Stephen Copek

The best way to keep cool in heatwaves? Plant 170,000 trees, according to Paris Paris will plant 170,000 new trees by 2026 to keep the city cool and fight climate change. Other cities around the world have urban greening initiatives.

An initiative for NYC to consider borrowing from Paris as we deal with what feel like endless heat waves… planting more trees has tons of benefits, not least of which reducing the urban heat island effect.

www.weforum.org/stories/2022...

Solving NYC’s housing crisis via the ballot box New Yorkers know we need urgent action to address our housing crisis. The rent is too high and wages aren’t keeping pace. Forty percent of New Yorkers are rent-burdened: that’s two million of us wh…

This November, we can fight NYC’s housing crisis at the ballot box.

The Charter Revision Commission has advanced 4 ballot proposals that would make building affordable housing faster, fairer, and more equitable.

My op-ed ⬇️
www.nydailynews.com/2025/07/24/s...

“I’ve got a plan for that” style campaigns have doomed too many Democrats that would have been great at the role they sought. Zohran is giving the party a master class on how to effectively message a platform. Simple messaging that resonates with the moment works.

It’s really not that complicated.

Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Purpose and

Predictable, but no less shocking or reprehensible: Trump just signed an executive order urging states to forcibly institutionalize homeless people, defund Housing First, criminalize encampments, and cut aid to cities that don't comply.

In 1944 Roosevelt envisioned a 2nd bill of rights which included a jobs guarantee, the right to income that funds “recreation”, the right to a decent home, and the right to a good education.

Maybe Mamdani’s vision for NYC isn’t all that radical… but rooted in what once were core Democratic values.

Opinion | A New Era of Hunger Has Begun

Cuts to SNAP are terrible for lots of reasons, but the program’s impact on the economy is often under sold. Food systems are economic engines.

“Each $1 in SNAP benefits adds as much as $1.50 to GDP, a helpful buffer during economic downturns and recessions.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/o...

When you go after root causes, you make real progress toward solving problems.

Not just immigrants, Americans with various European lineages do this many generations removed from those who actually immigrated.

I believe it to be part of @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social job to “get to know” the Democratic nominee for mayor of the city he represents.

That might have been a sufficient excuse not to endorse the day after the primary, not anymore.

Actually who the candidate is - like, as a person! - matters a lot.

"A yawning hole of need": SNAP cuts exacerbate food bank strain "Food banks are stretched literally to the breaking point," one leader told Axios.

"Feeding America estimates that provisions affecting SNAP alone could eliminate the equivalent of some 6 to 9 billion meals annually...Feeding America's network...would have to "essentially more than double" its amount of food distributed."

Targeted Reforms Are the Best Way to Promote Property Tax Equity Without Harming Local Services | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Local public services are cornerstones of our communities, ensuring that our children are educated, our communities are safe and healthy, and public spaces like parks and libraries can be enjoyed by.....

Property taxes are vital for funding local investments. Through targeted changes, state lawmakers can address the impact of property taxes on low- & moderate-income homeowners & renters while ensuring robust funding for schools, public safety, & more. www.cbpp.org/blog/targete...

Who’s Afraid of Zohran Mamdani? There is some panic within the city Establishment.

Having spent nearly all of my adult life in Chicago and New York, and being a relatively active supporter of progressive mayoral candidates running against machine favorites in both cities, watching the old guard’s response to Zohran’s primary win is entertaining.

nymag.com/intelligence...

NYC has a general election where one likely candidate lost his primary and another decided to skip his primary all together.

I like ranked choice, but the current primary system in NYC is too easy to bypass in my opinion. I’m open to voting for some form of a jungle primary if it’s on the ballot.

By the Numbers: Senate Republican Leadership’s Reconciliation Bill Takes Food Assistance Away From Millions of People | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities The Senate Republican leadership’s reconciliation bill would dramatically raise costs and reduce food assistance for millions of people by cutting federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assist...

How many low-income people will lose some or all of their food assistance as a result of the deepest cut to SNAP in history? Here's what we know so far: www.cbpp.org/research/foo...

Going to be a long summer and fall for those of us in the NYC media market. If this is the starting line just imagine where the smear campaign will be in early November.

100% agree.

If he isn’t locked in already, one more quality showing against Mexico should book his ticket to the World Cup. Would love to see Diego Luna as an option off the bench next summer.

SNAP Food Assistance Is a Sound Investment in Our Nation’s Health, Well-Being, and Economy | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Food is an essential human need. The United States has the resources to ensure everyone has enough to eat and no one goes hungry. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is our...

“In a weak economy, every $1 in additional spending on SNAP benefits generates $1.54 in economic activity as households use their benefits to shop at over 250,000 local grocery stores and supermarkets.”

There is no rationale that makes sense for cutting SNAP.

www.cbpp.org/blog/snap-fo...

Always true but especially true today: The only places we’re going to see meaningful progress for the next few years are state and local govts. Every local leader matters.

In Lisa Murkowski’s telling of the current Congress I imagine she believes herself to be filling John McCain’s shoes.

But only one would find themselves in a chapter of an updated version of Profiles in Courage.

SNAP reaches across race, age, and employment status to fight hunger. A new blog unpacks USDA data showing who benefits—and how powerful the program is at reducing poverty. Read more: frac.org/blog/charact...

How the G.O.P. Bill Saves Money: Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork

Creating enough enrollment friction so that a public benefit is impossibly hard to enroll in and keep is the same as cutting a benefit. It shouldn’t be a full time job to access your benefits, that is time that should be spent in a thousand more productive ways.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/u...

Because of how far reaching the damage done from this will be, it will take far more than a future budget passed under a sane congress/administration to undo.

+1

Wish I could have made it to @bradlander.bsky.social’s event last night to hear his “good f*cking riddance” speech in person.

Very much looking forward to see what he does next. He’s far from done.

Medicaid Is Essential for Addressing the Homelessness Crisis. The Reconciliation Bill Would Make It Worse. Medicaid has been essential for scaling supportive housing models that increase access to treatment and recovery for people experiencing homelessness, but the reconciliation bill would disrupt these s...

Evidence shows that pairing a strong #Medicaid program with affordable housing options is essential for addressing the #homelessness crisis. A new Urban Wire post shares how requirements in the proposed reconciliation bill could make it harder for people experiencing homelessness to access #housing.

It’s hard to learn on an empty stomach. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) allows high-poverty schools to offer free meals to all students.

FRAC’s latest report shows how CEP creates better outcomes for kids and families: frac.org/wp-content/u...

Hope and solidarity won tonight, and will win again in November.

Congratulations, @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social

If he doesn’t want to take a shot at a the NY10 primary I think first deputy mayor Lander would be a perfect pick. Would help with the experience critique.

If that dream comes true, announcing the intention soon and running the mayoral campaign like a P/VP would be a very smart move in my opinion.

Still have a general to go win, but tonight is a night for celebration and it feels great.

Tomorrow the work to bring the coalition behind @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social together again in November starts.

He wasn’t my first choice, but I’m 100% in his camp going forward.