Gov. Kathy Hochul has told legislative leaders she wants New York to adopt some kind of statewide ban on wearing masks in public, involving herself in a hot-button issue that pits civil-rights and health concerns against unease over anti-Israel protests and crime. Banning masks has been a recent source of acrimonious debate amid heated protests … Read more
Critic’s Pick Andrew Scott, Andrew Scott, Andrew Scott … ‘Vanya’ Directed by Sam Yates and adapted by Simon Stephens, this one-man “Vanya” — in which Andrew Scott delivers a tour-de-force performance — arrives Off Broadway after a run in London, where it won an Olivier for best play revival. Though faithful to the original material, … Read more
Good morning. It’s Thursday. Today we’ll look at the ramifications of a letter from the secretary of transportation requesting data on crime in the subway. We’ll also look at why an independent commission says closing the Rikers Island jail complex should be someone’s full-time job. It wasn’t really about crime. Or was it? A letter … Read more
Good morning. It’s Friday. We’ll find out what happened when an experienced percussionist rehearsed with a siren at the New York Philharmonic. We’ll also get details on a 30-day reprieve from the Trump administration on congestion pricing. Joseph Kelly’s first rehearsal with the New York Philharmonic went well. He felt he was “getting familiar” with … Read more
When a Republican employee of the New York City Board of Elections told a woman that if she paid $150, she could have a job working at the polls during local elections, the woman hesitated but eventually agreed. Unable to afford the fee on her own, she said she went to her husband, who gave … Read more
Well before political leaders were taking action against cellphones in the classroom, the superintendent of schools in Schoharie, N.Y., a rural district about 40 miles west of Albany, was well along on his crusade against Big Tech’s commandeering of the adolescent mind. By the beginning of the school year in 2022, David Blanchard, who had … Read more
The script was familiar. For more than five years, a wealthy Queens businessman forcefully delivered the same message to a man wanted by China. Return to the homeland, or you — and your family — will face the consequences. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to prison for those threats. The businessman, An Quanzhong, will spend … Read more
Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday named Randy Mastro, whose attempt to become New York City’s top lawyer failed last year amid widespread opposition from the City Council, as first deputy mayor. Mr. Mastro, a former federal prosecutor who was once an aide to Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, will occupy the No. 2 position in city … Read more
A New York federal judge on Wednesday transferred the case of a Columbia University graduate detained by the Trump administration this month to New Jersey, where his lawyers will continue their efforts to seek his release. The order will not have any immediate effect on the detention status of the Columbia graduate, Mahmoud Khalil, a … Read more
A New York City law that would have allowed noncitizens to vote in local elections was declared unconstitutional on Thursday by the state’s highest court, which overwhelmingly upheld a lower-court ruling. The law, which was passed in 2021 but never went into effect, would have given the city’s roughly 800,000 legal permanent residents more of … Read more