It’s Tough to Get Things Done in New York. Here’s Why.
The New York Times
Congestion pricing was the latest ambitious proposal that couldn’t navigate New York’s rocky political terrain. It’s a tall order to achieve substantial change in the city.
With New York on the verge of becoming the first city in the nation to adopt congestion pricing, a sudden, familiar chill fell over the city last week, as another ambitious project was shelved.
This time, it was Gov. Kathy Hochul who consigned a big initiative to the dustbin, where it will molder alongside other abandoned and delayed big-ticket projects like a subway to Staten Island, an AirTrain to La Guardia Airport, a new Port Authority Bus Terminal, a new Pennsylvania Station, a reconstructed Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and a cross-Hudson River rail tunnel canceled by Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.
In the adjoining garbage bin lie other big development projects like a football stadium on Manhattan’s West Side and smaller initiatives with potentially outsize impact, like all-door bus boarding.
For a place where change is the rule and unbridled ambition the guiding light, New York can be a remarkably hard place to get things done.
“We’re the most change-oriented place in America on one level, and we’re also the most traditionalist on another level,” said Bill de Blasio, the former mayor, in an interview on Monday. “It’s a very weird mix.”
New York City is nothing if not constantly in flux. Bodegas become illegal smoke shops. Neighborhoods identified with one group of immigrants become home to another. Disney supplants pornography in Times Square. Working-class outposts become havens for 20-somethings with trust funds.
The Constitution sets a two-term limit for presidents. Still, Donald J. Trump has repeatedly floated the idea that he might like to stay in the White House beyond his next term.
In other testimony, law enforcement witnesses placed the suspect, José Ibarra, at the scene of Ms. Riley’s killing, mainly through cellphone and GPS tracking data.
The warning, which extends beyond the city to include 10 other counties in New York state, was announced as wildfires burned and residents continued to await meaningful rainfall.
A new curriculum would focus on Christianity more than other religions. A kindergarten lesson on the Golden Rule, for example, would teach about Jesus and his Sermon on the Mount.
A suspect was arrested Monday morning in connection with the stabbings, which occurred across a broad swath of the borough over several hours and left a third person critically injured.
The 99-year-old house on Boston’s North Shore is battered and uninhabited. And yet, it is beloved by artists and locals — so much that they helped pause its demolition.
Slashing the original $15 toll raises questions about whether a smaller revenue stream could delay projects or lead to higher costs for New York’s public transit agency.
The group’s actions in Columbus on Saturday, part of a recent pattern of white supremacist incidents in the country, were condemned by officials around the state.
As a Senate recount plays out, at least four counties are ignoring an order from the State Supreme Court that undated or misdated mail ballots cannot be counted.
The voluntary evacuation plan was put in place in areas affected by the Jennings Creek wildfire. Officials encouraged residents of 165 homes to move out temporarily.
In a court filing, the judge said the conviction of Melissa Lucio, whose scheduled execution in 2022 was halted, should be overturned. The state’s highest criminal court will now decide.