Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Karen Koslowitz

Karen Koslowitz

  • Health Care Needs and a New Jail Loom Large in Queens City Council Race

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    Council Member Karen Koslowitz (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    Queens’ Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Rego Park, and Richmond Hill neighborhoods are losing their City Council member, Karen Koslowitz, who has served five terms over two stints but is again term-limited from seeking reelection. The District 29 race to succeed Koslowitz is flooded with nine Democrats running in this month’s primary, eight of whom are well-funded and offer substantial platforms. 

    The district, whose residents are 47.1% White, 27.7% Asian, 18.2% Hispanic, and 3.5%

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  • Johnson Makes Series of City Council Changes, But Sidelines Formal Rules Reforms

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    Speaker Johnson, middle, and Council members (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    In December, several City Council members jostling to become the powerful next speaker of the 51-member legislative body signed on to a broad platform of reforms to the Council’s rules and procedures, which can have a significant impact on city law-making and funding for communities. Both returning and newly-elected Council members, 33 of them in total,

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  • City Council Members Outline Priorities for New Term

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    City Council members (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


    The New York City Council is gearing up for a new agenda under Speaker Corey Johnson, with several newly created committees and fresh faces in the legislative body. As the Council begins to schedule its first committee hearings and readies for the reintroduction of legislation from the last session, there are a number of priorities that Council members are planning to pursue. Returning members say they want to pass bills that have been pending and build on their work from the last four

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  • The Week Ahead in New York Politics, October 5

    New York City Hall

    New York City Hall


    What to watch for this week in New York politics:

    This week will include a focus on what the city can do to stop gas-related explosions after another such explosion occurred this weekend, this time in Borough Park; education politics and policy, as the pro-charter, anti-de Blasio group Families for Excellent Schools will hold a large rally; a continuation of negotiation and criticism between city and state entities over MTA funding; and more.

    Oh, and it's the

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