Tag: new york

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz Pours Cold Water on Mamdani’s Plans to Arrest Netanyahu in New York City

As the Gateway Pundit has reported, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is kicking around the idea of arresting Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu the next time he is in the city.

This is nothing more than fantasy lip-service to Mamdani’s supporters who hate Israel with the heat of a thousand suns. It’s red meat for the ‘Free Palestine!’ mob.

It’s also further proof that Mamdani thinks that New York City is a separate, sovereign country and that he believes he is above federal laws.

To be clear, Zohran Mamdani as the mayor of New York City, has absolutely ZERO authority to arrest Netanyahu.

America’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz is already pointing out that this entire thing is a non-starter.

RedState reports:

UN Ambassador Bursts Mamdani’s Bubble Over His Wish to Arrest Israeli PM Netanyahu in NYC

When will the members of the far-Left cabal learn?

New York City, as the home of the United Nations headquarters, is hosting the U.N. General Assembly in the fall. And Democratic Socialist NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed during a recent interview with a New York Times interviewer that he’s holding onto a deeply-held wish and campaign promise: to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested when the world leader arrives in his city to attend it.

Well, we do still have the First Amendment, so I say let him talk. Someone else with thoughts on Mamdani’s empty threat was U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, who only needed four bullet points to dispense with the mayor’s obvious “political theater”…

This is the text of Waltz’s tweet below:

Mayor Mamdani: here’s why your threat to arrest PM Netanyahu’s in NYC during UNGA is not going to happen:
1. The U.S. is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC,
2. The UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of gov’t,
3. head-of-state immunity applies, &
4. federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes.

This is pure political theater.

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DSA Official Shows He Doesn’t Even Understand the Difference Between the Senate and the House of Representatives

Gustavo Gordillo is the co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in New York City. Today, he appeared on FOX News and showed that he does not even understand the difference between the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.

Host Martha MacCallum was trying to clarify his position and the DSA’s position on the Senate because their official platform says that they want to abolish the body.

Gordillo says: “The United States Senate is an undemocratic institution. It gives more representation to people in smaller states than to the 30 million people in California.”

First of all, we are not a democracy and that was a choice the founders made on purpose. They did not want America to be a democracy.

More importantly, the Senate doesn’t represent the people, that’s what the House of Representatives is for. That’s why a large state like California has 52 House members and Wyoming has only one.

The Senate represents the states. Each state gets two senators to represent them in the Senate so that all the states have equal representation.

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Bill giving $10,000 bonuses to NYC paraprofessionals heads to mayor’s desk

A bill to provide $10,000 bonuses to New York City’s full-time paraprofessionals is headed to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s desk after it was approved by City Council members Thursday. 

Similar legislation introduced last year was backed by the United Federation of Teachers in an effort to address the city’s paraprofessional shortage. After the bill failed to move out of committee, it was reintroduced in February by multiple council members. 

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If Mamdani signs the bill, full-time paraprofessionals will receive four payments of $2,500 throughout the 2026-27 school year. The bill allows the council to reauthorize stipends each year as long as New York City Public Schools has a paraprofessional shortage or until the city changes the practice of pattern bargaining — a local policy that lets the salary increases negotiated for one municipal union’s contract set the pattern for all the others.

The United Federation of Teachers and council members said pattern bargaining has contributed to low paraprofessional pay.

“Once the initial bargaining pattern is established, it becomes an enormous challenge to get the city to grant significantly better terms to another union,” the United Federation of Teachers said on its website.

New paraprofessionals earn roughly $32,000 in the city. Over the past 20 years, starting salaries have increased nearly $12,000 for paraprofessionals but top $86,000 for the highest-paid principals.

“We are going to pass this bill and we are going to put it on the desk of the mayor of New York City saying that the paraprofessionals have been unjustly treated and we are in a crisis,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew at a union gathering at New York City Hall on Thursday. “And the paraprofessionals are dealing with that crisis each and every day with their work, going above and beyond, and now it’s time for our city to act and do the right thing.”

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REPORT: House Republicans Launching Investigation of the Mamdani Administration Over Attempt to Hold Meeting With Officials From Iran

House Republican have put in a request to the Trump Justice Department for a formal investigation of the Zohran Mamdani administration over their attempt to hold a meeting with the Iranian regime’s ambassador to the United Nations.

The Gateway Pundit reported last week:

Commissioner Ana María Archila, head of the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, had scheduled the meeting for July 7 at 11 a.m. at 2 United Nations Plaza with Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s permanent representative to the UN.

Two other senior officials from the office were also set to attend, according to calendar invitation screenshots reviewed by City Journal and confirmed by multiple sources, including a State Department official.

The meeting was called off only after the U.S. State Department, which had not been informed in advance, stepped in and met with the Mamdani administration to “clarify acceptable conduct,” according to City Journal.

House Republicans claim this is a potential violation of the Logan Act.

Breitbart News reports:

A request for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration for potential violations of the Logan Act has been filed by House Republicans, led by Rep. Addison McDowell (R-NC).

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche received the letter on Thursday morning after it was revealed that a senior Mamdani official attempted to organize an unauthorized meeting with a high-ranking member of the Iranian regime while the country remains at war with the United States.

The other lawmakers who signed on to the letter are Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Earl Carter (R-GA), Pat Fallon (R-TX), Randy Fine (R-FL), Clay Fuller (R-GA), Pat Harrigan (R-NC), Wesley Hunt (R-TX), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Richard McCormick (R-GA), Max Miller (R-OH), Riley Moore (R-WV), Pete Sessions (R-TX), and Claudia Tenney (R-NY).

“We write with concern about the recent actions of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Administration,” McDowell wrote. “Last week, media outlets began to report Commissioner Ana María Archila, the head of the New York City Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, had scheduled a July 7 meeting with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani.”

Mamdani has only been in office for six months but his behavior already suggests that he sees New York City as somehow separate from the United States, as if it were its own sovereign nation. It is not and he should be reminded of that fact. Harshly.

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Fresh fears for NYC as hyperwoke actress Cynthia Nixon is appointed to panel that screens JUDGES after Sex and the City star suggested shoplifting should be legalized

Woke actress Cynthia Nixon was appointed to serve on a panel that screens judges for the state of New York after she previously suggested that shoplifting should be legalized.

Nixon, 60, best known for her role as Miranda on the show Sex and the City, was appointed to sit on the Commission on Judicial Nomination by New York Chief Judge Rowan Wilson.

The former actress will serve on the board which screens candidates for vacancies on the Court of Appeals, New York State’s highest court.

Nixon’s term for the unpaid position runs through April 30, 2030, and is the latest move after a turbulent political career.

The former actress and failed New York gubernatorial candidate tweeted in 2021 that ‘desperate people shouldn’t be prosecuted’ for stealing items at CVS.

She had noticed her local CVS in SoHo had ‘started’ locking up ‘basic items like clothing detergent.’

‘As so many families can’t make ends meet right now, I can’t imagine thinking that the way to solve the problem of people stealing basic necessities out of desperation is to prosecute them,’ Nixon tweeted.

She will now work hand in hand with the commission to suggest candidates to forward to the Governor.

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NYU scholar argues philosophical case against men competing in women sports

Called a ‘dictator’ for his position

Philosophy, not “empirical studies,” can prove why men should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports, according to a New York University scholar.

Professor Daniel Kodsi laid out his case in a new paper in the Journal of Controversial Ideas and expanded on his arguments in comments to The College Fix. The paper and comments came prior to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling affirming that states can prohibit gender-confused men from competing in women’s sports. 

Kodsi and his co-author, John Maier, wrote this paper based on a version of an amicus brief they helped write in the Supreme Court case.

The paper argues “that it is justified to exclude male people, and only male people, from certain spaces—sports teams, leagues, events and competitions—set aside for female athletes.”

“More generally, it argues that it is justified to organize sports around the biological distinction between male people and female people,” they wrote.

Kodsi told The Fix via email that his paper’s argument was not based on scientific studies, but solely on philosophical reasoning.

“A key point we attempt to drive home is that no ‘empirical studies’ are needed to establish that men who identify as women may justifiably be excluded from women’s sports, just as no empirical studies are needed to establish that adult athletes from Switzerland may justifiably be excluded from junior sports,” he said.

His argument is focused on promoting women’s rights within their sports, not motivated by unjust discrimination against men.

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New York imposes the first statewide ban on large data centers

New York blocked the construction of any new large data centers for up to a year on Tuesday while the state creates rules to protect the environment and the energy grid from power-hungry facilities that fuel artificial intelligence.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order imposing the country’s first statewide moratorium on hyperscale data centers, which house thousands of computer servers and require massive amounts of energy and a steady supply of water to keep cool.

The move puts the state in the center of a national debate over how to regulate the AI industry, as concerns over rising electric bills and environmental risks collide with the need to stimulate local economies and foster the U.S. tech sector.

“It’s my responsibility to take action and lead,” Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement.

In effect, the executive order pauses state permitting for new large data centers and direct state regulators to create standards that address environmental impacts, energy demand, water usage and other factors, the governor’s office said.

President Donald Trump has warned states not to slap regulations on the AI industry, echoing tech companies in arguing such moves hamper job growth and cede ground to China in a race to lead in the rapidly growing field.

Earlier this year, Maine seemed poised to establish a similar moratorium. But the measure was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills because it would have blocked a proposed data center in a town that has struggled after a mill closed.

Moratoriums have been proposed in at least a dozen states but have not gotten far, though some counties and municipalities have imposed their own temporary bans.

The decision in New York also carries political significance for Hochul’s reelection campaign and the state’s tight congressional races this fall, as Democrats move to address affordability concerns over high utility bills. In addition, the governor this year softened New York’s ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gases, citing rising energy costs for consumers.

Hochul’s Republican opponent in the governor’s race, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, opposes a statewide moratorium and says local governments should be allowed to strike deals with tech companies for data center projects that promise enough economic benefits.

The state Legislature this year approved its own moratorium bill, but Hochul’s office described the legislation as complex and said it needed additional work. Instead, the governor opted for an executive order that would take effect immediately.

New York, at this stage, has not been a destination for the biggest hyperscale data centers.

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Mamdani Is Wrong: Italians Contributed More to New York Culture Than Palestinians or Tibetans

Has anyone ever heard of Little Palestine or eaten at a Tibetan restaurant in New York? When visiting New York, what is your favorite Guyanese festival?

In a recent map of New York City’s immigrant neighborhoods produced in association with the World Cup, New York’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, excluded Italian neighborhoods despite the fact that Italians were one of the city’s largest immigrant groups and among its greatest contributors to its culture. Mamdani lives in New York, yet somehow does not know what the city is famous for or which ethnicity has become an institution known around the world: the New York Italian.

Instead, the map included much newer and smaller communities that, in some cases, number only a few hundred people, have had little or no impact on the city’s culture, and that most New Yorkers have never heard of. These include Little Tibet, Little Palestine, Little Africa, Little Guyana, Little Bangladesh, and Little Egypt.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion means not only excluding whites and Europeans but also rewriting history to eliminate or vilify the contributions of whites and Europeans while exaggerating the contributions of minorities. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal recently claimed that immigrants from Somalia built the United States of America. As Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said, “This country was built by Somalis, Indians, Latinos, Africans.”

Italians have shaped New York since the era of mass immigration to the United States. Between the 1880s and 1920, more than 4 million Italians arrived in the United States, making them the single largest immigrant group and accounting for more than 10 percent of the nation’s foreign-born population at the time. Most entered through New York, first via Castle Garden and, after 1892, through Ellis Island, although other major U.S. ports, including Boston, Philadelphia, Providence, and New Orleans, also received large numbers of Italian immigrants directly.

Roughly a third of Italian immigrants settled in New York City, building neighborhoods from Little Italy and Arthur Avenue to Astoria, Bensonhurst, and Staten Island’s South Shore, now the most Italian-American county in the country. Their labor built the subway system, the Brooklyn Bridge, and much of the city’s early infrastructure.

Today, New York State holds the largest Italian-American population of any state, about 2.2 million residents, or 11.1 percent of the state’s population. That heritage is marked every October with the Columbus Day Parade, organized by the Columbus Citizens Foundation since 1929, drawing 35,000 marchers and roughly a million spectators to Fifth Avenue and broadcast to more than 7.4 million television households, also carried live on RAI International.

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Mamdani’s Affordability Agenda Flops As NYC Rents Surge To Record Highs

New York City’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and his radical-left lieutenants in City Hall promised voters free bus rides, government-run grocery stores, cheap housing, and much more. Yet the dream of a left-wing utopia has not materialized. In fact, rents in the NYC metro area just hit a record high.

New data from The Corcoran Group, a major residential real estate brokerage founded in NYC, shows that rents in the metro area have climbed to a new record high.

Manhattan’s median rent rose 8% from a year earlier to $5,295, while Brooklyn reached $4,350, also up 8%, according to the report. Manhattan’s vacancy rate narrowed to 1.49%. In Queens, Rego Park posted particularly sharp increases, with one-bedroom rents up 12% and studio rents up more than 20%.

“Manhattan renters are chasing a shrinking pool of available apartments, and the result has become predictable — record rents. Available listings dropped 16% year-over-year in June, while the borough’s median rent climbed to a new high of $5,295 . Leasing activity clocked in 7% below last year’s pace due to the lack of inventory, causing competition to remain fierce. Additionally, June marked one year since implementation of the FARE Act, a milestone that may still be influencing pricing trends, particularly within the non-doorman market. Across the board, quality apartments are commanding a premium, and renters have little room to negotiate,” Corcoran COO Gary Malin wrote in the report.

Malin continued, “Brooklyn’s rental market is also rewriting the record books. Median rent jumped 8% year-over-year to an all-time high of $4,350 and apartments spent 30% fewer days on the market. This steep annual decline underscores how tight the market has become, with flat inventory and strong demand strong causing available units to rent far faster than a year ago. While lease signings were lower on an annual basis, activity picked up from May as renters moved quickly to secure apartments ahead of the busiest stretch of the summer season. Throughout the borough, competition.”

City Comptroller Mark Levine commented on the new report, saying, “NYC’s housing affordability crisis is at DEFCON 1. We need to push harder on every front to address our housing shortage.”

“Update zoning, invest more City $ in affordable units, lower the time & cost City bureaucracy imposes on construction, get 1000s of vacant regulated units back on the market. We need bold action. This is a crisis,” Levine added.

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Shocking Surge: NYC Child and Teen Shooters Up 133% Since Cuomo’s ‘Raise the Age’ Law Let Young Predators Run Wild

New York City has seen a whopping 133 percent increase in the number of children and teens arrested or named as suspects in shootings over the past nine years since former Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Raise the Age law into effect in 2017.

The Raise the Age law, pushed through by Cuomo and later backed by Governor Kathy Hochul, was sold as a progressive reform to keep young people out of adult prisons and give them a chance at rehabilitation.

The law, which raised the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18 and funneled many young offenders into family court rather than adult prosecution, has come under intense scrutiny as NYPD data reveals a disturbing rise in youth violence that has persisted even as overall crime numbers have shown modest improvement.

The policy has created a system where even the most serious crimes by minors are met with a slap on the wrist, emboldening these young predators.

According to the latest NYPD figures obtained by the New York Post, there have already been 56 child suspects identified in shooting incidents so far this year, compared to just 24 at the same point in 2017 when the law first took hold.

The numbers were even higher in previous years, reaching 57 in 2021 and 76 in 2022.

Even more alarming is the growing share of shooting incidents committed by people under 18, which climbed to 21 percent last year from 19 percent the year before.

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