Erosion on the ocean side of the Rockaways receives a great deal of attention from city and federal officials. But new documents show the bay side of the peninsula is also at risk.
Day: November 4, 2025
By: Russ Spencer Flatbush native Elijah Diaz has officially made history, becoming the youngest Republican and Conservative Party candidate ever to run for the New York City Council, as well as the first to win a Republican/Conservative Party Primary in District 45, which includes Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Flatlands, and Marine Park. Born and raised […]
Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani had declined for weeks to take a position on three controversial ballot questions impacting housing construction in New York. On Election Day, he finally gave his answer — both on his own ballot and in public.
Right before voting on Nov. 4 at Frank Sinatra High School for the Arts in his hometown of Astoria, Queens, Mamdani — a democratic socialist lawmaker — told reporters on Nov. 4 that he would vote in favor of the three ballot questions that have drawn fierce opposition from Democratic leaders of the City Council.
Mamdani only made his position on the ballot questions public after declining to offer his own opinions throughout early voting last week, when 732,866 voters cast their ballots.
His refusal to take a stand for or against the ballot questions during the second mayoral debate on Oct. 22 also drew fierce rebukes from his two opponents, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. Cuomo supports the measures, and Sliwa opposes them.
When pressed on why he waited until Election Day to make his views known, Mamdani said he wanted to take the time to make a decision first.
“I take very seriously the responsibility that I have to share my thoughts with New Yorkers, and I want to always ensure that I do so, having actually come to a conclusion,” he said. “I took the time to have conversations with stakeholders, policy experts, and wanted to make sure that I was deliberate in the decision that I made.”
The three proposals, Ballot Questions 2-4, would make it harder for council members to veto housing developments in their districts, which proponents say is necessary to quickly build more affordable homes. But council members and union leaders argue they will lose their power to negotiate with developers for more affordable housing, community benefits, and union construction jobs.
The measures were advanced by a City Charter Revision Commission convened by outgoing Mayor Eric Adams.
Mamdani said he understands the concerns of council members and union leaders and plans to work closely with them.
The proposals, especially Ballot Question 4, shift final approval over various categories of housing developments from the City Council to either the mayor or panels that are mostly appointed by the mayor.
If Mamdani, who is the frontrunner in the race, wins on Tuesday night, he will have more direct control over approving housing projects than his predecessors.
The Queens lawmaker indicated that he also voted “yes” on Ballot Question 1, which concerns retroactively approving state land for an Olympic Games facility upstate, and Ballot Question 5, requiring the city to digitize its official paper maps of its streetscape — known as the City Map.
He stated that he voted “no” on Question 6, a proposal to move local elections to presidential years in an effort to increase voter turnout. Critics say that change would overshadow local elections.
Three brutes are still on the run after they stabbed and robbed a man in Brooklyn last month, leaving him in critical condition.
According to police sources, a 45-year-old man was brutally attacked at around 1 a.m. on Oct. 27 in front of an apartment building located at 371 Van Siclen Ave. in East New York.
An eyewitness walking home told cops that he saw the victim arguing with three men before one of them brandished a knife and began stabbing him.
The 45-year-old was stabbed multiple times, including in the head and abdomen. However, the attackers were not done there. One of them was spotted holding down the victim while another removed the victim’s jacket, backpack, watch, and cellphone.
While the assailants fled westbound on Sutter Avenue, EMS rushed the victim to One Brooklyn Health-Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center in critical but stable condition.
Police say they later recovered surveillance video of the trio, who they believe to be responsible, riding an A subway train. Cops are asking anyone who recognizes the men to come forward.
No arrests have been made.
Anyone with information regarding these attackers is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Whenever I speak to CUNY students and alumni, I’m impressed by their ambition, perseverance and achievement. They are hungry to graduate and begin their careers. And as educators, our job is to make sure that their degrees lead to a better future.
That’s why we’re launching CUNY Beyond, a five-year initiative to ensure that every student graduates not just with a diploma but with the direction, preparation, connections and career skills they need for real-world success in today’s rapidly changing economy.
We’re reimagining the core goal of a college campus — from an institution focused on graduation rates alone, to one that looks beyond and with it, we’re tossing aside the outdated notion that “career development” is separate from a student’s academic journey, or something to think about only in junior or senior year. We will make career exploration, gaining practical experience and building connections central to every undergraduate college experience.
CUNY Beyond begins where students already are — in the classroom. Rather than waiting for them to visit our fantastic career centers or go to a job fair, we’re bringing career touchpoints to them — embedding career connections in their coursework, advising, orientations and everyday college experience.
Our dedicated faculty are at the heart of this work. Through our growing CUNY Career Success Fellows program, 125 faculty across disciplines have been integrating career-connected learning into their courses and helping colleagues on their campuses follow their lead.
The results are clear. Students in departments with dedicated industry specialists land jobs related to their major at three times the rate of other graduates. And students who complete paid internships or apprenticeships are three times more likely to receive job offers at graduation — and at higher starting salaries.
CUNY Beyond will scale these and other proven strategies across the university, supported by our philanthropic and employer partners. We’re grateful to Robin Hood, one of our key supporters, for a $2 million grant that is helping launch the initiative. We will also be kicking off a new campaign developed with industry, “Power Your Business with CUNY,” to invite companies across New York to join us in connecting their talent needs with our students’ potential.
The first wave of CUNY Beyond is underway at Lehman College, LaGuardia Community College, Hunter College and Borough of Manhattan Community College. Eventually, each CUNY undergraduate campus will be part of it.
We estimate that this plan will generate $3.3 billion in future wage growth for our students and $700 million in public return through higher earnings and economic mobility.
That’s good news, but CUNY Beyond is more than an economic strategy. It’s a new way of defining the value of college — preparing our students not only for careers but for belonging: in the workforce, in the economy, in the future.
Matos Rodríguez is the chancellor of The City University of New York (CUNY), the largest urban public university system in the United States.