Say no to the “City of Yes” for Economic Opportunity zoning changes.  Mayor Adams and the Department of City Planning (DCP) have crafted 18 citywide zoning proposals drawn largely from recommendations from the real estate, construction, and business industries.  Their zoning wish list will come for a vote in the City Council in March. Basically, City of Yes calls for manufacturing and industrial uses to be permitted in commercial areas, and commercial development permitted in residential neighborhoods. What could go wrong? more

New York is facing an unprecedented affordability crisis. The cost of basics like rent, food, and health care are increasing dramatically and wages aren’t keeping pace. New Yorkers are struggling, forcing them to make difficult decisions about what they can afford. more

Forget scary movies or the end of the world — what scares almost all of us the most, by far, is getting a voicemail from a family member, telling you to call back right away because “it’s important.” more

Thanks South Africa (invoking the genocide convention joined by Israel MK Ofer Cassif) and Yemen (blocking ships to/from Israel) for challenging genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and democide in Palestine. We need a ceasefire. USA and Israel have shown contempt; most human rights organizations and UN nations condemn USA and Israel atrocities (backed by UK/EU) against Palestinians for 75 years. The Nakba never ended. more

As lawmakers gathered in Albany to hear Gov. Hochul give her annual State of the State speech and propose a state budget, storm clouds were gathering here in Riverdale — and not just the kind that brought the most recent snowstorms. more

Applications are open for stewardship of the historic Van Cortlandt House — a stone dwelling built by the owner of a slave plantation in the Bronx. It’s now curated by The National Society of Colonial Dames of New York, an organization whose membership is limited to descendants of white colonialists. The Dames want to extend their stewardship. And the people of The Bronx shouldn’t stand for it. more

(This is in response to Danielle Herbert Guggenheim’s point of view on the National Society of Colonial Dames of New York’s stewardship of the Van Cortlandt House.) On behalf of the NSCDNY (National Society of Colonial Dames of New York), I appreciate Mrs. Guggenheim’s candor and welcome the dialogue that we hope will follow. While I do not agree with every point that she makes in her letter, I firmly agree with her sentiment that America is not defined by one type of person or perspective. The Dames’ mission is one of preservation, education, and patriotic Service for ALL Americans, and I hope that comes across in the work that the Dames do. more

(The following is a letter sent to residents of the 81st Assembly District, encompassing the neighborhoods of Riverdale, Norwood, Wakefield, Fieldston, Woodlawn, Kingsbridge, North Riverdale, and Spuyten Duyvil.) Here is some positive news from Nov. 15’s New York State Democratic Committee meeting:  more

As U.S. election officials gear up for the 2024 Presidential election, judges in over a dozen states could decide whether the 14th Amendment’s Section 3 disqualifies former President Donald Trump from future office. Recently, the Colorado Supreme Court removed candidate Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot, finding that the safeguard covers the office of U.S. President and that Trump personally engaged in insurrection. Trump has already appealed to the Supreme Court. more

On Dec. 19, 2023, in an interview on a cable TV station that reaches nearly 2 million viewers each weeknight, a former senior advisor in the Trump White House spoke about what he characterized as the “complete resettlement of America.” He attributed that phenomenon to the arrival here of millions of people from far and wide, bringing with them their cultures, traditions, and belief systems. more