President Trump stirred controversy this week when he posted “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” on Truth Social, as well as the official White House X account and Instagram, using a mock Time magazine depicting him wearing a golden crown. ( Photo: White House X) Federalism in Manhattan: What Does It Mean? It is unlikely that James Madison, when he was writing the Federalist Papers for publication in New York in 1788, contemplated... Voices 21 Feb 2025 | 12:26
Penn Station has made small improvements, such as redoing its Seventh Avenue. entrance, while it mulls the superhaul to modernize the entire station. Amtrak, the owner of the station, is starting a new public comment period for the many proposals that have been kicking around for years. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) Amtrak Starts New Public Comment Era on Penn Station with Potential Trump Wild Card The furious debate over how to increase service into—and possibly through—Penn Station will enter a new and far more public... News 03 Feb 2025 | 01:29
Renee Keitt defeated Darlene Waters by four votes in a race for president of the Elliott-Chelsea Houses that the Adams administration hopes to tear down and rebuild. Keitt opposes the plan. Protest Looms after Tenant Leader Who Opposes City’s $1.9B Plan for Chelsea NYCHA Houses Appears to Oust Incumbent An opponent of the city’s plan to tear down a large, low-income housing development in Chelsea and rebuild it as a mix of... News 06 Jan 2025 | 03:17
Original letter written by Virginia O’Hanlon from her home at 115 W. 95th St. to the New York Sun in 1897.The letter was verified by the PBS show, Antiques Roadshow. ( Photo: Public domain/Wikimedia Commons) Virginia O’Hanlon’s Name Still Resonates at the Address Where She Wrote Her Famous Letter In all the long history of New York journalism, from John Peter Zenger to Jimmy Breslin, no words are more memorable, and... News 23 Dec 2024 | 01:35
Here’s what Penn Station was going to look like viewed from from Eighth Ave. and 33rd St. entrance under the MTA’s original redevelopment plan for the rail hub. That plan now appears to be in the process of getting scaled back dramatically. ( Photo: MTA) MTA Appears to be Retreating on Big Penn Plans, Despite Hochul’s Recent Statements The MTA has dramatically scaled back its plans for rebuilding Penn Station even as Governor Kathy Hochul was saying publicly... News 26 Nov 2024 | 01:57
Governor Hochul is hoping to work with President Tump on plans to redevelop Penn Station in one as “magnificent” as Moynihan Train Hall. But ReThinkNY is pushing for a more open planning process. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly) Hochul Tries to Make Nice with Trump over Penn Sta. As Critic Pushes for More Input on Plan Governor Kathy Hochul said she wants a new Penn Station for commuters that is “as magnificent” as Amtrak’s Moynihan station,... Voices 21 Nov 2024 | 01:39
Glass Towers, such as the one across the street from Madison Square Garden on W. 31st St. could still ring Penn Station and MSG in the future, state officials says. This one has an indoor pickleball court on the ground floor. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly) NYS Still Says Office Towers Could Rise Around the Penn Rail Hub in Future The state’s plan to build supertall office towers around Penn Station is still alive despite the office market crash, and... News 18 Nov 2024 | 12:01
The city’s new trash containers sit on 148th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, April 12, 2024 during a pilot program conducted by the Sanitation Dept. in Hamilton Heights. Now DOS wants to extend the pilot to West Harlem. ( Photo Credit: Alex Krales/THE CITY) City Is Expanding Anti-Rat Pilot Program That Requires European-Style Metal Containers The rats were not invited to testify. The Sanitation Department submitted for public reaction its plan to launch a pilot... News 08 Nov 2024 | 07:12
Caroline Hirsch (right) co-founder of the New York Comedy Festival, with comedian Bill Maher, who is among the headliners at this year’s shows which starts Nov. 7 at the Apollo. ( Photo: Courtesy Caroline Hirsch) New York Comedy Festival Celebrates 20 Yr Anniversary Melissa Rivers says her mom told her never to be afraid to laugh at herself. If you don’t, mom warned, “You could be missing... City Arts 25 Oct 2024 | 06:46
The Vessel, in an evening view facing East on Oct. 17. Four days later, on Oct. 21, the 150 ft. structure was reopened to the public for the first time in three years. ( Photo: Kathleen Corless/Courtesy of Vessel) Vessel Reopens with New Steel Mesh Safety Netting to Prevent Suicide Leaps The Vessel in Hudson Yards reopened to the public this week for the first time in three years, partly encased in a steel... News 21 Oct 2024 | 03:09
A rally at Madison Square Garden planned by Donald Trump on Oct. 27 has stirred controversy from a local Democratic state senator, who said it was akin to a Nazi rally held in the old MSG in 1939. He called on MSG to cancel the event for security reasons. MSG has stayed silent on the matter. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly) Trump Rally Slated for MSG Stirs Controversy Say this for Donald Trump, he is no captive to conventional campaign thinking. The conventional approach for presidential... News 19 Oct 2024 | 11:41
The remodeled entrance to Penn Station reopened late last year, but now the three railroads who use the nation’s largest rail hub say the station’s entire footprint must be expanded to either the north or south to accommodate explosive passenger traffic in the coming decade. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) Penn Push: Railroads Say They Need to Expand Station’s Footprint to North or South Penn Station will need to be expanded either to the north or south to handle the doubling of capacity that will be needed... News 02 Oct 2024 | 05:46
The long-under-construction new entrance to Penn Station on the Seventh Ave. side finally opened late last year. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) Big Three Rail Cos Join in Bid to Make New Plans for Penn Station The three railroads who use Penn Station kicked off a new effort to rally support for their plans to improve and expand the... News 30 Sep 2024 | 06:51
Who is on the Railroad SWAG list? The Railroads who use Penn Station have convened what they call a Station Working Advisory Group (SWAG) to considder plans... News 29 Sep 2024 | 12:55
Amtrak, the owner of Penn Station which only recently opened the newly redesigned Seventh Ave. entrance to the underground rail hub, says it will convene a new study group with the MTA’s Long Island Railroad and NJ Transit to come up with a joint solution on the future development of the nation’s busiest rail hub. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman) Big 3 Railroads Plan to Work Together on New Plan for Penn Station; Activists Still Wary The railroads that use Penn Station are convening a working group of outside advocates to review, and support, their complicated... News 14 Sep 2024 | 05:18
