WNYC News

A Congressional redistricting fight has residents of Staten Island’s North Shore wrestling with an existential debate over whether they have more in common with residents in Lower Manhattan than their neighbors south of the Expressway.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he’s facing a smaller fiscal hole than initially expected, but he still wants to raise income taxes on the city’s wealthy residents. That and more in this week's Politics Brief roundup. 

An illegal ride-hailing app keeps chipping away at Uber and Lyft’s chokehold on New York City’s for-hire vehicle industry.

The company, called Empower, markets itself as a pro-worker platform where drivers pay a $50 monthly fee to use the app. The driver can take home 100% of their fare, which they set themselves. The system leads to cheaper rides for passengers and higher wages for drivers, the company claims.

But Empower is facilitating those rides over the objection of the city Taxi and Limousine Commission, which set up a dedicated website warning New Yorkers not to use the app.

In order for an app-based ride to be legal in the five boroughs, the platform must register for a “base” with the TLC — a facility where cars are dispatched to passengers and operated by the company. Empower doesn’t have one.

The company is supposed to pay a $1,500 application fee to secure the base, and insure each of its vehicles.

The group formerly known as Hot Girls 4 Zohran is rebranding. 

It’s been about six weeks since new leadership rolled into City Hall. They include the new Mayor Zohran Mamdani, new city Comptroller Mark Levine, and the new City Council Speaker Julie Menin.

Speaker Menin caught up with WNYC'S Sean Carlson to look back on her first month-and-a-half in the job to talk about the work done in her first few weeks leading the Council, and the work ahead.

The Manhattan Borough President says a federal order has resulted in the removal of the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument.

In a social media post, Brad Hoylman-Sigal shared a photo of what appears to be a January 21st memo from the Department of the Interior discussing guidance around "non-agency flags." It defines those as any flag besides the flag of the United States or the flags of the Department of Interior.

The Department of the Interior says "under government-wide guidance, including General Services Administration policy and Department of the Interior direction, only the U.S. flag and other congressionally or departmentally authorized flags are flown on NPS-managed flagpoles, with limited exceptions. Any changes to flag displays are made to ensure consistency with that guidance. Stonewall National Monument continues to preserve and interpret the site’s historic significance through exhibits and programs."

Hoylman-Sigal joined WNYC Morning Edition host Michael Hill to talk about it.  

A new man stands before the crowds at Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Archbishop Ronald Hicks now leads the second largest group of Catholics in the country. He'll succeed Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who spent almost 20 years on the job.

David Gibson leads the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University. He spoke to WNYC's Michael Hill about what the transition between archbishops means for area Catholics and for New York City as a whole.  

We take a moment now to shine a spotlight on the tuna melt.

Yes, the tuna melt.

It isn't flashy. It doesn't assert itself and demand your attention. But restaurant critic and author Joshua David Stein calls it "The ultimate New York City sandwich." Joshua joins Weekend Edition host David Furst to defend those bold words.

Excitement has been building over the past few weeks and the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics officially got underway with the opening ceremonies on Friday. Sports journalist Priya Desai joins Weekend Edition host David Furst to let us know about some of the athletes from New York and New Jersey we can root for during the icy competition.

Officials at the Gateway Development Commission who are running the $16 billion effort to build a new set of rail tunnels under the Hudson River said they’ve run out of money to continue building the tunnels. The project relies almost entirely on federal grants and loans, which were approved under former President Joe Biden and which Trump put on hold in October.

Now, the project’s leaders say they have no choice but to shut things down.

But halting such a massive job isn’t as simple as turning off the lights — it’ll take nearly a year of work and $15 million to $20 million a month.