This Week's Headline

Yeshiva scrutiny and homeless shelter limitations

Rounding up the week’s political news.

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 9: Pedestrians walk near the Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov School in the South Williamsburg neighborhood, April 9, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 9: Pedestrians walk near the Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov School in the South Williamsburg neighborhood, April 9, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

They are furry, they are small, they have paws and are a big problem – and no, they’re not rats. Guinea pigs are currently overrunning New York City’s pet shelters, and staff are calling on city leaders to provide some relief. Around 600 have been dumped at city-funded animal shelters this year – more than double the total from the same period in 2019, The City recently reported. Why are these little creatures posing a big problem? Guinea pig purchases soared during the COVID-19 pandemic as New Yorkers grappled with loneliness, but scores of owners have since abandoned them. The City Council introduced legislation back in February that would ban the sale of guinea pigs, but it’s yet to receive a hearing. The future of guinea pigs in New York City remains to be seen, but in the meantime, please do your research before buying any type of pet. Read on for more of the week’s news.

New era of oversight on yeshivas?

Allegations that many of New York’s Hasidic Jewish private schools have failed to deliver adequate instruction in secular studies like math, English, history and science in favor of intense religious instruction have dogged yeshivas for years. After digging into these accusations for over a year, The New York Times reported that every one of the 1,000 students at the Central United Talmudical Academy who took state standardized reading and math tests in 2019 failed, as did children at nearly a dozen other yeshivas. A few days after the story was published, the Board of Regents unanimously approved regulations that give teeth to a state law that requires private schools to offer an education “substantially equivalent” to public schools. Those not in compliance could lose access to public funding.

Shelter system overwhelmed

New York City’s homeless shelter system once again failed to fulfill its legal obligation to provide a bed to every person who requests one when at least 60 men – many of whom were migrant asylum seekers – were left unhoused on the night of Monday, Sept. 12. The next day, the news swiftly sparked both outrage and alarm. This was only the latest incident in which the strained system has buckled due to the influx of thousands of migrants entering the city – many of whom were bussed in by the Texas governor. And for months, the Department of Homeless Services has struggled to fulfill the right to shelter law. While the Legal Aid Society threatened to sue if the city is unable to resolve the issue soon, this was only one aspect of the backlash. Adams issued a statement on Sept. 14, saying the city’s system is “nearing its breaking point” so prior practices “must be reassessed.” Condemnation was swift, with many interpreting the words to reference the right to shelter law, though later the mayor’s team said that every New Yorker does have a right to shelter, but the entire system must be reassessed. 

Bye, bye budgets 

It’s time for New York City’s municipal agencies to tighten their belts. In response to the weakening economy, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and his administration instructed every city agency to cut their spending plans by 3% this fiscal year, which ends June 30. But the decreases won’t stop there: Agency heads will need to cut their budgets an additional 4.75% annually for the next three years. Those who don’t comply will be nearly entirely barred from hiring new employees. The order will apply to every city agency – even the New York City Police Department, which is often an exception to such a demand. This will translate to an approximately $157 million cut to the department’s budget this year.

Former Cuomo aide sues over alleged sexual harassment

Charlotte Bennett, a onetime aide to Andrew Cuomo, sued the former governor on Wednesday – about a year and a half after she first publicly spoke about the unwanted advances he’d allegedly made on her, including asking if she’d be open to having sex with an older man. The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in New York City, reiterates many of Bennett’s sexual harassment allegations and also accuses Cuomo of engaging in retaliation and gender discrimination. The lawsuit is at least the second to have been filed by the many women who accused the former governor of sexual harassment, which eventually led to his resignation last summer.  In the months since, Cuomo’s team has repeatedly attempted to question the credibility of the women as well as the accuracy of the lengthy investigative report conducted by the state attorney general’s office. A mere day before Bennett filed her lawsuit, the former governor filed a state ethics complaint against state Attorney General Letitia James, accusing her of intentionally mishandling the investigation. This is only the latest attempt Cuomo has taken to rehabilitate his image and is unlikely to be the last.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.