NJ Transit Workers Reach Deal + Endorsements, Endorsements, Endorsements
No. 427 | Monday, May 19, 2025
The NYC Thorn is a weekly roundup of local political news compiled by members of NYC-DSA. We Are Looking for New Volunteers to Join our Editorial Team! If you are interested, please contact us:
Local News
New Jersey Transit engineers walked off the job Friday as negotiations over a new contract broke down, before a tentative deal was reached over the weekend. Service is scheduled to resume tomorrow.
The House GOP budget could gut Medicaid and lead to massive cuts to healthcare around New York, with as many as two million New Yorkers losing coverage.
The New York Court of Appeals heard arguments over rent control laws passed in upstate cities like Kingston and Poughkeepsie.
The City is closing the Asylum Application Help Center, which helped thousands of migrants in New York with their asylum applications and work permits.
Journalists are suing Brooklyn College, saying it violated the First Amendment when it refused to let them on campus to cover a pro-Palestine protest.
A majority of New Yorkers support the Medical Aid in Dying Act, which would allow terminally ill patients to end their own lives. The bill has been opposed by the Catholic Church.
Former Mayor Bill De Blasio reached a settlement with the Conflicts of Interest Board and agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution over his use of police security during his presidential campaign in 2019.
Election News
Disgraced ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo continues to lead in polls for the New York City mayoral race, despite very high negative ratings.
A super PAC bankrolled by President Trump’s biggest donors, called Restore Sanity NYC, has been supporting Andrew Cuomo and attacking his leading challenger, Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani.
The City Council race in Brooklyn’s Park Slope is heating up, as powerful conservative groups like the Madison Square Garden PAC are spending money in support Maya Kornberg, the pro-Israel challenger to incumbent Council Member Shahana Hanif, who was endorsed this week by a group of pro-housing and pro-open streets groups, as well as by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
State Senator Liz Krueger (Upper East Side) endorsed Comptroller Brad Lander as her #1 ranking in next month’s mayoral primary.
State Attorney General Tish James endorsed Assembly Member Harvey Epstein (Lower Manhattan) in his race for City Council.
UAW Region 9A endorsed Council Member Justin Brannan (Bay Ridge) in his race for City Comptroller, becoming the latest progressive group to back Brannan.
Although the New York Times Editorial Board previously announced it will not endorse in local races anymore, the newspaper’s Opinion page does plan to weigh in on the City’s mayoral race in some form.
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