Opening for business (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photography Office)

The pandemic has produced both soaring unemployment in New York City and a host of booming industries hungry for employees. Business leaders and the young administration of Mayor Eric Adams, alike, are looking to spend significant resources to connect candidates to jobs in traditional and emerging sectors. But executives are beginning to see one long-time driver of economic inequality as a particular barrier to tapping New York's 250,000-strong unemployed workforce: the college degree

At the stock exchange (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on New York City’s core Central Business Districts – particularly Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan – which are home to the businesses and industries that are the biggest drivers of the city’s economy.

The lockdown and stay-at-home orders forced by the pandemic changed the nature of work in the city and beyond, and though the office sector – including the information, financial and real estate, and professional and business services industries that occupy so much of the space

Mayor Adams (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday released a $99.7 billion executive budget proposal, a $1.2 billion increase from his February preliminary budget. Though Adams committed billions more in funding for housing and hundreds of millions for the parks department, he nonetheless failed to abide by major pledges he made while running for mayor last year. 

As a mayoral candidate, Adams made sweeping promises for how he would lead the city. But on two fronts he was particularly

Rooftop solar (photo: Ethan Geringer-Sameth)

It was a small world on the roof of a five-storey co-op in West Harlem where Michael Anglin, the building’s treasurer, was showing off its solar panels.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and a team from his office were touring the configuration to understand what went into installing it in the heavily-regulated city, considered by industry insiders to be one of the hardest markets in the world to erect solar panels. Also there was Rit Aggarwala, Lander's long-time associate

Mayor Adams at his first 100 days speech (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

At his first State of the City address on Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams celebrated the accomplishments from his first 100 days in office, outlined his vision for the city’s future, and released a $99.7 billion executive budget for next fiscal year.   

“The state of the city is strong, because New Yorkers have never been stronger,” Adams said at the historic Kings Theater in Brooklyn, in a speech punctuated by optimism about the city’s prospects but also grim realism about tragedies of recent months and the

Climate action (photo: Paige Polk/Mayoral Photography Office)

With the global climate crisis heading to the point of no return, dozens of climate activist groups are rallying ahead of Earth Day, April 22, calling on Governor Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature to pass a a raft of bills they say are crucial to the local and global effort to fight climate change, global warming, and their ill effects.

The bills include efforts to cut carbon emissions, build green infrastructure, reduce the state’s reliance on fossil fuels, prevent harmful cryptocurrency mining, and create tens of thousands of

Legislative leaders Stewart-Cousins and Heastie (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of the Governor)

With a whopping $220 billion state budget approved, Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature now move on to the post-budget legislative session with a long list of issues to address. The governor and two legislative majorities, all Democrats, have their own priorities, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams also has unfinished state business that he is hoping to accomplish before the session is over.

But the clock is ticking, with the legislative session scheduled to end June 2, just

Infrastructure underway (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

The $1.2 trillion infrastructure law enacted in November by Congress and President Joe Biden is expected to funnel about $27 billion to New York State, with a hefty portion of that funding flowing to New York City. The City Council wants to ensure that those resources will be used well and distributed equitably across the city, and at a hearing on Tuesday, Council members sought plans from Mayor Eric Adams’ nascent administration to accomplish that goal. 

Tuesday’s joint hearing was held by the Council’s Committee on

Infrastructure in action (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

In November, Congress approved President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan, which is expected to deliver tens of billions of dollars to New York City for crucial needs. As the city prepares for the influx of federal funds, experts are pointing to several priorities that they believe Mayor Eric Adams should pursue, and the new Democratic mayor will no doubt be evaluating his priorities as he continues to map out his own infrastructure plans, including through budget negotiations with the

Mayor Adams in Albany (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Governor Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature delivered a $220 billion state budget over the weekend, nine days late and packed with last-minute additions that proved controversial, including changes to state bail laws and a massive state subsidy for a new Buffalo Bills stadium upstate. For Mayor Eric Adams, it contained funding and policy decisions to meet some of the new mayor’s major priorities, while not fulfilling other aspects of his state agenda. 

Expansion of Kendra's Law, Funding for Psychiatric Beds Among State Budget Decisions on Mental Illness Policy

Mayor Eric Adams (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

On Mayor Eric Adams’ 100th day in office on Sunday, he announced he had contracted COVID-19, a setback following an event and media blitz in which he touted his early accomplishments and the policy priorities of his incipient administration. It has been a demanding few months for the new mayor, with a series of tragedies and soaring crime posing the most immediate test of the former NYPD captain’s public safety-focused promises, threatening to hobble the city’s pandemic recovery and erode New Yorkers’ patience

Mayor Adams at City Hall (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday launched a new online version of the Mayor’s Management Report, a charter-mandated document that tracks the performance of city agencies and various initiatives across city government. At the same time, Adams signed an executive order formalizing the new Chief Efficiency Officer at City Hall and mandating that agencies appoint Chief Performance Officers to improve agency functioning. 

The new...

Council Speaker Adams (photo: John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit)

The New York City Council wants Mayor Eric Adams to add billions in spending to the city budget for agency operations, city initiatives, and infrastructure to ensure a strong and equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. In issuing its official response to the mayor’s $98.5 billion preliminary budget proposal for the 2023 fiscal year, which begins July 1, the Council has advanced city budget negotiations into their next phase.

Adams’ budget reflects

Council Member Justin Brannan (photo: John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit)

April 6, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: The City Council Responds to the Mayor's Budget Plan

City Council Member Justin Brannan, a Brooklyn Democrat and chair of the Council's finance committee, joined the show to discuss the Council's response to Mayor Adams' preliminary budget.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter @TweetBenMax. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the

NYC Speaks at release of survey results (photo: @nycspeaks2022)

April 6, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: 'NYC Speaks' on Policy Priorities for the Adams Administration

José Serrano-McClain, Co-Executive Director of NYC Speaks and Partner at HR&A Advisors, joined the show to discuss the NYC Speaks public policy survey that received over 62,000 responses from New Yorkers and what comes next in the public engagement process that is being done in coordination with the administration of Mayor Eric Adams to inform the city's policies and priorities. NYC Speaks is

Gov. Hochul addresses the Legislature (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)

New York officials are in the final stages of negotiating what is likely to be a roughly $220 billion state budget for the next fiscal year, which begins Friday, April 1. While the Legislature will not pass the budget bills by the start of the fiscal year, a deal between Governor Kathy Hochul and the two houses of the Legislature is expected within a few days.

The budget contains hundreds of funding and policy priorities that will impact government

Council Member Shahana Hanif (photo: @ShahanaFromBK)

How city government is addressing the needs of immigrant communities is shaping up to be one of several key issues as Mayor Eric Adams and the New York City Council negotiate the next city budget, due by the July 1 start of the new city fiscal year.

Among a series of March hearings held by the Council on Mayor Adams’ $98.5 billion preliminary budget plan, representatives from the Mayor’s Office on Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) and advocates appeared before Council members to

City Planning Chief Dan Garodnick (photo: Joanna Graham/Mayoral Photography Office)

In a presentation to the New York City Council Wednesday, newly-appointed Department of City Planning Commissioner Dan Garodnick discussed the Adams administration's proposed budget and values for how land should be used to shape the city's future.

The Department of City Planning, which helps craft proposed changes to land use rules, including zoning regulations and applications, is working towards some of the pillars of inclusive economic growth and crisis adaptability contained in Mayor Eric Adams’ economic recovery

Mayor Adams visits a factory (photo: Michael

Covid vaccination (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

As New York City was in the throes of the initial devastating wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio recruited Dr. Jay Varma to help guide his public health policy.

Varma, a well-respected international expert on infectious disease control and prevention, became de Blasio’s senior advisor for public health in April 2020, relocating back to New York City from work he was doing abroad and helping to craft public health policy for the city through the end of 2021 and de Blasio’s tenure as

Eric Adams at church (photo: Erica Sherman/Brooklyn BP's Office)

“God told me, ‘Eric, you’re going to be Mayor.’ I am here because of my spirituality,” Eric Adams said last month as he announced the creation of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnership. Though the office will connect with all faiths, it is being led by Gilford Monrose, pastor of the predominantly Black church, Mt. Zion Church of God 7th Day in Brooklyn, where Adams has lived for decades and was borough president before becoming the city’s 110th mayor.

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Comptroller Lander and Mayor Adams in their prior roles (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a progressive Brooklyn Democrat, is getting situated in his new role, which he calls the city’s “chief accountability officer.” As the comptroller, Lander’s citywide perch gives him a series of largely fiscal responsibilities mandated by the city Charter, including as a fiduciary to the public pension funds, a watchdog over city government finances, and the auditor-in-chief of city agencies.

New Investigations Commissioner Says Department Needs More Funding to Do Its Job Fighting Corruption in City Government

Getting vaccinated (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Uptake of COVID-19 vaccines remains persistently low in pockets of New York City two years into the pandemic, despite being shown to reduce the severity and spread of the virus that has killed nearly 40,000 New Yorkers.

A city health department study in August found a vast majority of covid-related hospitalizations