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Vote on the 17 Ways Mamdani Could Improve NYC

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Vote on the 17 Ways Mamdani Could Improve NYC

A new mayor, a fresh start — you know the drill. There are as many ideas out there for how Zohran Mamdani can now improve New York’s urban environment as there are New Yorkers.

I canvassed a few dozen planners, architects, academics, community leaders, neighborhood organizers, developers, housing and transit experts and former city government officials. I gave them no budgets or time lines. They gave me a mayoral to-do list of ideas big, small, familiar, deep in the weeds, fanciful and timely.

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What follows is a small selection, with some kibitzing by me. You can vote “love it” or “skip it” below and help determine the ranking of priorities. Feel free to leave eye rolls and alternative proposals in the comments section.

Check back in the coming days to see how the ranking has changed and we will let you know the ultimate results on Jan. 13.

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Get your votes in before polls close on Jan. 12, 2026.

1

Create many thousands more affordable housing units by converting some of the city’s public golf courses into mixed income developments, with garden allotments and wetlands.

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2

Deck over Robert Moses’s Cross Bronx Expressway and create a spectacular new park.

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3

Devise a network of dedicated lanes for e-bikes and electric scooters so they will endanger fewer bicyclists and pedestrians.

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4

Pedestrianize Lower Manhattan. Not even 10 percent of people there arrive by car.

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5

Build more mental health crisis centers citywide.

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6

Provide more clean, safe public pay toilets that don’t cost taxpayers $1 million apiece.

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7

Convert more coastline into spongy marshes, akin to what exists at Hunter’s Point South Park in Queens, to mitigate rising seas and floods.

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8

Dedicate more of the city budget to public libraries and parks, the lifeblood of many neighborhoods, crucial to public health and climate resilience. The city devotes barely 2 percent of its funds to them now.

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9

Follow through on the Adams administration’s $400 million makeover of once-glamorous Fifth Avenue from Central Park South to Bryant Park, with wider sidewalks, reduced lanes of traffic, and more trees, restaurants, bikes and pedestrian-friendly stretches.

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10

Do away with free street parking and enforce parking placard rules. New York’s curbside real estate is priceless public land, and only a small fraction of residents own cars.

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11

Open the soaring vaults under the Brooklyn Bridge to create shops, restaurants, a farmers’ market and public library in nascent Gotham Park.

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13

Persuade Google, JPMorgan or some other city-vested megacorporation to help improve the acoustics as well as Wi-Fi in subways, along the lines of Citibank sponsoring Citi Bikes.

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14

Overhaul freight deliveries to get more 18-wheelers off city streets, free up traffic, reduce noise, improve public safety and streamline supply chains.

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15

Rein in City Hall bureaucracy around new construction. The city’s Department of Design and Construction is full of good people but a longtime hot mess at completing public projects.

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16

Convert more streets and intersections into public plazas and pocket parks. Like the pedestrianization of parts of Broadway, this Bloomberg-era initiative has proved to be good for businesses and neighborhoods.

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17

Stop playing Russian roulette with a crumbling highway and repair the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway before it collapses.

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New York

Video: Video of Justin Timberlake’s Traffic Stop in 2024 Released

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Video: Video of Justin Timberlake’s Traffic Stop in 2024 Released

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Video of Justin Timberlake’s Traffic Stop in 2024 Released

Body-camera footage of Justin Timberlake’s traffic stop was released on Friday. The singer pleaded guilty to a low-level charge of driving while impaired in Sag Harbor, N.Y.

“So the reason for the stop is because of you’re veering off to the left and then you’re not stopping at the stop signs.” “Yeah, sorry about that.” “Is this your vehicle? Whose vehicle is it?” “Yeah, it’s just a rental.” “What are you, visiting?” “Yeah, I’m on tour.” “What are you doing?” “I’m on a world tour.” “A what?” “A world tour.” “Doing what?” “Hard to explain.” “I’m Justin Timberlake.” “What’s your name?” “Justin Timberlake.” “You are Justin Timberlake?” “Yeah.” “Do you have a license with you?” “Yeah, I do.” “And then, and then just walk. I’m sorry.” “Here, ready.” “I’m a little nervous.” “The way this device works is you just put your lips over it and you blow up. Blow into it like you’re blowing a balloon.” “At this point, based on the observations, you’re under arrest for suspicion of driving while intoxicated.” “My partner here observed you, some kind of traffic violation. Started a traffic stop, believed you have impairment. Did a series of routine tests on you, right? Field sobriety tests, okay? You performed poorly on those.” “So, you’re being held for the night, and then in the morning is the arraignment. So in the morning, usually around 9:30 —” “So I’m being held all night?” “It might not be this one. It might be over at the other one. And they actually have blankets for you.” “You guys are wild man.” “You guys are wild man.”

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Body-camera footage of Justin Timberlake’s traffic stop was released on Friday. The singer pleaded guilty to a low-level charge of driving while impaired in Sag Harbor, N.Y.

By Jorge Mitssunaga

March 21, 2026

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New York

Judge Zahid Quraishi Ejects New Jersey Federal Prosecutor From Court, Orders Testimony on Office Leadership Structure

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Judge Zahid Quraishi Ejects New Jersey Federal Prosecutor From Court, Orders Testimony on Office Leadership Structure

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MR. ROSENBLUM: He is not personally supervising anything to do with this case.

THE COURT: The office, I’m talking about.

The

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4 current office that you work at, the folks that you will

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represent are running it, that are the leaders of the U.S. Attorneys Office that are operating it, is the exact same triumvirate, Ms. Fox and Mr. Lamparello and Mr. Fontecchio,
the same triumvirate that Judge Brann ruled was unlawful,

9 right?

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MR. ROSENBLUM: Correct, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Okay.

All right. Well, I’m going require their testimony, as

I directed before. I’m going to schedule a hearing in two

14 weeks. I will determine the date and time later this

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afternoon. I will text order it, but I’m going to require the testimony of this triumvirate. So all three, Ms. Fox, Mr. Lamparello, and Mr. Fontecchio will testify. They will be sequestered. Just to be clear, they will be sequestered.
19 They will not be sitting in this courtroom listening to each 20 other testify, and they’re going to answer my questions about who is running this office and how.

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And then we will have a proper factual record, I believe, for me to then determine if I need legal briefing on how you can proceed with this sentencing hearing, or I might be able to just make the determination after I have that

United States District Court
District of New Jersey

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New York

Video: Fast-Moving Fire in Queens Kills 4, Including a Child

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Video: Fast-Moving Fire in Queens Kills 4, Including a Child

new video loaded: Fast-Moving Fire in Queens Kills 4, Including a Child

transcript

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Fast-Moving Fire in Queens Kills 4, Including a Child

Fierce winds fueled a blaze in a mixed-use building on Monday, killing four people and injuring 12 others, officials said.

I can tell you that the Fire Department did an extraordinary job under difficult circumstances, putting this fire out and saving people. I can’t thank them enough for their continued efforts and commitment to life safety.

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Fierce winds fueled a blaze in a mixed-use building on Monday, killing four people and injuring 12 others, officials said.

By Jamie Leventhal and Jackie Molloy

March 16, 2026

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