(photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

The New York City Council’s effort to reduce the criminalization of low-level, non-violent offenses through legislation passed in 2016 has continued to further achieve its aims for the third year in a row, as the NYPD makes fewer arrests and hands out fewer criminal summonses, opting instead for civil fines. But there remain concerns about racial disparities in law enforcement, as an overwhelming number of citations are handed out to black and Latino New Yorkers.

In 2016, the Council under former

(photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

Earlier this week, the School Diversity Advisory Group (SDAG) released its second and final set of recommendations to integrate city schools, a significant development in the current chapter of the city’s response to deep racial and economic segregation in its school system, which is the largest in the country and home to 1.1 million students.

This chapter began in 2014, 60 years after Brown v. Board of Education and Bill de Blasio’s first year as Mayor, when ...

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

Mayor de Blasio was back in the city to march in a wet West Indian Day parade in Brooklyn on Monday after Nevada and California presidential campaign stops (and a family trip to Connecticut). The mayor is continuing with his presidential bid even as several others, such as New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, have dropped out recently. Neither de Blasio nor Gillibrand qualified for the Democratic primary debate set for

(photo: William Alatriste/City Council)

The New York City Council regularly passes bills mandating that city agencies create reports on their work, ostensibly as part of the Council’s oversight responsibilities. From city jail populations to hate crimes statistics to use of force by police officers, the Council has passed bills requiring a report be delivered to it.

The Council passes so many reporting bills that last year, it passed ...

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

This week, we'll find out whether Mayor Bill de Blasio and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York will qualify for the next Democratic presidential primary debate scheduled for September 12 and 13. The debate qualification deadline is Wednesday, August 28, and both candidates have struggled to meet the dual donor and polling threshold – each must hit at least 2% in 4 DNC-approved polls and at least 130,000

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

Mayor Bill de Blasio returned to the city on Sunday evening after spending two days campaigning in New Hampshire. The mayor continues to struggle to drum up support for his presidential campaign and has yet to meet the donor threshold for the next Democratic primary debate, which will be held in September. But he may receive a much-needed boost when he appears at a CNN town hall to discuss his campaign on Sunday,

Joe Borelli, center (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

Joe Borelli, the Republican City Council Member from Staten Island’s South Shore, has made a name for himself as one of the most vociferous pro-Donald Trump supporters in the president’s home city. But, Borelli is a realist and knows that Trump is unpopular in very-Democratic New York, and that the Republican Party has a lot of work to do to regain a foothold in city or state government after several disappointing elections.

During ...

Speaker Johnson, the author, at a construction site (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

Opportunity Zones, which were part of the 2017 federal tax package, have the potential to improve low-income communities. But the way they are currently structured, they will only benefit neighborhoods already in the midst of building booms and gentrification.

Here is how they are supposed to work: Investors get tax breaks if they invest in businesses and property development in low-income communities. In New York City, investors are eligible to save

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

The week begins with many eyes on the apparent death by suicide of Jeffrey Epstein in federal prison in Manhattan, news of which broke on Saturday morning. While conspiracy theories are swirling, Mayor Bill de Blasio and many others are calling for a full investigation. Federal prosecutors who were bringing a child prostitution case against Epstein said that the "conspiracy" case against Epstein's alleged

Donovan Richards and John Miller (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

As the internet continues to transform the landscape of threats to the United States and New York City specifically, the NYPD has had to adapt, and the police department in the country’s largest city, what some call its ‘number one terror target,’ uses monitoring and surveillance tools that have raised questions. Advancements in technology and tactics -- as well as age-old concerns about privacy, free speech, and due process, plus prior departmental errors in

Mayor de Blasio (photo: Rob Bennett/Mayor Bill de Blasio

This is the third and final part of a three-part series on New York City's antiquated and unfair property tax system, its complications and inequities, the underway task of reforming it, and prospects for the future.

Read part one - Taking on the Difficult Task - here.

...

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

New York and the country begin the weekend dealing with the devastating mass shootings over the weekend in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, which came after mass shootings the weekend before in Gilroy, California and here in Brownsville, Brooklyn. There was a vigil on Saturday in Brownsville to mark one week since that incident, and there will be a vigil Monday night at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn to pay respects to

(photo: Edwin J. Torres/ Mayor's Office)

This is part two of a three-part series. Read part one - Taking on the Difficult Task - here. (Skip to part three - The City's Bottom Line - here.)

Elected officials and their critics alike have decried the complexity and inequality of the state’s property tax system.

(photo: John McCarten/City Council)

July 31, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast: A Mass Shooting in Brownsville & the Community Response

City Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel joined the show to discuss the "mass shooting" that occured in her district on Saturday night at the end of a traditional, celebratory community block party, how the community is responding, and what

Mayor de Blasio shovels snow outside one of his two Brooklyn houses (photo: Rob Bennett/Mayor's Office)

This is part one of a three-part series. Skip to part two - Deep and Complex Inequities - here.

In May 2018, after years of criticism that New York City’s property tax system lacks equity, Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced they would empanel a commission of “blue

(photo: John McCarten/City Council)

July 31, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Planning for the City's Future

City Council Member Brad Lander joined the show to discuss his efforts to institute better long-term city planning, to desegregate city schools, and to punish reckless drivers. He also weighed in on the presidential race and the candidacy of Mayor

(photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

As he campaigns for president, Mayor Bill de Blasio has repeatedly said that “this year” the city will pass a mandate that most businesses provide employees with two weeks of paid personal time each year, but the City Council, which would have to pass such legislation, has not committed to the timeline the mayor is touting.

De Blasio first announced his support for paid personal leave and said it would get done “this year” in his January ...

(photo: NYC Planning)

This past week, amidst flooded streets, blackouts, overheated jails, and subway failures, New Yorkers saw the consequences that result from a failure to engage in strategic long-term planning for the future of our city. In the final decisions of the 2019 Charter Revision Commission, we also missed a big chance to do something about it.

The dangers of failing to invest strategically in the infrastructure that sustains our city will grow in coming decades, as temperatures

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

This week starts with Mayor Bill de Blasio and others reacting to a shooting that occured at a large annual block party in Brownsville, Brooklyn on Saturday night. De Blasio met with community leaders in Brownsville on Sunday, while other local officials including Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams also addressed the shooting, which killed at least one person and injured several others. While murders have been

Council Members Levine & Rivera & drivers rally at City Hall (photo: Jeff Reed)

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson asked what sounded like a simple question: should the Taxi & Limousine Commission apologize for its role in the taxi medallion debt crisis, in which thousands of taxi owner-drivers have been trapped in predatory loans unchecked by city and state watchdogs?

Jeffrey Roth, nominated by Mayor Bill de Blasio to lead the TLC, failed to give a direct “yes” or “no.” Johnson asked

(photo: Edwin J. Torres. Mayoral Photo Office)

The City Council took steps Tuesday aimed at addressing what some have described as a crisis of small business closures across the city.

Passing a package of bills that now head to Mayor Bill de Blasio for approval or veto, the Council is seeking to mandate more city outreach to small business and studies of business closures. The legislation does not, however, directly address concerns expressed by members of the business community about over-regulation.

Under de Blasio and two

 (photo: William Alatriste New York City Council)

Billy Joel’s dystopian vision for New York City, laid out in the very upbeat but equally terrifying “Miami 2017,” is coming true. The lights have indeed gone out on Broadway. Perhaps the only difference is that Queens won’t stay. 

This is New York City in 2019: a near 100-degree heat wave shut down power for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, who then trudged through flooded streets once the high temperatures gave way to torrential

(photo: John McCarten/City Council)

July 24, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Evaluating the City's Emergency Preparedness

City Council Member Justin Brannan represents parts of southern Brooklyn and is the chair of the newly-created Council Committee on Resiliency & Waterfronts. He joined the show to discuss recent emergencies

Council Member Donovan Richards (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

July 24, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast: How the City Council is Approaching NYPD Accountability

City Council Member Donovan Richards chairs the Council's Public Safety Committee, which has oversight of the NYPD, and joined the show to discuss holding the

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

This week starts with New Yorkers recovering from an intense heat wave, during which MTA subways faltered on Friday night and there were broader power outages in neighborhoods throughout the city over the course of several days. Mayor Bill de Blasio stayed in the city this weekend due to the heat wave, instead of heading to Iowa as planned for presidential campaigning, and he spent Saturday out and about throughout the