public school on the Upper East Side that would host a K-5 French dual language program so that the pre-K students could ...

New York, NY—U.S. Senator Charles Schumer announced today that New York City and New York State will soon be fully reimbursed for expenses incurred in the fight against COVID-19 thanks to an agreement with President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming Federal Emergency Management Agency’s administration.

Back on March 13, 2020, an emergency disaster declaration was declared, and both ...

New York, NY—President-elect Joe Biden’s Build Back Better economic plan calls for investing around $2 trillion to re-build and expand the country’s transportation and infrastructure network as a means to realize net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The plan has earned the praise of legislators and advocates alike who say that it could lead to the most consequential four years of ...

New York, NY—There’s high hopes for robust investment in public transportation with an incoming Joe Biden administration as he himself is an avid supporter and commuter of Amtrak trains. Indeed, one of the pillars of his Build Back Better economic platform is to modernize and invest in the nation’s crumbling transportation infrastructure. Within that context, the New York ...

New York, NY—The race for the Manhattan District Attorney is crowded. Yesterday you were introduced to four of the candidates who each provided their vision for the DA office during a virtual forum hosted by the West Side Democrats this week. In this installment, you’ll read about another four candidates who likewise shared their vision, explained some reforms they’d like to ...

New York, NY—The Westside Democrats recently hosted a virtual forum of all eight candidates who are running to be the next Manhattan District Attorney. In this installment, we’ll meet the first four candidates who started off the conversation by explaining why they are the most qualified to succeed Cy Vance.

First up was Eliza Orlins, who said that she’s the most qualified ...

New York, NY—Chants of “Tax the Rich” bellowed from those who gathered in front of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office as a new and broad coalition of different organizations launched today to persuade lawmakers in Albany to pass a total of six bills that would end tax breaks and increase taxes for the wealthiest of New Yorkers.

The coalition backing the legislation consists ...

New York, NY—The election for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office is scheduled for June 2021, and that means that another candidate forum is in order. Last month, the Chelsea Reform Democrats and Hell’s Kitchen Democrats co-hosted a forum for the nine candidates running in the 2021 Democratic primary. Tomorrow evening, the West Side Democrats will be hosting, which will be ...

New York, NY—Governor Andrew Cuomo officially led the ribbon cutting yesterday to announce the grand opening of the new, $1.6 billion-dollar, Moynihan Train Hall that passengers will be able to access starting tomorrow.

As we reported on Tuesday, the new train hall represents a significant milestone for passenger rail travel in New York, especially during a time when the region’s ...