The Thorn

Local News

State Senator Diane Savino (District 23, Staten Island/Brooklyn) has withdrawn her attempt to pass a bill, supported by Uber and Lyft, that would provide gig workers with a “union” without classifying them as employees. She intends to try again next year.
New York City’s municipal unions are shifting 200,000 retirees from Medicare to the privatized Medicare Advantage program as a means of cutting costs and improving their position in bargaining future contracts with the City.
The City’s Law Department suffered a serious hack, potentially compromising the privacy of municipal employees and confidential court documents.
Despite pressure from progressives, The New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and criminal justice reform activists, Democrats confirmed “tough on crime” Cuomo ally Madeline Singas, who withheld exculpatory evidence from the defense in a 1999 case, to New York’s Court of Appeals.
The NYPD’s use of stop-and-frisk, which has come up in this year’s mayoral race, has never gone away and continues to disproportionately target Black and Latino New Yorkers, according to the police department’s own numbers.

A PAC funded by Republican billionaires Ronald Lauder and Stephen Ross has sent out mailers in city council races across the city, targeting 7 candidates (including DSA-endorsed Adolfo Abreu, Alexa Avilés, Michael Hollingsworth, and Jaslin Kaur) while supporting 15 others.
While Maya Wiley has championed police reform in her mayoral run, those familiar with her stint as head of the Civilian Complaint Review Board recall a mixed record.
Charter schools may see more favorable treatment in the next mayoral administration, regardless of who wins.
Eric Adams faced scrutiny for comments he made that championed remote learning and a teacher-to-student ratio of one to “300 to 400.”
After Adams faced allegations that he does not live at the Bedford-Stuyvesant address he lists as his residency, and in fact has lived in New Jersey with his partner for years, the Brooklyn Borough President led the press on a tour of his “apartment” and released his E-ZPass records.
New York Magazine asked notable New Yorkers about their ranked choice voting strategy, from Cynthia Nixon and Fran Lebowitz to Chelsea Manning and Cat Marnell.