New York State

Opinion

Would ending fusion voting hurt GOP and help suburban Dems?

Many prominent Democrats have rushed to the defense of fusion voting, but the practice actually empowers minor parties on the right, such as the Conservative Party and the WFP can pull the Democrats leftward through other means, writes Ross Barkan.

New York City

Opinion

How to make NYC safe from cars

New York City is in the midst of a battle for its roads, and only by building new infrastructure and shifting the logic of our transportation planning will New York City be made truly safe for bikers and pedestrians, writes Eric Goldwyn, a research scholar at New York University’s Marron Institute.

New York City

Opinion

Do aspiring politicians still need to pay their dues?

Previously, aspiring politicians started at the bottom, paid their dues and waited to be tapped for higher office — now, incumbents are refusing to wait in line.

New York City

Opinion

New York City taxi drivers need debt relief, but not from taxpayers

A New York City Council bill that likely will include public money to pay off taxi medallion owner debts would set a bad precedent. The city does have a role, though, in helping to facilitate the collective private-sector action that will get lenders to negotiate, writes Nicole Gelinas.

New York City

Opinion

Cabán campaign shows WFP’s real purpose

While technically a minor political party in New York, the WFP has evolved into a top-notch political consultant and political action committee and that is their real value in the political process, writes Ross Barkan.

New York City

Opinion

‘The Last O.G.’ is the only thing on TV that gets NYC right

“The Last O.G.,” the TBS sitcom starring Tracy Morgan that just finished its second season, gets New York City, Brooklyn, race and class right in a way TV shows rarely do, writes City & State’s Ben Adler.

New York City

Opinion

How Cabán made fools of us all

In this week’s magazine, we take a closer look at the factors that propelled Tiffany Cabán to the verge of an upset while assessing the Queens establishment’s failure to deliver for Queens borough president Melinda Katz.

New York City

Opinion

Housing can’t be totally solved by the federal government

Some of the Democratic presidential candidates believe the housing crisis can be solved through federal action. Here’s what they get right, get wrong and can’t do, according to retired New York City planner and current NYU visiting scholar Eric Kober.

New York State

Opinion

Why gestational surrogacy should be legalized and unionized

The New York state Senate passed a bill to legalize paid gestational surrogacy, but the fate of the bill remains uncertain in the Assembly.

New York State

Opinion

The battle for the Democratic Party, in Albany and Queens

Activists are targeting Assembly Democrats and hoping for a district attorney upset.

New York City

Opinion

A spotlight on Staten Island

Staten Island is having a moment – culturally, economically and politically.

New York State

Opinion

Pot legalization opponents exaggerate dangers

In response to the push for legalization in New York, marijuana opponents are making some “wildly overstated” claims of the drug’s supposed dangers – and some claims that are more reasonable.

Housing

Opinion

In rent regulation fight, it’s not just Democrats vs. Republicans

The GOP was the go-to ally for landlords and developers — but it’s always more complicated, writes City & State's editor-in-chief.

New York City

Opinion

Leave de Blasio alone

Why does the New York political press seem to hate New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and hold him to a different standard than his predecessor rivals? Maybe it’s because they got used to covering a billionaire mayor who could buy love, writes journalist Kate Albright-Hanna.

New York City

Opinion

The New Yorker from Vermont

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is the personal and ideological epitome of the most New York kind of New Yorker, an identity that previously was absent from the ranks of serious presidential contenders, writes City & State’s Ben Adler.

New York State

Opinion

John Flanagan’s short-lived stint as majority leader

In this week’s City & State cover story, we recount the rise and fall of John Flanagan – and explore whether, after losing so many seats in 2018, he has a viable pathway back to power.

New York City

Opinion

Instead of fighting landlords, state legislators should fight to increase housing

Tighter rent regulation could exacerbate the shortage of rental housing available to new in-migrants. Instead, New York should force high-rent communities to allow more new housing, writes Eric Kober, a retired New York City planner and visiting scholar at NYU.

New York City

Opinion

Assembly should pass ‘rent justice’ platform

The state Legislature can finally reverse decades of policymaking driven by the influence of the real estate industry and set standards in law for when evictions are appropriate, write Assembly members Catalina Cruz and Harvey Epstein.

New York City

Opinion

New York City parks need more money, here’s how to raise it

New York City should increase parks funding by generating new revenue streams, such as integrating more concessions into parks and placing surcharges on docking fees at city marinas, writes Eli Dvorkin of the Center for an Urban Future.