Tag: new york

New York makes it official: Our high school diploma is worthless

New York’s race to the bottom in education continued apace Monday, as the Board of Regents scrapped the requirement that the state’s high schoolers actually learn something to graduate.

For 30 years, students needed to pass at least four Regents exams — in math, English, science and Global Studies — to earn a diploma. To be clear, this standard was the barest minimum. The governing board kept lowering the score needed to pass the tests, watering down the results. 

But it was something: A tangible requirement — a responsibility — that showed we as a state cared about accountability.

And that’s exactly the word that the Teachers Union hates. It meant parents and politicians would start to question why a whopping 15%-20% of students didn’t meet graduation requirements. Testing highlighted bad instructors and bad schools. As usual, COVID is partly to blame here. The Regents board “temporarily” lifted requirements during the pandemic, and graduation rates rose to 87% in 2022. When the Regents tests returned, the state rate fell to 85%. The city’s: 81%. It was the largest year over year percentage drop in 20 years.

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NSFW Photos of Democrat Congressional Candidate Emerge – Modeled for Fetish Sex Shop While Serving in National Guard

A Democratic candidate running in a New York Congressional seat has been busted for once engaging in an explicit activity while serving his country.

The New York Post revealed on Sunday that 37-year-old Chris Gallant, who is running in New York’s 1st congressional district, was previously involved in another campaign: selling toys as a model for a fetish sex shop in San Francisco.

The shop, Mr. S Leather, sells items generally targeted toward gay individuals, such as leather-daddy supplies, wearing collars, leather straps, neoprene, bondage gear, and more.

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SCOTUS Directs NYC to Offer Defense of Its Stun Gun Ban

The Supreme Court wants to hear from the city of New York after the Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, and several individual plaintiffs asked the Court to accept their lawsuit challenging the Big Apple’s ban on stun guns. The request from the High Court doesn’t guarantee that the justices will grant cert in Calce v. New York, but it does indicate that one or more justices are interested in the lawsuit. 

Back in 2016, SCOTUS issued a per curiam opinion in Caetano v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts that rejected the state’s arguments in favor its own stun gun ban. The Court reminded the First Circuit that the Second Amendment doesn’t only protect those arms that existed in 1791, but modern arms as well. SCOTUS didn’t directly strike down the stun gun ban, but it did negate the argument used to uphold it. …………………

While Massachusetts ended its outright prohibition shortly thereafter, New York City has kept its ban on the books. A district court judge and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals have upheld the ban, arguing that the plaintiffs failed to “provide any evidence that stun guns and tasers are in common use.”

The cert petition filed with the Court not only questions the Second Circuit’s opinion on the validity of the stun gun ban, but how the Court reached its conclusion. Does a challenger to a ban on a type of arm have to first demonstrate that the arm is “in common use” to establish that the ban implicates the Second Amendment’s plain text? Or is it up to the defenders of the ban to demonstrate that the arm is not in common use for lawful purposes? 

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NYPD launching ‘two major security operations’ ahead of 9/11 memorial and Rosh Hashanah

The New York Police Department (NYPD) announced increased security measures for the city ahead of September’s Jewish Holy Days and the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Speaking at One Police Plaza in Manhattan on Wednesday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-N.Y.) and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced that the department will implement “heightened security measures” this weekend as Jewish New Yorkers prepare to gather at synagogues for Rosh Hashanah.

The Jewish New Year begins Friday evening, following the 25th anniversary commemoration of the September 11th attacks, when thousands of victims’ family members, former presidents and other dignitaries are expected to gather at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.

“As you’ve heard me say in preparation for so many events this year, we have amped up or increased our deployments for large events this year, particularly since the start of hostilities in Iran,” Tisch said at a security briefing.

“Our deployment this year at the World Trade Center for 9/11 will be larger than it has been in previous years, as will be our deployment this year for the High Holidays at shuls and yeshivas and Jewish cultural institutions, just based on the reality of the world that we live in today,” she continued.

“Even as shootings and murders have fallen to historic lows, hate crimes are moving in the wrong direction through the first eight months of this year,” Tisch stated. “Confirmed hate crimes citywide are up 16%, and antisemitic hate crimes are up 9%. And once again, more than half of all confirmed hate crimes in New York City have targeted Jewish New Yorkers, even though Jews make up only about 10% of this city’s population. Those numbers are deeply disturbing.”

During her remarks, Tisch explained that the NYPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau and heavy weapons teams will maintain a visible presence patrolling Manhattan as part of two major security operations.

The first centers on Lower Manhattan, which Mamdani warned will be largely closed to the public on Friday morning during the remembrance ceremony, with the second being the heightened security at Jewish cultural institutions across the city.

Tisch also announced that the U.S. Secret Service will install a security fence along the east side of the West Side Highway—from Liberty to Fulton Streets—as well as around the entire perimeter of the 9/11 Memorial site.

“And because of the security footprint around the site, New Yorkers should expect significant traffic and pedestrian restrictions throughout Lower Manhattan,” Tisch warned.

During the security briefing, Mamdani also emphasized that despite the sensitive time, there are currently no known threats against New York.

“As we look ahead to Friday evening, NYPD personnel will continue monitoring for any threats, both online and in person,” Mamdani said. “Let me be clear. There are no current known specific or credible threats against New York at this time. We will continue to work closely across all levels of city government, as well as with state and federal partners, to keep our city safe.”

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Mamdani Blindsided by Fresh Lawsuit — The NYC Mayor Now Has to Fight in Federal Court

New York City Zohran Mamdani will soon have to defend his socialist schemes in federal court.

That’s because of a fresh lawsuit that accuses his socialist supermarkets of “unfair competition” against local grocers.

The National Supermarket Association and two of its members – City Fresh Market in Harlem and C-Town Supermarket in the Bronx – are taking the mayor to court for violating antitrust laws. 

The litigants are filing their lawsuit in the Southern District of New York, which is not exactly renowned for its concern over civil rights.

The association’s president, Anthony Peña, told The Post that the millions of dollars going to the government-backed stores are a form of “unfair competition.”

“We are arguing that everyone has to be able to access these subsidies,” Peña said. “It’s not about us being afraid of competition. We are against unfair competition.”

The group represents 450 independent grocery stores in New York City. It is filing the complaint with the America First Policy Institute, which is chaired by Larry Kudlow, President Trump’s former top economic advisor.

“Independent supermarkets have invested in our neighborhoods, created jobs, paid taxes and served local families for generations,” Peña added. “They deserve a fair and level playing field – not competition against a government-subsidized program operating under different rules.”

The Mamdani grocery plan is now facing two major legal offensives — an August state-court challenge consisting of two separate MBC filings, and a new federal antitrust lawsuit from independent supermarket operators.

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U.S. Supreme Court Rejects New York Healthcare Workers’ Bid to Revive COVID Vaccine Mandate Lawsuit

The U.S. Supreme Court today declined for a second time to take up a case brought by New York healthcare workers who lost their jobs after the state denied their requests for religious accommodations from its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, SCOTUSblog reported.

The justices rejected a petition asking them to reconsider their June decision not to hear Does 1-2 v. Hochul, the lawsuit healthcare workers brought against the state. The court denied the request without asking New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to respond.

“This ruling is definitely a sad day for the workers who stood up and said no,” said Michael Kane, Children’s Health Defense (CHD) director of advocacy and member of New York’s Teachers for Choice, which also challenged New York’s vaccine mandate in the courts.

Kane said he was “not surprised” by the decision.

The plaintiffs represented a handful of healthcare workers, he said. “But over 30,000 were fired in New York state because of this horrendous policy from Gov. Hochul. The policy didn’t allow for any religious exemption from vaccination. On its face, it is illegal. It is unconstitutional, but the politics of the thing seems to be playing out instead.”

The workers filed their lawsuit in 2021, challenging a now-repealed New York state law mandating that workers in some healthcare-related positions get the COVID-19 vaccine.

In 2022, a federal court dismissed the lawsuit, and in 2024, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal. In 2025, the workers appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In an unusual move, the Supreme Court asked the U.S. Department of Justice solicitor general to weigh in. In May 2026, Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote an amicus brief recommending the court deny the appeal.

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New York Officials Lied About Air Quality After 9/11, New Documents Show

New York City has agreed to release new documents showing that officials lied about the air quality in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.

The more than 170,000 pages of documents are being released by NYC in response to the transparency organization 9/11 Health Watch, which had sued to force their disclosure.

According to the New York Times, the documents reveal that higher-than-acceptable levels of asbestos and other contaminants were in the dust and air in other parts of Lower Manhattan after Sept. 11.

“An audit from November 2001, prepared by a private firm and submitted to the federal E.P.A. based on data collected by New York City and state agencies, showed other troubling findings,” the Times reported Monday.

“That audit demonstrated that air concentration of the carcinogen benzene was still spiking near the towers’ footprint, and that the concentration of asbestos in the air at the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island had increased after the attacks.”

Despite having information about the poor air quality, government officials, including then-EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman, said the air around ground zero was safe to breathe.

Whitman has since apologized for her misrepresentations.

The Times warned that the disclosures could reopen NYC to new litigation at a time when New Yorkers who were in the city at the time are dying of lung and blood cancers, as well as heart and respiratory diseases.

Denise Verzi, whose husband, Michael, was a firefighter who suffered from lymphoma after responding to the attack, criticized the city for its lack of transparency.

“I don’t understand hiding it to begin with,” Verzi told the Times. “That was horrific. But 25 years in, there’s people that are still getting sick.”

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Mamdani signs order on Labor Day creating ‘first-in-the-nation’ municipal office aimed at organizing NYC workers

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order creating the “first-in-the-nation” Mayor’s Office of Worker Power (MOWP).

Rolled out on Labor Day, the MOWP is aimed at organizing workers and connecting them with relevant resources, according to the mayor’s office.

“MOWP will work across City Hall and City agencies on outreach, education, policy, research and strategic partnerships focused on workers who lack meaningful benefits, adequate wages and a voice on the job,” read a Monday statement.

Per the mayor’s office, the MOWP will:

  • “Convene rank-and-file workers, union leaders, worker centers, immigrant workers, gig workers and platform workers.
  • Hold public hearings on significant worker issues.
  • Provide referrals to organizations that support workers.
  • Coordinate with City agencies to produce research on pressing issues facing workers.
  • Develop policy proposals informed by workers’ experiences.
  • Engage workers on emerging challenges, including new technologies, worker misclassification, immigration-based exploitation and climate risks to worker safety.
  • Connect workers with information about their rights at everyday touchpoints, including workforce centers, libraries, IDNYC offices, schools and community events.”

“We created the first-in-the-nation Office of Worker Power to put the full weight of City Hall behind the people who keep New York running,” Mamdani (D-N.Y.) posted to X on Monday.

The NYC mayor framed the history of Labor Day as stemming from a movement championed and furthered by democratic socialists to “win us weekends, safety standards, overtime pay, a minimum wage, and social security.”

In 1882, 10,000 workers marched up Broadway in the first-ever Labor Day parade. Led by democratic socialists and organized by New York’s unions, they rallied the movement that went o

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NYC socialist leaders caught living large, quietly collecting millions from real estate flips

Two NYC Democratic Socialists of America leaders have been caught living the ultimate capitalist dream, with one quietly collecting millions in real estate flips and another nesting in a sleek $500,000 Brooklyn apartment, The Post has learned.

Labor Coordinator Olivia Gonzalez Killingsworth sold a luxe Upper West Side triplex in a brownstone building for $2.4 million on Sept. 12, 2022, according to public records.

The “huge, versatile” two-bedroom, three-bathroom triplex just a block away from Central Park boasts sweeping 10-foot-high ceilings overlooking a fireplace, marble shower stalls, bay windows with a view of the gorgeous Callery Pear blossoms that line the street.

“Once again we’re finding out why DSA actually stands for Daddy’s Savings Account. Selling a multimillion-dollar Manhattan Triplex to go play pretend bohemian with your rich comrades in Brooklyn is a luxury working-class New Yorkers will never have,” said NYC Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (R-Queens).

Killingsworth, who runs her own bookkeeping business and is also an actor and singer, according to her website, was elected labor coordinator in 2025.

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Mamdani’s 200-strong ‘influencer’ army revealed — with some PR peddlers pocketing taxpayer cash

They’re under Zo’s influence.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani assembled an army of nearly 200 “influencers,” giving the social media stars VIP access to push the lefty administration’s talking points, a new bombshell report revealed.

The web of online personalities are being fed talking points by City Hall through an encrypted Signal group text, potentially running afoul of local record-keeping laws, according to the study by the Columbia Journalism Review.

Some influencers are even pocketing taxpayer funds “for work on particular messaging campaigns,” though not for their coverage, the report states.

The secret Signal chat – named “NYC Creators Announcements” – combined with murky money left many watchdogs aghast.

“City leaders must be deliberate about how they communicate,” said Citizens Union Executive Director Grace Rauh “Any discussion of official government business must occur in a manner that ensures records are preserved and accessible under the Freedom of Information Law. The rules exist to protect the public.”

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