Boroughs in Brief

A legislative package boosting New York City in its battle against the estimated 2,500 unlicensed cannabis shops operating citywide has been secured in state budget negotiations, lawmakers said Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

City Council Democrats from the party’s progressive wing say they’ll work to block Mayor Adams’ expected plan to tap conservative legal heavy-hitter Randy Mastro as his administration’s next top attorney, setting the stage for a potentially contentious battle over his nomination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New York City could save up to $3.5 billion in migrant housing costs if it and the state government expand access to housing vouchers, a new report from the homeless services provider Win revealed Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A range of critics have begun to pounce as Governor Kathy Hochul and New York state lawmakers draw closer to a housing deal that would revive a tax break for developers and provide new good cause eviction protections to tenants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Mayor Adams’ authority over the city’s public schools on the line, a new study of mayoral control that painted an unfavorable picture of how parents and teachers feel about the status quo has added a new wrinkle to the debate in Albany. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The feds will be footing more of the bill for a new bridge over Newtown Creek, putting $15 million towards the replacement of the 119-year-old Grand St. Bridge on the Brooklyn-Queens border. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mayor Adams defended himself Tuesday when questioned about a report that the federal probe into ties between Turkey and his 2021 mayoral campaign has honed in on upgrades he allegedly received on Turkish Airlines flights, but declined to offer more specific details on issues raised by the story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New York City parents and teachers feel shut out of key decisions about children’s education under the current system of mayoral control, according to a pivotal state Education Department report released Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Celebrity attorney Alex Spiro, whose clients include Elon Musk and Jay-Z, has been retained to represent Mayor Adams against a lawsuit accusing him of sexually assaulting a police colleague over three decades ago, according to court filings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Madonna files to dismiss fans’ lawsuit over late start of Barclays Center concert; Upstate NY braces for massive influx of eclipse tourists; Off-duty NYPD cop charged with assault in Brooklyn incident Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mayor Adams offered a sarcastic helping hand to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during his New York City stay, saying Thursday that the Republican could sleep in a migrant shelter “so he can see what he has created." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Critics of President Biden’s support for the war in Gaza Wednesday claimed that an impressive 12% of New York Democratic voters heeded their call to protest by casting blank ballots in the state’s presidential primary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A former NYPD deputy inspector who was friendly with Mayor Adams was sentenced to community service Tuesday for his ringleader role in a straw donor scheme that gamed the system to boost the mayor’s 2021 City Hall run and curry political favors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Critics of President Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza are pushing for Democratic voters to cast blank ballots in Tuesday’s otherwise snoozy primary as some Republicans plan to vote for Nikki Haley to express oppostion to former President Donald Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An NYPD year-end report detailing how it works with at-risk officers is missing a key detail: How many of those struggling cops had to repeat the program? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The rollout of driverless cars in American cities has so far been pockmarked by speed bumps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Weeks of cautious optimism that New York lawmakers might approve the state budget on time have faded to the reality that talks will drag past the April 1st deadline Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The MTA is expected to approve a congestion pricing tolling plan Wednesday, ahead of a June launch for the program — barring a judicial ruling favoring New Jerseyans or others who oppose the plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The City Council asked the state’s highest court Monday to reverse a ruling that struck down a law giving hundreds of thousands of noncitizen New Yorkers the right to vote in local elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One week out from the nominal deadline to approve the next state budget, Gov. Hochul and the Legislature are heading into a few days of furious negotiations, with school funding and tenant protections seen as likely sticking points. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mets owners’ Steve and Alex Cohen’s foundation is making the largest donation in the City University of New York’s history to a new workforce development center at a Queens community college. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NYPD pushed back Wednesday against criticism of how it uses social media — calling it critical to giving information to the public — even as a chief testified that the department will soon encrypt all its radio transmissions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mayor Adams vehemently denied accusations Tuesday that he sexually assaulted a coworker in his car decades ago and vowed to not be distracted by the shocking claim — as his administration’s top attorney defended using city government attorneys to represent the mayor in the matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New York State has launched a comprehensive review of its sluggish process for licensing cannabis shops, Governor Hochul’s office said Monday, targeting a tortured legalization rollout that has allowed a sprawling market of unlicensed retailers to emerge across the city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The number of yellow taxis on New York City streets is growing post-pandemic — but passenger demand has not kept pace, and a third of taxi medallions remain dormant, the Taxi and Limousine Commission says. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices