New York Focus

What Can Mayor-Elect Mamdani Do if Trump Sends National Guards to NYC? State officials and local activists may be more influential, but the mayor still has a role to play.

Last month, Trump insinuated that he’d send troops to “clean up” the country’s biggest city if Mamdani won the election.

“Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up,” Mamdani said.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/05/d...

What Can Mayor-Elect Mamdani Do if Trump Sends National Guards to NYC? State officials and local activists may be more influential, but the mayor still has a role to play.

If President Donald Trump makes good on his threats, Zohran Mamdani may become the first New York City mayor forced to navigate an uninvited federal deployment of the National Guard.

What can he do as mayor?
nysfocus.com/2025/11/05/d...

From now until the end of the year, your donation will be TRIPLED. Your support means we can keep covering stories that matter the most to New Yorkers across the state, like access to child care.

Donate today: nysfoc.us/donate

What Can Mayor-Elect Mamdani Do if Trump Sends National Guards to NYC? State officials and local activists may be more influential, but the mayor still has a role to play.

Last month, Trump insinuated that he’d send troops to “clean up” the country’s biggest city if Mamdani won the election.

“Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up,” Mamdani said.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/05/d...

What Can Mayor-Elect Mamdani Do if Trump Sends National Guards to NYC? State officials and local activists may be more influential, but the mayor still has a role to play.

If President Donald Trump makes good on his threats, Zohran Mamdani may become the first New York City mayor forced to navigate an uninvited federal deployment of the National Guard.

What can he do as mayor?
nysfocus.com/2025/11/05/d...

Judge Says Feds Illegally Ended Protections for Abused Immigrant Youth The ruling allows young immigrants who have suffered abuse and neglect to apply for protections from deportation — at least for now.

NEW: A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume reviewing protection requests from young immigrants who suffered abuse or neglect, finding it violated federal law when it abruptly stopped doing so earlier this year.

nysfocus.com/2025/11/20/t...

Judge Says Feds Illegally Ended Protections for Abused Immigrant Youth The ruling allows young immigrants who have suffered abuse and neglect to apply for protections from deportation — at least for now.

NEW: A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Wednesday to resume reviewing protection requests from young immigrants who suffered abuse or neglect, finding it violated federal law when it abruptly stopped doing so earlier this year.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/20/t...

It’s Not Just Mamdani: Democrats, Progressives Rack Up Victories… Working Families Party–backed candidates flipped county legislatures, won big-city mayoralties, and secured an Assembly seat in Elise Stefanik’s backyard.

Working Families Party–backed candidates flipped county legislatures, won big-city mayoralties, and secured an Assembly seat in Elise Stefanik’s backyard.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/06/n...

'Blindsided' Counties Struggle to Implement Trump's SNAP Work Rules Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers could lose their food benefits due to new SNAP work requirements, after the Trump administration phased them in…

Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers could lose their food benefits due to new SNAP work requirements, after the Trump administration phased them in months earlier than expected.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/10/t...

Prison Agency Seeks to Dramatically Narrow Solitary Confinement Law Prison officials are using a novel legal reading to argue that the HALT Solitary Confinement Act doesn’t apply to units where most people are incarcerated.

Prison officials are using a novel legal reading to argue that the HALT Solitary Confinement Act doesn’t apply to units where most people are incarcerated.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/13/n...

Heating Assistance Still on Hold as Federal Government Reopens Federal HEAP funding will not reach New Yorkers until at least November 24, state officials say.

Federal HEAP funding will not reach New Yorkers until at least November 24, state officials say.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/15/t...

‘We Are Forgotten Here’: As NYC Builds Seawalls, This Queens… A decade after city officials promised to protect Edgemere against floods, residents say the neighborhood remains just as vulnerable.

A decade after city officials promised to protect Edgemere against floods, residents say the neighborhood remains just as vulnerable.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/18/n...

An Officer Bungled a Teen Rape Case. The Victim Was Abused Again. The investigator, who did not believe the teen, faced little punishment, illustrating the different ways that officers in New York State are disciplined…

“It was a tragedy.”

After a teenager was sent back into a home where, she said, she was being abused by her adoptive father, the county district attorney pushed for the officer’s dismissal. But they essentially got a slap on the wrist.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/17/n...

‘We are forgotten here’: As NYC builds seawalls, this Queens community feels left behind. A decade after city officials promised to cut flood risks in the Edgemere neighborhood, critics say it remains just as vulnerable.

The coastal community of Edgemere, Queens was among the hardest-hit during Superstorm Sandy. A decade later, residents still wait for promised flood protections.

NEW from Floodlight, published in partnership with @us.theguardian.com and @nysfocus.bsky.social:

Crossing Coalitions on the New York City Council The conservative Democrat is sounding more like her progressive colleagues as she tries to protect immigrant constituents from the Trump administration.

In this Q and A, New York City Councilmember Susan Zhuang offers her thoughts on Trump’s immigration crackdown, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, and why she thinks many immigrants in her community feel disconnected from the political process.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/19/s...

Crossing Coalitions on the New York City Council The conservative Democrat is sounding more like her progressive colleagues as she tries to protect immigrant constituents from the Trump administration.

Outside her district, NYC Councilmember Susan Zhuang is probably best known for getting arrested for biting a cop during a protest against a homeless shelter in her district in 2024.

She has recently found herself more aligned with some of her progressive colleagues, particularly on immigration.

Crossing Coalitions on the New York City Council The conservative Democrat is sounding more like her progressive colleagues as she tries to protect immigrant constituents from the Trump administration.

NYC Councilmember Susan Zhuang, who opposes plans to build a homeless shelter in her district and has criticized the reallocation of city resources for migrants, has recently found herself more aligned with some of her progressive colleagues, particularly on immigration.

Crossing Coalitions on the New York City Council The conservative Democrat is sounding more like her progressive colleagues as she tries to protect immigrant constituents from the Trump administration.

NYC Councilmember Susan Zhuang Is the only sitting councilmember who moved to the US as an adult, and she represents Brooklyn’s first Asian-majority council district. Her constituents have been in the crosshairs of ICE crackdowns.

She walks a peculiar political line as a conservative Democrat.

Crossing Coalitions on the New York City Council The conservative Democrat is sounding more like progressive colleagues as she tries to protect immigrant constituents from the Trump administration.

NEW: City Councilmember Susan Zhuang is a conservative Democrat. She's also an immigrant rights advocate.

New York Focus talked to her about ICE, Trump, Mamdani, and why immigrants are often left out of politics.

nysfocus.com/2025/11/19/s...

‘We Are Forgotten Here’: As NYC Builds Seawalls, This Queens… A decade after city officials promised to protect Edgemere against floods, residents say the neighborhood remains just as vulnerable.

A decade after city officials promised to protect Edgemere against floods, residents say the neighborhood remains just as vulnerable.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/18/n...

‘We Are Forgotten Here’: As NYC Builds Seawalls, This Queens… A decade after city officials promised to protect Edgemere against floods, residents say the neighborhood remains just as vulnerable.

Few American cities are more vulnerable to sea level rise than New York City.

The coastal community of Edgemere, Queens was among the hardest-hit during Superstorm Sandy. A decade later, residents still wait for promised flood protections.

With @floodlightnews.org + @theguardian.com:

really worth watching the video documentary by @floodlightnews.org's Evan Simon

CHART: Utility Shutoffs Have Increased Sharply Some 300,000 New York households have had their electricity or gas shut off so far this year. Use the dropdown to check your utility. [line graph showing quarterly data on utility shutoffs Q1 2020–Q3 2025, with a flat line of zero shutoffs during the pandemic and snaking upwards from 2022 to present with large spike so far in 2025] Source: Utility reports filed to the Public Service Commission, compiled by Alliance for a Green Economy • New York Focus analysis

Update: According to new data, NY’s major private utilities shut off service to 37,500+ customers in October, up from 22,750 last year, continuing the sharp upward trend since the pandemic. nysfocus.com/2025/11/15/t...

No. _________________ _______________________________________________ IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT ________________________________________________ NY/NJ BAYKEEPER, FOOD & WATER WATCH, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, PROTECTORS OF PINE OAK WOODS, SIERRA CLUB, AND SURFRIDER FOUNDATION Petitioners, v. NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION; AMANDA LEFTON, COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, Respondents. _______________________________________________ PETITION FOR REVIEW _______________________________________________ Moneen Nasmith Susan J. Kraham EARTHJUSTICE 48 Wall Street, 15th Floor New York, NY 10005 212-845-7384 mnasmith@earthjustice.org skraham@earthjustice.org Ann Jaworski E ARTHJUSTICE 311 S. Wacker Dr., Suite 1400 Chicago, IL 60606 773-245-0837 ajaworski@earthjustice.org Counsel for Petitioners NY/NJ Baykeeper, Food & Water Watch, Protectors of Pine Oak Woods, Sierra Club, and Surfrider Foundation

No. _________________ _______________________________________________ IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT ________________________________________________ NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, INC., Petitioner, v. NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; SHAWN M. LATOURETTE, COMMISSIONER, NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, Respondents. PETITION FOR REVIEW Jared E. Knicley Jackson Garrity Natural Resources Defense Council Natural Resources Defense Council 1152 15th Street NW, Suite 300 20 N Wacker Drive, Suite 1600 Washington, DC 20005 Chicago, IL 60606 (202) 513-6242 (312) 995-5909 jknicley@nrdc.org jgarrity@nrdc.org Mark A. Izeman Natural Resources Defense Council 40 West 20th Street, 11th Floor New York, NY 10011 (212) 727-4453 mizeman@nrdc.org Counsel for Petitioner Natural Resources Defense Council Dated: November 18, 2025

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT NY/NJ BAYKEEPER, PRINCETON MANOR HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, CENTRAL JERSEY SAFE ENERGY COALITION, FOOD & WATER WATCH, NEW JERSEY LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND, and SIERRA CLUB, Petitioners, v. NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION and SHAWN M. LATOURETTE, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Respondents. Case No. __________ PETITION FOR REVIEW

⚠️ Breaking: Enviro groups sue NY and NJ over NESE pipeline approvals, in three parallel suits before the US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

They cite regulators’ previous, repeated decisions rejecting the pipeline.

‘We Are Forgotten Here’: As NYC Builds Seawalls, This Queens… A decade after city officials promised to protect Edgemere against floods, residents say the neighborhood remains just as vulnerable.

NEW: Few American cities are more vulnerable to sea level rise than New York City.

The coastal community of Edgemere, Queens was among the hardest-hit during Superstorm Sandy. A decade later, residents still wait for promised flood protections.

w/@floodlightnews.org + @theguardian.com

Heating Assistance Still on Hold as Federal Government Reopens Federal HEAP funding will not reach New Yorkers until at least November 24, state officials say.

The US government is open again, but many low-income people are still waiting for federal benefits they count on.

The stopgap bill President Donald Trump signed Wednesday night should allow the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to reopen, but it could still take weeks.

Heating Assistance Still on Hold as Federal Government Reopens Federal HEAP funding will not reach New Yorkers until at least November 24, state officials say.

Freezing temperatures hit much of the state in October and reached New York City this week.

Even though the US government is open again, federal benefits could still take weeks for many low-income people who rely on heating assistance.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/15/t...

The uncertainty around federal funding for heating assistance has left advocates worried about heat and power shutoffs heading into winter.

Shutoffs have already spiked this year.
nysfocus.com/2025/11/15/t...

Heating Assistance Still on Hold as Federal Government Reopens Federal HEAP funding will not reach New Yorkers until at least November 24, state officials say.

More on all this in my story, including an interactive chart where you can compare shutoff numbers by utility: nysfocus.com/2025/11/15/t...

CHART: Utility Shutoffs Have Increased Sharply Some 300,000 New York households have had their electricity or gas shut off so far this year. Use the dropdown to check your utility. [line graph showing quarterly data on utility shutoffs Q1 2020–Q3 2025, with a flat line of zero shutoffs during the pandemic and snaking upwards from 2022 to present with large spike so far in 2025] Source: Utility reports filed to the Public Service Commission, compiled by Alliance for a Green Economy • New York Focus analysis

Worth noting here that utility shutoffs have already spiked this year. New York’s seven largest investor-owned utilities cut off service to more than 300,000 customers by the end of September — the most in at least 15 years and more than twice as many as last year.