Boroughs in Brief

New York City sparkles during the holidays, with festive markets, iconic light displays and celebrations throughout the five boroughs. Whether you're ice skating at Rockefeller Center, shopping for unique gifts or enjoying cultural festivities, here’s your guide to reveling in the holiday spirit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Light shows, cemetery walks and a New York classic returns for the winter. Here is what to do this weekend in NYC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The MTA plans ramp up Manhattan’s congestion pricing tolls to $15 in 2031 — a sharp increase from the $9 charge Governor Kathy Hochul announced last week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plus - Governor Hochul plans to relaunch the MTA’s congestion pricing program with a $9 base toll for passenger cars — marking a 40% reduction from the price previously approved by the MTA — according to four sources briefed on the governor’s plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand glided to re-election on Tuesday, easily winning another six-year term as the junior senator from New York over longshot Republican challenger Mike Sapraicone, a retired NYPD detective. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More than 1 million New York City residents voted early in this week’s high-stakes election — a new record, according to city officials. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mayor Adams’ historic corruption trial will start in late April 2025 — just over two months before he’s set to face off against multiple challengers in next summer’s Democratic mayoral primary." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Republican-led congressional panel on the COVID-19 pandemic has referred former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the Department of Justice for possible prosecution for allegedly lying at a closed-door hearing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some of Mayor Adams’ top advisers received pay increases this year that pushed their salaries above his, including David Banks, the since-resigned schools chancellor whose wage bump made him the highest-paid city government employee over at least the last decade, new payroll data shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Democratic politicians in New York grew increasingly angry with Mayor Adams on Monday after he suggested it’s wrong to call Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump a “fascist” — a stance the mayor took before the ex-president’s weekend rally in Manhattan, where speakers made racist remarks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Firefighters from across the country will join federal Homeland Security Department officials at the FDNY Fire Academy this week for a two-day deep dive on how to better tackle the scourge of deadly lithium-ion battery fires, the Daily News has learned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mayor Adams defended Donald Trump Saturday against recent bombshell allegations by a former White House aide that the former president is a “fascist” who said positive things about Adolf Hitler and his Nazi generals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mayor Adams’ administration recently carved out part of a citywide traffic camera contract in a way that stands to benefit a firm whose president is an ex-top aide to Phil Banks — Adams’ former public safety deputy who’s entangled in a federal corruption probe, according to city records and sources familiar with the matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hundreds of New Yorkers are signed up to share their views at a marathon City Council hearing Tuesday reviewing the Adams administration’s sweeping “City of Yes” plan, which aims to boost the city’s housing supply by overhauling decades-old zoning regulations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mayor Adams has discontinued a controversial policy requiring local elected officials to seek permission via an online engagement form before speaking with senior officials in his administration about a range of issues, according to two sources directly familiar with the matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mayor Adams might think it’s “common” to accept tens of thousands of dollars in benefits to pressure a city agency, but it is “nonetheless illegal,” federal prosecutors argued Friday in opposing the mayor’s motion to toss a bribery count in his sweeping corruption case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The nation’s largest school district has a new leader. On Wednesday, Melissa Aviles-Ramos takes the reins from David Banks, who served as chancellor of the New York City Public Schools since the start of Mayor Adams’ administration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mayor Adams’ legal defense trust received less than $100,000 in donations over the past three months, a sharp downturn in fundraising that raises questions about how he’ll be able to afford his high-priced team of lawyers as he faces a federal corruption indictment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The New York City Department of Investigation’s staffing levels are so low that employees can’t go on vacation without “significant disruptions” to the agency’s work — a problem that’s becoming especially dire amid various corruption probes into Mayor Adams’ administration, according to a letter obtained by the Daily News. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Monday she is satisfied with the avalanche of high-level resignations from Mayor Adams’ senior ranks after she urged him to clean house, the strongest endorsement she’s given Adams since the a federal corruption indictment against him dropped late last month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A real estate developer who calls himself “Turkish Trump” was among a group of businessmen who gave money to Mayor Adams’ reelection campaign as part of a 2023 fundraiser that’s emerging as a focus in the federal corruption case against the mayor, the Daily News has learned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Embattled NYPD Commissioner Tom Donlon is expected to vacate his post as early as Friday after his background check hit a snag — and the city’s current Sanitation Department boss, Jessica Tisch, is seen as the top contender to replace him, the Daily News has learned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New York City families are suing the nation’s largest school district for failing to help their children who struggle to find the will to attend school. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Serious crime dipped 3% in September, the ninth straight month with a decrease, the NYPD said Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Phil Banks, Mayor Adams’ top public safety deputy and longtime friend, resigned over the weekend, the latest senior City Hall official to step down after becoming embroiled in federal corruption investigations that are rocking the administration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices