Is New York Still a ‘Tale of Two Cities’?
The New York Times
Checking in on Bill de Blasio’s pledge to improve inequality, eight years later.
In his final weeks in office, Mayor Bill de Blasio has sought to cement his legacy, arguing that he has accomplished what he set out to do when he first ran for mayor in 2013: reduce inequality in New York City.
There is some evidence to support this. His signature accomplishment, creating a prekindergarten-for-all program, set the stage for a “3K-for-all” expansion in 2017. Currently, about 96,000 children are enrolled in both programs. The mayor has also pointed to the city’s poverty rate, which fell before the pandemic to roughly 18 percent in 2019, from 20.5 percent in 2013.
“We know there was a huge transfer of wealth,” Mr. de Blasio recently told reporters. “I’m a believer in redistribution of wealth. It happened to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.”
The former congresswoman is the most prominent candidate so far to start a campaign in the 2026 contest. But the race could be upended if former Vice President Kamala Harris decides to run.
With few signs of progress on a proposed redevelopment project, one group is hoping to move the famous arena.
The administration’s warning came just after it pulled hundreds of millions of dollars from Columbia University.
Instead of speaking out on the hot-button debates of the day, more schools are making it a policy to stay silent as political pressure mounts against higher education.
In his second term, President Trump is cultivating warm relationships with G.O.P. lawmakers — and using the implicit threat of ruining them if they stray — to keep them in line behind his agenda.
Federal agencies are removing topsoil from burned areas but will not test it for contaminants. So scientists and residents are testing fire-affected properties themselves.
President Trump is planning to gut the work force while trying to turn the I.R.S. into a more political agency.
Three mayoral candidates have been accused of sexual misconduct. They deny wrongdoing. Will it be a deciding issue for Democratic voters?
President Trump has made clear he wants to keep both men and their allies within his movement, but the tensions are growing.
The authorities said there were no initial reports of damage from the quake, which struck in the hills west of Malibu.
The state and the correctional officers’ union agreed that officers should return to work Monday and that some provisions of a solitary confinement law would be put on pause.
One of the three media witnesses to the execution of Brad Sigmon in South Carolina on Friday describes what he saw.
The utility that serves New York City and Westchester County has filed a request to raise its rates to help pay for the shift to cleaner energy, sparking dismay among residents.