Don’t ban basement apartments; legalize them
The horrific deaths of New Yorkers whose basement apartments flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida has shocked and surprised the nation and may well lead to pressure on building...
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Have another vote on ranked-choice
The confusion that surrounded New York's first experience with ranked-choice voting is inspiring a serious call for a new ballot measure in November to decide whether the system should continue....
The biggest problem with ranked-choice voting in New York
As results from the 900,000-plus people who voted in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary are finally tabulated, Eric Adams has been declared the winner. The bungling by the city's...
Albany’s shameless weed bribe will hurt the poor
Albany's decision to legalize recreational marijuana is viewed by many as a long-overdue recognition of reality and personal choice, and some would say a step forward for economic and social...
The wrong way to save recycling in New York
Most New Yorkers would be surprised to learn that the cans, bottles and paper they dutifully separate for recycling every week do not bring in revenue for the city. Instead,...
A republic where immigrants truly count
It looks unlikely in the extreme that the Trump Justice Department will prevail in its effort, argued Monday before the Supreme Court, to exclude undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census....
Restaurants and New York City: inseparable
In his masterful story of the 1918 flu pandemic, "The Great Influenza," presciently released in 2005, the popular historian John M. Barry tells a story eerily familiar to us as...
How about a national anthem compromise?
Among the things I miss most about not going to baseball games this summer is the chance to sing the national anthem. I'm one of those fans who not only...
Why we should let Columbus statues stand
Christopher Columbus is again under siege. New York police currently surround the 75-foot-high bronze Jeronimo Sunol monument to the explorer, which has stood in Central Park since 1894, describing it...
NYCHA needs much more federal coronavirus relief
Tenants across New York suddenly face a grim choice between day-to-day necessities and rent payments, and property owners face understandable pressure to forgive the monthly bill. Cutting landlord income could...