Rendering of the Sunnyside Yard Master Plan

In March 2020, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration and Amtrak released the Sunnyside Yard Master Plan, an ambitious $14 billion infrastructure project that would deck the 180-acre rail yard in Queens and effectively create a new community with thousands of affordable homes and dozens of acres of green and public space situated atop a new regional rail hub.

But the plan was released at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, just before the city and state went into lockdown, economic activity slowed to a crawl, and every city infrastructure project was put on

Mayor Adams says hello to students (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

September 9, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: The Start of a New School Year in New York City

Alex Zimmerman, reporter at Chalkbeat New York, joined the show to discuss the start of the new school year, the controversy around school budget cuts, and more education news.

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 episode

On the job (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

New York City has recovered many of the jobs lost at the height of the covid pandemic and some industries have expanded in the shifting economic landscape. But unemployment and inequality remain high, and there is too often a mismatch between employers seeking a workforce to power growth in areas like health care, tech, and life sciences and those in need of jobs. It is a challenge and opportunity Mayor Eric Adams discussed regularly when he was running

Mayor Adams at Rikers (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

As the crisis on Rikers Island continues and the death toll soars, Mayor Eric Adamstold New Yorkers last week that there needs to be a “plan B” for the city’s plan to shutter the notorious jail complex, suggesting he may not close Rikers at all. This

The Working Families Party in Queens (photo: @NYWFP)

The results of the August party primary elections for the U.S. House of Representatives and State Senate were bittersweet for the New York Working Families Party, the progressive third party that seeks to push Democrats to the left. The WFP is one of the most prominent actors in the intra-party battle Democrats continue to wage in New York and beyond.

Several WFP-backed Democratic incumbents who faced competitive challenges emerged victorious in their primary races. Other endorsed candidates won primaries for open seats, likely adding to the ranks

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

Adrienne Adams, a Queens Democrat and the first Black Speaker of the New York City Council, gives herself a “B+” grade on her tenure so far. In an interview with Gotham Gazette, Adams said that when she took over, she found herself “in uncharted waters, where no other speaker has begun their career,” having to deal with the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, ushering along the city’s recovery, and negotiating a complicated budget with a new mayor intent on reigning in city spending.

For the past seven-plus

NYC Greenway

New York City’s greenways are getting another lift. Greenways, paths for pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles exclusively, are viewed by supporters as boons for safe, environmentally-friendly alternatives to traditional transportation and opportunities for quality-of-life-boosting recreation.

Advocates stress that building these pathways, ideally in an expansive and connected network, has several benefits. Those include reducing car use and pressure on mass transit, offering venues for outdoor exercise, and creating green spaces that line the thoroughfares and prevent flooding and even

Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams make an announcement (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)

According to state data, the number of people placed under court-ordered mental health treatment since April, when lawmakers expanded the court's power to make such determinations, has increased 60% from the same period a year before.

The data, provided by the state Office of Court Administration (OCA) to Gotham Gazette after an inquiry, shows that during the four-month period from April through July, 462 people in New York were ordered by a judge to

A gun seizure (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

When talking about gun violence in northeastern states like New York, elected and law enforcement officials often say that guns arrive via the “Iron Pipeline,” short-hand for the I-95 corridor where firearms smuggled from southern states with laxer gun laws to the northeast.

But the reality is much more complex, according to John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

During remarks Thursday at a conference hosted by City & State New York,

Mayor Adams visits a small business (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

One of Mayor Eric Adams’ main gripes with city government is that it is too inefficient, part of rampant dysfunction that exacerbates inequality and stifles growth. There’s far too much red tape and redundancy between city agencies and New Yorkers looking to them for services, the new mayor says. And he’s vowed to ease that access by launching an online portal that will allow people to apply for city benefits, services, and permits at the touch of a button.

When he was running for mayor, Adams proposed to

Community composting (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)

When Mayor Eric Adams was running for City Hall, he pledged to expand the city’s incipient residential curbside composting program. But despite a push for more by some City Council members, the recently approved $101 billion budget for next fiscal year, beginning July 1, only marginally increases funding for other composting programs while halting the promised expansion of residential curbside composting. 

The city’s voluntary curbside composting program has moved forward in fits and starts. Organics account for about a third of

Housing in the Bronx (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Update: On Tuesday evening, the Rent Guidelines Board voted 5-4 to approve rent increases of 3.25% on one-year leases and 5% on two-year leases for the roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments in New York City.

Many elected officials quickly condemned the decision, calling the increases too high, though they are lower than what the board's independent analysis showed building owners need to cover rising costs. Still, many

A rally for green jobs outside City Hall (photo: Jeff Reed/City Council)

In 2024, New York City will begin capping emissions from the city’s largest buildings – which are its worst polluters – under Local Law 97, which was approved as part of the city’s Climate Mobilization Act of 2019. The law requires buildings to be retrofitted with energy-efficient and sustainable systems – upgrading heating and cooling systems, possibly installing solar energy, for instance – to significantly reduce their carbon footprint to meet those emissions caps, or otherwise face hefty

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

Five-and-a-half months into his administration, Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday released a comprehensive plan for housing and homelessness that aims to build new mixed-income rental housing, preserve existing affordable units, improve public housing stock, expedite the creation of supportive housing, cut red tape that prevents homeless people from accessing housing, and help New Yorkers buy affordable homes. 

The mayor’s plan, dubbed “Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness,” reflects a paradigm shift from

Mayor Adams, Speaker Adams, and Council Members (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

Mayor Eric Adams and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams on Friday announced their first budget agreement, a $101 billion spending deal for the 2023 fiscal year beginning July 1, reflecting an increase of about $2.3 billion over the budget that was adopted in June of last year. 

Buoyed by higher-than-expected tax revenues and federal aid, the administration and Council massively increased the city’s reserves and invested in a long

An Albany rally for abortion rights (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)

State lawmakers voted on legislation late into the night Thursday, the scheduled end of the legislative session, and while the State Senate finished its business the Assembly continued passing bills throughout Friday and into Saturday.

A number of major deals were reached in the final week as the session came to a crescendo, while other marquee proposals fell by the wayside.

And as of Saturday morning, with the Senate on break but the Assembly still wrapping up business, the fate of at least two

State Senator Andrew Gounardes (photo: NY Senate Media Services)

May 25, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Senator Andrew Gounardes on End of Legislative Session Priorities & More

State Senator Andrew Gounardes, a Brooklyn Democrat, joined the show to discuss major issues being negotiated as the end of this year's state legislative session nears. Gounardes discussed speed camera legislation, mayoral control of New York City schools, the 421-a real estate/affordable housing tax program, Mayor Adams' relationship with the State Legislature, and more.

Listen to the

NYC Budget Director Jacques Jiha (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

The New York City Council held its final hearing Tuesday on Mayor Eric Adams’ $99.7 billion executive budget proposal for the 2023 fiscal year, pressing the administration to fund several outstanding requests ahead of the June 30 deadline for the next budget. 

In her opening remarks, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, a Queens Democrat, commended the Adams administration for funding several Council requests made in the official response to the mayor’s

Mayor Adams and others at a development ground-breaking (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

Mayor Eric Adams promised on Thursday that in the coming week, he will release a comprehensive housing plan to address New York City’s affordable housing crisis and rebuild its crumbling public housing stock. Adams spoke at the annual conference of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH), where officials from his administration appeared on expert panels to discuss the challenges of building affordable housing in the city and further preview some of the strategies that

Mayor Adams, DOT Commissioner Rodriguez & others biking (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)

May 19, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Making New York a Bike-Friendly City

Jon Orcutt, Advocacy Director at Bike New York and a former NYC Department of Transportation official, joined the show to discuss the current state of biking in New York City and how to make it a truly bike-friendly city.

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

A rally for Our City Our Vote (photo: William Alatriste/NYC Council)

The New York City Council called on Mayor Eric Adams to provide $25 million in his latest budget plan to implement the city’s noncitizen voting law, which went into effect in January. But the mayor’s $99.7 billion executive budget for the 2023 fiscal year, released last month, did not include that

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

The Earned Income Tax Credit is a boon for low-income New Yorkers, putting hundreds, even thousands of dollars back in their pockets each year. Though it is a federal credit, it is matched by New York City and State, and Mayor Eric Adams made expansion a top priority for his administration as part of his agenda to lift up struggling New Yorkers. This year, at the new mayor’s urging, the state enhanced its EITC and the mayor increased the city’s investment in the credit. 

...

(photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Trash and sanitation have become a top issue for the City Council in this year’s budget season, but Mayor Eric Adams’s $99.7 billion executive budget proposal for the 2023 fiscal year that begins July 1 failed to fund many Council demands. At a hearing on Tuesday, Council members questioned administration officials on their sanitation priorities — from corner basket pickups to composting — and their approach to a problem that has

Housing (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

In his State of the City speech last month, Mayor Eric Adams promised that he would in the coming weeks release a comprehensive housing plan to address perhaps the most intractable problem facing New York. At a hearing of the City Council on Monday, housing officials from his administration outlined the main principles of that agenda and gave a preview of the city's broad approach to building affordable and supportive housing, preserving public housing, and tackling the homelessness crisis.  

Monday’s hearing concerned the

Council Member Chi Ossé on a sanitation tour of his district (photo: John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit)

Trash has become among the most prominent issues in this year’s New York City budget negotiations, as well as the focus of larger policy debates about how the city handles its garbage and recycling.

The infamous mountains of black bags that clutter sidewalks, the overflowing waste baskets at street corners, and the litter on city streets have all been the subject of significant attention from Mayor Eric Adams, Comptroller Brad Lander, and many members of the New York City Council,