A Nov. 2025 protest at Park East Synagogue (pictured above) spurred one of the planks of Council Speaker Menin’s plan, a contentious “protest buffer zone” law outside houses of worship. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly ) Menin Introduces “Five-Point Plan to Combat Antisemitism” NY City Council Speaker Julie Menin has introduced a package of legislation that she’s deemed a “five-point plan to combat... News 21 Jan 2026 | 10:27
City Council Speaker Julie Menin called an emergency press conference at City Hall on Jan. 12 after she learned that a Venezuelan-born City Council employee had been seized by ICE after what he thought was a routine check-in with immigration officials on Long Island. ( Photo: NYC Council Media Unit ) Arrest of City Council Employee Sparks Protests and a Dispute Over His Immigration Status NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City Council employee detained in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is an asylum-seeker... News 15 Jan 2026 | 08:11
UES Now Boasts City’s Two Most Powerful Political Leaders The Upper East Side is now officially the political epicenter of New York City with the two most powerful political leaders... Voices 11 Jan 2026 | 10:27
The World’s Largest Menorah at Grand Army Plaza, Hanukkah, Dec. 14, 2025. ( Photo: Gregory Kirskopp Instagram) Hanukkah Menorah Lightings Bring Joy—& High Security—to City Thousands of New York Jews and their friends, as well as hundreds of security-bolstering NYPD cops, braved frigid cold and... News 15 Dec 2025 | 02:19
The City Council is seeking to expand outdoor dining, pushing a suite of bills that includes allowing roadway sheds (pictured above) year-round. Under current regulations, all roadway sheds were to have been taken down by Nov. 29 and can’t be reinstalled until April 1. ( Photo: NYC DOT ) Council Pushes Bill to Make Outdoor Roadway Dining Year Round New York City’s outdoor dining landscape is back in flux again, with the City Council seeking to make some serious alterations... News 05 Dec 2025 | 04:06
Julie Menin said she has pledges of 37 votes, more than enough to secure her election as speaker of the City Council come January. ( Photo: Courtesy Julie Menin campaign) Julie Menin Declares Victory in City Council Speaker Race Upper East Side City Council Member Julie Menin said she has secured 37 votes, more than enough to be elected to speaker... News 01 Dec 2025 | 01:33
Anti-Israel protesters scream and curse at “Zionists” outside Park East Synagogue on Nov. 19, 2025. ( Photo: Combat Anti-Semitism X) Political Blowback Follows Anti-Israel Protest Outside Synagogue Political blowback continues after raucous anti-Israel protesters set themselves up outside the Park East Synagogue on the... News 01 Dec 2025 | 12:48
Daily News Union rally Oct. 29, 2025: left to right, News union rep Evan Simko-Bednarski, News Guild New York President Susan DeCarava, and City Council member Carmen De La Rosa, who chairs the Council’s labor committee. ( Photo: Brian Berger) Daily News Union Ratifies Contract with Owner, Alden Global Capital After three years without a contract, three politician-supported rallies this past summer and fall, and multiple other acts... News 20 Nov 2025 | 02:18
Christopher Marte announcing a new dog run to be built at Captain Jacob Joseph Park on Rutgers Street, June 5, 2025. ( Photo: Brian Berger) Marte Launches Campaign for City Council Speaker Frustrated by what he sees as an unwieldy abuse of power by city council speakers in the past, Council Member Christopher... News 13 Sep 2025 | 08:28
Announcing the “Too Tough To Die” resolution at Foley Square, in front of the Lorenzo Pace sculpture “The Triumph of the Human Spirit.” ( Photo: Carmen DeLaRosa X) City Council Resolution Backing Daily News Union Introduced The three-years-long battle between the Daily News union and the newspaper’s hedge fund owners, Alden Global Capital, took... News 18 Aug 2025 | 06:42
The Wegmans supermarket chain, which opened its first NYC store on Astor Place (above) in 2023, will be getting some new sister operations: the Next Door sushi restaurant and an UWS location later this year. ( Photo: courtesy of Wegmans) Wegmans Gets an UWS Sibling; Menin Gets a UES Competitor A complete unknown Hard to imagine that there would be any real surprises coming out of the local City Council District 4... Voices 27 Apr 2025 | 07:34
Businesses and City Council Members alike railed against the rollout of the new dining shed program under the city’s DOT, arguing that it is far too onerous for applicants and has atrophied outdoor dining. ( Photo: NYC DOT ) City Council Holds Hearing on ‘Disastrous’ Dining Shed Rollout The City Council convened an impassioned hearing on the state of NYC’s revamped dining shed program on April 22, which attracted... News 26 Apr 2025 | 07:13
Kids at the Corona Park Aquatic Center will be among the beneficiaries of new swim program funds unveiled by Mayor Eric Adams last month, but a plan to get free swimming lessons for all 70,000 second graders in the city that was co-sponsored by Council Member Julie Menin. ( Photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office) Is This Enough of a Splash? On March 25, the Adams administration announced a $5.5 million investment to go towards expanding free swim lessons, with... News 25 Apr 2025 | 06:10
Two riders approach the intersection of Seventh Avenue and 38th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The wider, protected bike lanes are meant to make riding safer for the growing number of e-bikers. But some worry the faster, wider lanes will increase the danger to pedestrians since many bikers ignore all traffic laws. ( Photo: Garrett Owen) New Bike Lanes Debut in Village and Midtown; Riders Pleased but Many Ignore Rules of Road Up and down the avenues of Manhattan, brand-new wider bike lanes have been put in place by the Department of Transportation... News 10 Mar 2025 | 01:35
Council member Christopher Marte, front row center, leads supporters in a chant against artificial turf in New York City parks. Marte has introduced a bill that seeks to end the further usage of synthetic turf, referred to as the “Touch Grass” bill. ( Photo: Garrett Owen) ‘Artificial Turf Has Got to Go’ from City Parks, Say Marte and Supporters of New Rules Standing on the steps of City Hall on Feb. 27, District 1 Council member Christopher Marte, flanked by other Council members,... News 28 Feb 2025 | 04:45
