“The state budget has seen numerous failures, including not holding MTA fare evaders accountable for their actions by forgiving their offenses and enrolling them in programs that will allow them not to pay their fares. Fare evasion costs the MTA approximately $700 million a year. But they are pushing congestion pricing by arguing that it will bring in $1 billion a year, aiming to offset fare evasion costs. Instead of addressing the issue of reclaiming this revenue, the state Legislature’s solution is to impose congestion pricing on residents of Staten Island, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, ex ..read more

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Marcin Pieciak was indicted for murder and criminal possession of a weapon for the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend, Sarah McNally, at a Maspeth tavern in March. McNally was working as a bartender when Pieciak allegedly stabbed her and then slit his own throat. District Attorney Katz said: “The defendant is accused of cruelly and brazenly taking the life of someone he purported to care for and doing so in front of her colleagues and bar patrons. We are grateful to the grand jury for returning these serious charges and we will work to seek ju ..read more

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Lindy Jones was arraigned on an indictment charging him with criminal possession of a weapon for a gun found in the car from which Jones’ codefendant is accused of fatally shooting NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller on March 25 in Far Rockaway. Jones was the driver of the vehicle and a court-ordered search warrant revealed there was a 9 mm pistol in the car’s glove compartment, which was in addition to the weapon used to shoot Detective Diller. District Attorney Katz said: “There is no higher priority for my office than taking illegal guns off o ..read more

As part of the ongoing efforts to ensure that 24 million pounds of residential waste spend as little time in our public spaces as possible, the largest New York City Department of Sanitation shift will move an hour earlier effective Monday, April 22nd. This shift has traditionally run from 6am to 2pm, and will instead run 5am to 1pm.   Prior to the pandemic, approximately 80% of trash was collected beginning at 6am, 14 hours after it had been allowed to be set out, with the remaining 20% not beginning to be collected until 4pm – in other words, a full 24 hours after it was placed directly ..read more

Assemblymembers Charles Lavine, President of the National Association of Jewish Legislators New York Chapter & Assemblymember David Weprin, NAJL Co-President, have sent a letter to SUNY Chancellor John B. King in response to the Binghamton University Student Association passage of a resolution that stops the organization from doing business with any companies that financially support the Israeli government. The resolution also calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and claims that Israel’s current military campaign is a genocide.   In the letter, Lavine and Weprin urge Chancellor K ..read more

Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. is taking a proactive stance during Sexual Assault Awareness Month by organizing an interactive self-defense training class to empower the public against potential attacks.   According to RAINN, an average of 463,634 individuals aged 12 or older fall victim to rape and sexual assault each year in the United States.   At Senator Addabbo’s event, participants of all ages will have the opportunity to learn effective and practical techniques to evade or defend against attackers. The class, led by Michael Botier, the Director of Martial Arts at Red Dawn Comb ..read more

Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. said “New York’s current housing crisis is due to a critical lack of affordable, credible inventory. I believe, like many of my constituents seeking to help both tenants and landlords, that “Good cause” measures would prove counteractive, which is one reason I voted against this housing proposal in the State Budget. While I agree with and support many items in the ELFA part of the budget, such as Mayoral Control, educational funding, labor initiatives, changes to Tier 6, and the addressing of squatter issue, my consistent opposition to Good Cause and support for ..read more

New York Road Runners (NYRR) today announced a multi-million-dollar, five-year initiative in partnership with New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) to expand access to running and bridge the physical activity gap for middle-school aged city youth. Through June 2029, the New York City non-profit will invest over $3 million to fund underserved New York City school districts to launch and sustain middle school running teams. Ultimately, the initiative will serve at least 100 New York City public middle schools in 20 school districts across the five boroughs, impacting more than 7,000 students, who ..read more

New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a partnership with several leading national and New York City-based institutions to reduce food-related carbon emissions. The city’s integrated greenhouse gas inventory found that 20 percent of New York City’s overall emissions comes from the production and consumption of food. As the city has committed to reduce its emissions by a third by 2030, the Adams administration’s Plant-Powered Carbon Challenge is a leadership initiative for New York City’s private sector to join this mission by reducing food-related carbon emissions by 25 percent by ..read more

Police are continuing their search for three armed men who made off with $15,000 cash and an undisclosed amount of merchandise in a Jackson Heights phone store heist on March 30. The NYPD is seeking help from the public to identify and locate three suspects who entered a United Wireless store at 37-56 74th Street just after 8:30 p.m., where they flashed a firearm and tied up a 40-year-old employee, grabbed approximately $15,000 from a store register, and cleared 100 cell phones and an undisclosed number of electronic watches from shelves and display cases. The men bolted out of the store and s ..read more