Special Election Underway in NYC City Council District 3

April 18 & 19, 2026 / Manhattan Politics & Government / Manhattan Buzz NYC / News Analysis & Opinion.

On Saturday morning, April 18, 2026, I headed over to Chelsea to attend an electioneering event hosted by one of the special election NYC council candidates for District 3.  Her name is Layla Law-Gisiko.

In the photo above or at right, Layla Law-Gisiko, candidate for NYC Council District 3, is shown speaking at a get-out-the-vote rally in Chelsea.  Early voting has already started and ends Sunday, and the special election day is Tuesday, April 28, 2026. If you found this informative, please share. If you live in NYC council District 3 - here's a link to find your poll place / obtain NYC voting information.

How I Met and Got to Know Layla Law-Gisiko

I had electronically met [meaning via emails and zoom conferences] Layla about three years ago, while covering Eric Adams' and the real estate development corporations' City of Yes legislation. We got to know each other a bit while the City of Yes made its way through the legislative process, rolling back decades of New Yorkers' urban activism, which had placed guide rails on developers and developments in NYC.

Layla and I exchanged information, and Manhattan Buzz posted some of her research and perspectives on things to help keep people informed. Manhattan Buzz also filed its own reports about some of Layla's informative conferences related to the City of Yes, as well as posting our own / additional reports about what was in the 1,000 plus page developer crafted legislation. 

I Became Better Acquainted with Layla's Activism via the Fulton Elliot Chelsea NYCHA Re-Development Project

As the City of Yes was winding down, I also ran into Layla at some of the Elliot Fulton Chelsea [aka FEC] NYCHA meetings, where the community was trying to prevent what is essentially the privatization of public property by a billionaire real estate developer - Stephen Ross of Related Companies.  Ross was being aided and abetted by former Mayor Eric Adams who encouraged the tenants of NYCHA properties throughout the boroughs, to essentially give up their homes, so the developers could take over.  Adams pitched the tenants that letting the billionaire real estate developer take control of the property would be good for them, when in fact, it seems to be just the opposite.

Of the four candidates running for District 3, Layla is the only one I encountered while covering the FEC NYCHA betrayal by Eric Adams unfold. Former Mayor Adams & billionaire Stephen Ross's full-fledged assault on Elliot Fulton Chelsea NYCHA housing was, in some small measure, slowed because of Layla's and many others' efforts. 

Layla Seemed to be Involved and Busy Working with Many Different Community Groups in her NYS Assembly District 75, which has a Significant Overlap with NYC Council District 3

Layla is the only one I saw, as things were being discussed on the way forward with Penn Station. And she's the only one, of two, that I saw in the NYC Mayoral primary events I covered, as Democrats were trying to figure out who to put forward as the candidate for Mayor. I had also seen Lindsey Boylan at a protest rally in Bryant Park in the Spring of 2025, but had she not become an amateur celebrity, by virtue of her visibility in the press because of the Cuomo harassment allegations, I would not have noticed her. 

This is Not to Say the Other Candidates Have Done Nothing, Just that They haven't Done Any Meaningful Advocacy for the District, that hit my Radar

That doesn't mean that Carl Wilson, former Chief of Staff for former City Councilmember Eric Bottcher, nor Leslie Boghosian Murphy, Chair of Community Board 4, or Lindsey Boylan former Cuomo Staffer, weren't doing anything about some of the major issues facing the West Village, Chelsea, Hells Kitchen and the Midtown West community.  It just means that they didn't do any meaningful advocacy that hit my radar.

What I Learned About Layla Law-Gisiko, Candidate for District 3 in the Special Election

The following are a few things I learned about Layla during my travels around the west side neighborhoods over the past few years.

First, is that she appears to be a tireless worker.  In addition to being the District Leader of NYS Assembly District 75, Layla is the President of the City Club of New York. City Club of New York is a century plus old, non partisan, non profit, civic organization in NYC that advocates on behalf of New Yorkers for a better city. In both of Layla's roles, she has proven to be a one-woman dynamo, who has advocated quite strongly and quite effectively [when put in the context of who she has been up against - meaning billionaire real estate developers and an errant former Mayor Adams], for the members of her communities.

Second, she is a highly productive person. I also saw her attend numerous meetings, play an active role in them, issue public policy pieces and public statements regarding various governmental legislation [City of Yes] and actions [NYCHA takeover by billionaire Ross] with which she had to contend. As both of resident New Yorker and a working journalist, one of the things I most appreciate about Layla, is how she didn't just do her homework on the issues, but she generously shared the labors of her research and expert source contacts with the rest of the community.  Quite simply, she helped inform all of us. And by informing us, she also activated some measure of activism in those she reached, and got them involved.  And as we know - going all the way back to the colonists - when people unite and band together, they really can make things happen.

Thirdly, Layla has the education and experience required for the position she is seeking. Layla was a journalist. And she adeptly uses those skills to get things done. As mentioned above, she does her homework [and so few others do these days], and then shares it so that everyone has a fuller view of what's going on. I attended zoom conferences, town hall meetings, and other group events where Layla, or an expert on the subject she had identified, presented information to others in an easy-to-understand form and format. She also used the press to get word out through presentations, emails and zoom calls.  And when necessary, she periodically would get the attorneys involved.

Fourth, she seems to have a reliable moral compass. Unfortunately, at present there appears to be a shortage of reliable moral compasses in so many of our current government officials, and in the corporate mass media as well. There are some with moral compasses, but not many, and certainly not enough. Right now there's a huge push by mega-millionaire and billionaire real estate developers to privatize public assets, most notably acquiring NYC public lands, like NYCHA properties.  Eric Adams seemed only too happy to campaign as a member of the working class. After elected, Adams appeared only too happy to quickly trade in the interests of his voters, in exchange for the developers' campaign cash.  Thankfully, Mayor Mamdani looks to be a very different Mayor than was Eric Adams, but Mamdani can't do it alone [we share our perspective on Mamdani's endorsement of Lindsey Boylan below]. 

Fifth, is that Layla Law-Gisiko won't need any on-the-job training. Layla is very knowledgeable about many of the land issues one must deal with [nobody knows them all], and what she doesn't know, she adeptly fills in with information obtained from reliable sources, to inform her. She was educated and has decades of experience both as a journalist and as a political activist / community leader.

Layla Says What she Means, and Means What She Says

Lastly, I've never seen Layla flip flop on a proper course of action, in the three or so years that I've known her.  She seems to say what she means, and mean what she says.  I get the sense that our new Mayor is like that as well, which is why I think they would work well together. And given his agenda, he's going to need all of the help that 'We The People' can give him. So while I generally don't do outright endorsements, I do form opinions of what is what and who is who, which I publish. Thus I am encouraging you to help the Mayor, and yourselves, by voting for Layla. Her campaign slogan is 'Affordable NYC'.

The Other Candidates - Lindsey Boylan, Carl Wilson & Leslie Boghosian Murphy

So, the following is a summary of what I know of the other candidates, including hints of why I find them less attractive as candidates for this important NYC Councilmember seat.  Originally there were five candidates.  But it appears the fifth candidate, Jamin Enquist, dropped out. The remaining four, including Layla, are all fairly formidable. Each has carved out a support base, by establishing some sort of public presence, some have tapped into heavily self-interested funding and / or leveraging their connections to the political elites.

Lindsey Boylan - Wealthy, Cuomo Harassment Scandal Celebrity & Ambitious

Lindsey Boylan, I had, of course, come across in reporting on the sexual harassment scandal involving former Governor Andrew Cuomo.  Here's a link to our reporting on Lindsey Boylan before she became a candidate for District 3 NYC - https://www.gothambuzz.nyc/article/295/multiple-sexual-harassment-allegations-against-governor-cuomo-including-by-lindsey-boylan-candidate-for-manhattan-borough-president

As previously stated, Lindsay is something of an amateur celebrity, for her role in helping to take down former Governor Andrew Cuomo.  She's married to LeRoy Kim, an investment banker.  In one report I saw, Boylan was reported to have a net worth of $2 million, but nothing mentioned about her husband's net worth.  Lindsey has run for offices numerous times previously, and they were all higher offices. Her prior election attempts include Nadler's U.S. Congressional Seat, Manhattan Borough President, and now to be an NYC Councilmember.  This leads me to believe she's not really interested in this job, per se, but rather appears to be seeking to use it as a stepping-stone to something bigger.

it's been reported that Boylan, allegedly through an intermediary, also tried to remove one of the other candidates - most notably Layla Law Gisiko - from the ballot on a technicality [her slogan] - which failed in court. Boylan also picked up a late endorsement from Mayor Mamdani. I interpreted Mamdani's 11th hour endorsement of her as some sort of acknowledgement to her, for her high-profile call-out of Cuomo effort, during the NYC Mayoral race. Boylan's campaign slogan is 'People Power'.

Carl Wilson - Well Funded, Former Chief of Staff for Eric Bottcher

Carl Wilson's former boss, former NYC Councilmember Eric Bottcher, appeared to aid and abet Stephen Ross and Related Companies, in their effort to privatize Fulton Elliot Chelsea NYCHA. It's not unlikely that Bottcher's former Chief of Staff, Carl Wilson, would do the same - if not more.

Wilson's campaign recently received a huge campaign funding infusion from the Carpenters for Progress. The Carpenters for Progress is a labor union, specializing in construction jobs, that billionaires and companies like Stephen Ross & Related Companies can give them.  The union likely does not represent the interests of the residents or small businesses in District 3, but rather jobs for their union members, nearly all of whom live outside of the District. The union is likely willing to embrace the interests of the billionaires', even if the provision of their noise-making construction jobs in the District, are subsidized by the public / New Yorkers trading / giving away NYC assets to their billionaire employers at sell-out prices.

Wilson, like Bottcher, is openly gay.  Unfortunately, too often these days, identity politics plays an outsized role in contemporary elections. Big money knows this, so they recruit identity political candidates - like Eric Adams - who ran based on his identity, and then seemed to sell out his identity group, in order to obtain billionaire campaign funding. Eric Adams campaigned as a working class guy, and then spent a huge amount of his time enabling billionaire takeovers of NYCHA public lands, while appearing to ignore and even betray a great many of his identity group's [the working class] needs. Wilson's campaign slogan is 'For All of Us'.

Or should it be 'For a Select Few of Us'?

Leslie Boghosian Murphy - An Established Member of the Politocracy

Leslie is the Chair of Community Board 4, and appears to have participated in a number of organizations operating in the community.  Her husband is a federal prosecutor.

Murphy seems an established member of the NYC politocracy, as she was endorsed by former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, and former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. Her campaign slogan is 'Community Strong'.

If you found this informative, please share. If you live in NYC council District 3 - here's a link to find your poll place / obtain NYC voting information.

Thanks for reading and may the best person win.

Early Voting began on April 18 and ends Sunday, April 26, 2026 and Election Day is April 28, 2026.

It's ranked choice voting, and my ranked choice recommendations are.

1. Layla Law Gisiko

2. Leslie Boghosian Murphy

3. Lindsey Boylan

4. Carl Wilson

Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Bronx History Tour, MoMA PS1 50th Block Party in Queens, Folk Art Museum Opening Manhattan, Brooklyn Fashion Show & Next Week Real Estate Breakfast, Earth Day & AIPAC Returns, as well as Other Things to do This Weekend in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx & on Staten Island Events

Updated April 17, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

The photo above or at right was taken last weekend in Maspeth in Queens as I walked to the Mayor's Speech to talk about what he'd accomplished in the first 100 days as NYC Mayor.

Sunrise 6.15 am. Sunset 7.36 pm. We're getting 13 hours & 22 minutes of sunlight, or four hours and 9 minutes more of sunlight than we were getting the week of the Winter Solstice, on December 21, 2025 when the sun rose at 7.18 am and the sun set at 4.31 pm. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of this year, providing 9 hours and 13 minutes of sunlight in NYC.

NYC Weather - NYC Can Differ Slightly / Significantly vs TriState TV News Forecasts. The temperature highs will be near 80 Friday, descending to the mid 60's on Saturday, and descending a bit to further the low 50's on Sunday. The temperature lows will be in the loe 60's Friday, low 50's on Saturday and the mid 40's on Sunday. Less than a quarter inch of rain is expected between 6 am and 5 pm on Sunday - so most of the day is likely to be dry. Winds will range from 5 - 10 mph, with a bit of variance above and below that range, for brief periods. The humidity will range from about 90% highs on Friday and Saturday, rising to 100% on Sunday, while the humidity lows will generally hover around 50% with a bit of variance below that Friday and above that the rest of the weekend. The dry periods generally come late afternoon, while the humidity rises after the sun goes down.

Update _ Saturday, April 18, 2026 at 1 am - Done and should complete the attendant pages shortly. We will also socially post links either late Friday or sometime Saturday via BSky.app, Facebook and X.com. Please Like or be-Friend us, to stay abreast of events, and obtain news related to your borough. This week we return to weekly news posts.

Things To Do This Weekend & Next Week in NYC

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 is Earth Day.

Saturday, April 25, 2026 from 10 am to 4 pm is Car-Free Streets Day. Car free streets in NYC on Saturday, April 25, 2026 begins an hour earlier and ends an hour later for mototorists from 9 am to 5 pm. Events will take place from 10 am to 4 pm. And Citi Bike is offering free rides at the same time. For specific streets and the opening / closing times of the car-free streets to which this applies, in all five boroughs see - https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pr2026/nyc-dot-announces-return-of-car-free-earth-day-celebration.shtml

Saturday, June 13, 2026 is the last day you'll be able to Register to Vote in the NYC Primary on June 23, 2026. Applications must be received by the NY Board of Elections to be eligible to vote in this election.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report, as well as other Weekend Things To Do in NYC This Month 2026 _ NYC events.

Things To Do This Weekend & Next Week in Manhattan NYC

The photo at right is of the Persian Day Parade in Manhattan in a prior year. Is Trump talking up peace, like he's talking up the value of a property on a real estate deal to keep the financial markets afloat - or is there real progress being made toward peace?

Friday & Saturday, April 17 & 18, 2026 from 10 am - 6 pm - Governors Island Earth Day on Governors Island. This year Governor's Island celebrates Earth Day with a full schedule of events that include climate / environmental related films, hands on nature work, free tour of Governor's Island, green technologies, biking and clean up. For details and ferry passage planning & ticket purchases [Adults $4 / Kids & Seniors $2 / Kids under 12 free], copy & paste - https://www.govisland.com/things-to-do/events/earth-day-on-governors-island

Sunday, Sunday, April 19, 2026 gathering beginning 10 am to 11 am, parade kick off at 12 noon - the Persian Day Parade kicks off from 39th Street at Madison Avenue in Manhattan, marching south along Madison before ending in Madison Square Park [at 27th Street]. I don't see any theme referenced for this year. For details see - https://persianparade.com/

Saturday, April 18, 2026 - Manhattan City Council Special Election District 3 Early Voting - begins. There's a special election for NYC City Council representation of Hells Kitchen, Chelsea and the West Village on April 28, 2026. Layla Law Gisiko, a community activist is running in a crowded field. We hope to have more on this over the weekend. Stay tuned.

Saturday, February 22, 2025 - Sunday, September 6, 2026 - Performances of Buena Vista Social Club - at the Gerald Shoenfeld Theatre at 236 West 45th Street in Midtown Manhattan NYC. This musical brings back the jazzy, beating heart of Cuba in the 1950's and interweaves it with a reunion by the performers and musicians in the 1990's. For $58 - $471 tickets and details see - https://buenavistamusical.com or https://shubert.nyc/theatres/gerald-schoenfeld

Next Week.

Wednesday*, Friday, Saturday & Sunday, April 22 - 26, 2026 from 12 noon to 8 pm Thursday, 12 noon - 7 pm Friday & Saturday, and 11 am - 5 pm Sunday - AIPAD Photography Show - at the Park Avenue Armory at 643 Park Avenue on the UES of Manhattan. *Wednesday from 4 - 9 pm is the VIP Preview. The show presents dozens of galleries and hundreds - if not thousands - of photographers' works from around the world, many of whom are acclaimed. AIPAD is the Association of International Photography Art Dealers. Admission $47 / $78 general admission / $26 seniors / $21 students. For details and tickets see - https://www.aipad.com

Macy's Flower Show begins Thursday 4.23 - Details coming next week.

• CLICK here to view Manhattan Easter Events Brunches Egg Hunts & Holy Friday Greek Orthodox Processions in MHTN NYC.

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Sunday, April 26, 2026 - THE D WORD - is a monthly all-trans, dyke, and/or sapphic drag and burlesque revue at Henrietta Hudson. See MCAL link above for details.

Things To Do This Weekend & Next Week in Queens NYC

The photo at right was taken this week last year in Queens, showing the trees and bushes and other plants springing back to life. This weekend, next week and next weekend there are Earth Day celebrations. The official date is [Wednesday] April 22, 2026. Earth is a paradise of sorts, and we may be on the verge of losing it, if we don't reduce our polluting of the atmosphere with carbon, far more quickly than we have to date.

Saturday, April 18, 2026 from 10 am to 6 pm - MoMA PS1 50th Anniversary Block Party. This is the opening weekend of a new exhibit entitled Greater New York in celebration of the museum's 50th anniversary. Numerous cultural and community organizations will be there to participate, including some food and merchandise vendors, including a FAD market. Advanced registration is closed but they are trying to accommodate walk up registration. For details see - https://www.momaps1.org/en/events/741-50th-anniversary-block-party

Saturdays & a Sunday, April 18, 26 & May 2 & 16, 2026 beginning from 2 to 5 pm - Sunnyside Rhythm Block - at the Sunnyside Arch at Queens Blvd & 46th Street in Sunnyside Queens. Musical performances each week by a different ethnic culture starting with China, followed by Myanmar, then India and lastly Korea. For details and to free rsvp, see - https://partiful.com/e/XXcbsh9b82lFFlND378M

Saturday, April 18 - Queens Night Market returns. Use the street fairs link below for details on it and other markets.

Next Week.

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 - The LIC Partnership Real Estate Breakfast - at the Brewster LIC Conference Center at 41-21 27th Street in LIC in Queens. For details see - https://www.longislandcityqueens.com

• CLICK here to view Queens Easter Events Brunches Egg Hunts & Holy Friday Greek Orthodox Processions in QNS NYC.

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MCAL _ MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS - Use this link for new member sign up and posting - Queens Buzz New Member Sign Up. Click this link Queens Member Events Calendar to view free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups.

Saturday, May 2, 2026 from 11 am to 4 pm - VFW National Day of Service - in Jamaica. Use the MCAL link above to obtain details.

Saturday, May 16, 2026 - Spring Concert - at the Kupferberg Center at Queens College in Flushing. Use the MCAL link above to obtain details.

Things To Do This Weekend & Next Week in Brooklyn NYC

The photo above or at right is of a sculpture that was installed in Cadman Plaza near Brooklyn Borough Hall in August 2023. The statue depicts and honors the Brooklyn rapper Biggie Smalls, who was one of the first famous rappers. Biggie's melodic music carried the lyrics of the harsh life lived by African Americans on the city streets. The rapper lived a short life, as he was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in 1997. The sculpture is called 'Sky is the Limit', and it was created by Sherwin Banfield and an arts group, with welding skills, from Bushwick.

Friday & Saturday, April 17 & 18, 2026 from 10 am - 6 pm - Governors Island Earth Day on Governors Island. This year Governor's Island celebrates Earth Day with a full schedule of events that include climate / environmental related films, hands on nature work, free tour of Governor's Island, green technologies, biking and clean up. For details and ferry passage planning & ticket purchases [Adults $4 / Kids & Seniors $2 / Kids under 12 free], copy & paste - https://www.govisland.com/things-to-do/events/earth-day-on-governors-island

Saturday - Saturday, April 11 - 18, 2026 at various times & locations - Brooklyn Fashion Show / Fashion Week - at the Pfizer Building at 630 Flushing Avenue in the Williamsburg / Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhoods of Brooklyn. This is a runway show organized by Fashion Week Brooklyn. Saturday 4.11.26 is a black tie at the Split Rock Golf Course in the Bronx and Sunday is being held in collaboration with Japan X in Manhattan, thereafter returning to Brooklyn. For details and $25 / $35 / $100 tickets see - https://www.fashionweekbrooklyn.com or FB - https://www.facebook.com/fashionweekbrooklyn.

Saturdays & Sundays, April & May 2026 from 11 am to 8 pm - Luna Park open for weekends in Coney Island. Thereafter the park is open weekends from 11 am to 8 pm, until Memorial Day Weekend when it opens daily for the summer. It was also open weekdays part of the first and all of the second week of April for Spring break. For details and tickets see - https://lunaparknyc.com

March thru April 26, 2026 - The Axe Forgets but the Tree Remembers - at the Billie Holiday Theater at 1368 Fulton Street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. An African American inspired art exhibit. For details and tickets see - https://thebillieholidaytheatre.org

Next Week.

Thursday, April 23, 2026 from 6 to 9 pm - Jalopy Theatre Gala '26 - at St. Ann & Holy Trinity Church which is located at 157 Montague Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of BK. This event is a celebratory and fundraiser event for the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music which specializes in folk music and is located in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn. For details and $250 tickets copy & paste - https://www.jalopytheatre.org

• CLICK here to view Brooklyn Easter Events Brunches Egg Hunts & Holy Friday Greek Orthodox Processions in BK NYC.

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MCAL _ MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS. Use this link for new member sign up and posting - Brooklyn BLVD New Member Sign Up. Click this link Brooklyn Member Events Calendar to view free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. This month includes x.

Things To Do This Weekend & Next Week in the Bronx NYC

The photo above or at right shows a fair amount of pedestrian traffic near the Kingsbridge Amory in the Bronx a couple of years ago, around this same time of year. This year the temperatures have soared and I believe we've just come through one of the driest years on record. Currently 80% of the continguous states are experiencing abnormally dry or drought conditions.

Sunday, April 19, 2026 from 1 to 3 pm - Freedom Land History Tour - See MCAL link below for details.

Tuesdays - Sundays, February 7 thru April 26, 2026 from 10 am to 6 pm - the Orchid Show / Mr. Flower Fantastic's Concrete Jungle - at the NY Botanical Garden at 2900 Southern Blvd in the Bedford Park neighborhood of the Bronx. For details and $35 / $31 / $15 / kids under 2 free tickets see - https://www.nybg.org. They're open Tuesday - Sunday, and select holiday Mondays.

Friday - Sunday, May 1 - 17, 2026 - Bronx Weeks - returns with a parade, festival and other activities. In early April there was an announcement that it was going to be discontinued. Following the announcement, community leaders organized to ensure its continuation. We'll provide details as we get closer in.

• CLICK here to view Bronx Easter Events Brunches Egg Hunts & Holy Friday Greek Orthodox Processions in the BX NYC.

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LATE POST _ Thursday, April 16, 2026 - Paint Recycling Event - at Fordham University - See MCAL link above for details.

Sunday, April 26, 2026 - Acting Shakespeare - at the Bartow Pell Mansion - See MCAL link above for details.

Things To Do This Weekend & Next Week on Staten Island NYC

Saturday, April 25, 2026 from 12 noon to 5 pm - Cottage Row Curiosities - at Snug Harbor Cultural Center at 1000 Richmond Terrace Street in the Randall Manor neighborhood of Staten Island. There will be over 40 local vendors selling artisanal goods, food, music, entertainment and information. https://snug-harbor.org

In the photo above or at right, is a sea gull just outside of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, seeming to be quite comfortable and unafraid, as I shot this photo, alongside a young couple, last year.

Yankee Peddler Day is in the middle of Staten Island is coming in mid May, a couple of weeks later than last year. We'll provide details as we get closer in.

And the annual Spring Outdoor Market in on the south end of Staten Island is coming in early June, a month later than last year. We'll provide details as we get closer in.

• Click here to see Staten Island Easter Events Brunches Egg Hunts & Holy Friday Greek Orthodox Processions on SI NYC.

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Have a nice second half of April weekend.

Here's Lookin' at You, Kid

Mamdani Talks about the First 100 Days & the Next 1360 to Come

April 13, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Late Sunday afternoon I headed over to the Knockdown Center, located off Flushing Avenue in Maspeth. Maspeth is a neighborhood located on the Brooklyn / Queens border, and a bit of an outpost in a transportation desert, where some of NYC's manufacturing, warehouses and distribution centers are located.

I was on my way to Mayor Mamdani's Press Conference / public speech, where he planned to talk about his first 100 days in office as the Mayor of NYC.

In the photo at right, stand NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and surprise honorary guest, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, at the press event held by the Mayor's Office on Sunday, April 12, 2026 in Maspeth, NYC.

Truly Great Leaders are Humble, Respectful, Determined & Learn-ed

Mamdani is a Muslim American and Sanders is a Jewish American. And one of the things that I find most interesting, is that these two - instead of fighting each other - they have teamed up, in an effort to try to solve some of the real significant problems facing New York City and America. This is the approach America has taken in the past, and hopefully will return to taking in the future.

Happily, but also sadly, both men are exceptions - to the kind of weak, weak-minded, and apparently corrupt leadership, that we currently have in the federal government, and that up until a bit more than three months ago, we also had in NYC City Hall.

Thankfully, Mamdani and Sanders are not exceptions to the kind of high quality leadership America has had in the past. We've been fortunate to have had intelligent, selfless leadership, but that didn't happen on its own. In the past American voters were diligent and wise enough to choose good leaders, because they invested the time in making the right choices, and also made the right choices in selecting the information sources they relied upon to obtain their voting information. The making of intelligent decisions by the American electorate, gradually slipped away over the past 60 years, as TV increasingly became the dominant source of Americans' news, and thus also their voting information. It's been a long slippery slope, with nasty fiscal and other consquences, that has brought us to the state of the City and Union today.

Prior to the arrival of TV News, American voters read the newspapers, run by lots of different people, espousing many different points of view, which the electorate discussed amongst themselves, prior to voting. Thus Americans, back in the day, elected and were led by, wise and caring leaders, representing an an increasingly diverse population, which is what had made America a great nation. Perhaps we're on the cusp of a resurgence of that sort of informed electorate decision making, as voters migrate their news consumption from billionaire TV news to the numerous, varied information sources on the web. Currently just five to six billionaires control the corporations broadcasting TV news.

Later this week I'm going to take you into the Mayor's 100 Day Press Conference, and give you a closer look at things, beyond the shallow billionaire TV News reports and / or the dishonest headlines you may have already seen, if you read billionaire R. Murdoch's NY Post. The NY Post is easily one of the most dishonest newspapers in both NYC & the USA, as Rupert Murdoch uses it to manipulate voters' perceptions, so that they vote for his favored candidates [like Trump], who will give Murdoch and other billionaires huge tax breaks, funded by debt dumped on your children, grandchildren, and future generations, while simultaneously cutting government services, like education and healthcare, to boot. This is not just thoroughly un-American, it's morally and ethically wrong.

Stay tuned, and in the meantime have a nice week.

Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Greek & Orthodox Easter as well as Other Things to do This Weekend in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx & on Staten Island Events

Updated 4.11.26 - see NYC - April 10, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Sunrise 6.24 / 35 am. Sunset 7.30 / 22 pm. We're getting 13 hours & 7 minutes of sunlight, or three hours and 54 minutes more of sunlight than we were getting the week of the Winter Solstice, on December 21, 2025 when the sun rose at 7.18 am and the sun set at 4.31 pm. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of this year, providing 9 hours and 13 minutes of sunlight in NYC.

The photo above or at right was taken last year around this time on the Staten Island Ferry. In the background is Lady Liberty, who has been sloughing it through some pretty rugged years of late. Lady Liberty told us that the past decade has been some of the worst years of her life here in America.

NYC Weather - NYC Can Differ Slightly / Significantly vs TriState TV News Forecasts. The temperature highs will be in the low 60's on Saturday, descending a bit to the mid 50's on Sunday. The temperature lows will be in the high 40's on both nights. No rain is in the forecast. Winds will range from 5 - 12 mph on both days. The humidity will range from about 70% highs on both days to 30% and 40% lows respectively. The dry periods generally come late afternoon, while the humidity rises after the sun goes down.

Update _ Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 5.30 am - We're mostly done. I just need to complete some of the attendant pages. Ee will socially post links later Saturday via Facebook, BSky.app and X.com, so like or be Friend us, to stay abreast of events and select news related to your borough.

Things To Do This Weekend & Next Week in NYC

LATE POST 4.11.26 - Friday - Thursday, April 10 - 16, 2026 with multiple viewings each day - Steal This Story Please - at the IFC or International Film Center at 323 6th Avenue in the West Village in Manhattan. Amy Goodman, a journalist of at least 30 years, has been covering local, national and international events, through most or all of her entire life. She's a CoFounder of Democracy Now, which provides one hour daily newscasts, every weekday. And in an ocean of propagandists posing as journalists, amidst corrupt billionaire controlled TV News Networks, Goodman is a shining light. She's not in it for the headlines or the money, she's in it for the search of the truth. Goodman will be in attendance for a limited time at the event from April 11 - 14 for Q&A, but most or all of the time slots with her in attendance have already sold out. That said, there are still many openinngs for film tickets on all the days. For details and $15 / $20 tickets, see - https://www.ifccenter.com/films/steal-this-story-please/

April 10 - 12, 2026 - Christian Greek Orthodox Easter Weekend with Holy Friday & Easter - celebrated respectively. Easter commemorates the Biblical stories of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. The Greek Orthodox services on Holy Friday evening include a re-enactment of Christ's procession to Calvary. Well worth a visit. See the Easter Events report below for services in each borough, with links at the bottom of that report page, to Greek Orthodox services for Holy Friday in each borough.

UPDATE COMING _ Saturday, June xx, 2026 is the Deadline to Register to Vote in the NYC Primary on June xx. Applications must be received by the NY Board of Elections to be eligible to vote in this election.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report, as well as other Weekend Things To Do in NYC This Month 2026 _ NYC events.

Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

No Kings Day Saturday Manhattan & Citywide, St Patrick's & Phagwah Parades in Queens, Coney Island Opens, Spring Market SI & Next Week April Fools Parade, Passover begins, Easter & Yankees Home Opener in the Bronx as well as Other Things to do This Weekend in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx & on Staten Island Events

March 27, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

This is last week [3.20.28]. Update coming later today. Sunrise 6.58 am. Sunset 7.08 pm. We're getting 12 hours & 9 minutes of sunlight, or two hours and 56 minutes more of sunlight than we were getting the week of the Winter Solstice, on December 21, 2025 when the sun rose at 7.18 am and the sun set at 4.31 pm. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of this year, providing 9 hours and 13 minutes of sunlight in NYC.

The photo above or at right was taken at the No Kings Day Rally in Manhattan on March 28, 2026. We'll have more on this later this upcoming week.

NYC Weather - NYC Can Differ Slightly / Significantly vs TriState TV News Forecasts. Coming later, but dry with temperatures in the 40's and 50's and winds about 5 - 10 mph.

Update _ Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 4.15 am - Done. On Saturday midday, we will also be socially notifying folks via Facebook, BSky.app and X.com, so like or friend us to stay abreast of events and select news related to your borough.

Things To Do This Weekend & Next Week in NYC

Saturday, March 28, 2026 from 2 to 4 pm - No Kings Day Protests - with meetups at multiple locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn & Queens. The main rally location is at 7th Avenue and Central Park South [aka Columbus Circle]. Protests of the Trump Administration's Autocratic and Authoritarian tendencies which the MAGA Republican Senate and MAGA Republican House have failed to keep in check. For details see - https://nokingsnyc.com. Please note that No Kings asks all protesters to conduct themselves peacefully - even when confronted by those who disagree with them.

April 1 - 9, 2026 - Passover. This Feast is celebrated by Jews culturally commemorating their flight from Egypt thousands of years ago.

April 2, 3 & 5, 2026 - Christian Lent Ends, Holy Friday & Easter - celebrated respectively. Easter commemorates the Biblical stories of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the dead.

UPDATE COMING _ Saturday, June xx, 2026 is the Deadline to Register to Vote in the NYC Primary on June xx. Applications must be received by the NY Board of Elections to be eligible to vote in this election.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report, as well as other Weekend Things To Do in NYC Last Month 2026 _ NYC events.

Trump's Long-winded Speech

Ignores the State of a Faltering Union

The Checks & Balances are Failing: John Thune's Senate is Failing, Mike Johnson's House of Representatives is Failing, the Courts have Faltered, but not yet Failed & Billionaire TV News is Failing the Public

February 26, 2026 / Government Media & Politics / U.S. Politics National News NYC / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.

I don't have the time to do Trump's State of the Union true justice. But I can't sit by and say nothing, as TV News has already done a good job of saying a lot of nothing, that's worthy of note.

Trump, spent two hours, delivering his same, old, tired, manipulative, bigoted trash, peppered with so many falsehoods, deceits and outright lies, that even PBS had trouble keeping up with them. And the failed billionaire controlled TV News networks didn't even try.

State of the Union 2026

Trump's Address was Riddled with Key Omissions

What Trump Didn't Talk about, is at Least as Important as What he Did Talk About

There wasn't anything new, worth noting in Trump's State of the Union [aka SOTU] speech except the new people and faces he used to try to direct attention away from, that:

1) Donald J. Trump's name reportedly appears hundreds of thousands of times, in the unredacted Epstein pedo-files,

2) little progress made on the economy - unless you believe his Fox News style distortions,

3) little achieved on healthcare as the erection of a website selling prescription drugs, reportedly doesn't make much difference to Americans who buy rx drugs [stock prices of drug companies went up after Donald J. Trump told them how he was 'cracking down' on them],

4) DOGE failed to reduce spending and that prior to Trump becoming president again, there wasn't the 'corruption, waste and abuse' Trump claimed, but by the time Trump leaves office, he will be primarily responsible for about a third to a half of America's $40+ trillion of debt which has been dumped [in multiple acts of cowardice by Republican Presidents and the Republican Party] on America's children and unborns in order to further enrich some of the richest people on the planet,

5) a couple of Hispanic Americans from Texas, working for ICE, put ten bullets [looked like murder] in a white citizen and resident of Minnesota in his own neighborhood as he was helping a woman protester the ICE agents had pushed to the ground, nor about the shooting [looked like murder] of Renee Macklin Goode, also a naturalized white American citizen from Minneapolis, nor numerous other deaths, as well as beatings and pepper spraying of other American citizens and immigrants - both legal and illegal - who have suffered at the hands of Kristi Noem's ICE agency,

6) the bombings by Pete Hegseth's Department of War of fishing boats in the Caribbean and Pacific in what also looked like the murder of innocents and a war crime,

7) the incredible turbulence in the stock market, the volatility of which Trump and members of his Administration appeared to trade on, with Inside information, due to Trump's erratic decisions regarding tariffs on / off / up / down statements,

8) Trump and Republicans included a statute prohibiting states from exercising their rights on limiting the encroachment of AI into everything,

9) little done vis-a-vis China,

10) Trump and Little Marco Rubio have been betraying Ukraine and Europe vis-a-vis the Russians [Bill Gates admitted to some Russian co-mingling and yet Donald J. Trump denies he did anything - not unlike how he denied raping E. Jean Carroll, the Democratic Hoax Epstein pedo-files, money laundering at his casinos, cheating his workers and contractors out of their pay, inciting the January 6th Insurrection, and so forth,

11) Trump has turned back the clock on slowing or preventing the impending crisis soon coming from Climate Change with the last few years being the warmest and driest on human record,

12) the real intent of his Voter ID legislation which is to disenfranchise women [because of marriage name changes] and the poor [no car = no driver's license] nor that voting fraud by illegals is essentially ZERO even according the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation,

13) he lied a blue streak about how 'great' things are in the American economy since he took office,

14) his Administration is [possible to very likely?] becoming the most corrupt in American history, which includes insider trading, personal use of government property by numerous cabinet members, accepting bribes for U.S. taxpayer funded military technology secrets or equipment, real estate deals done with the possibly bribing nations, crypto corruption, suing the IRS for $10 billion,

15) he's been pardoning numerous criminals, not unlike himself and

16) why he seems to be planning to start a war with Iran.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report about all of the important issues Donald J. Trump's State of the Union Speech 2026 didn't address.

ICE Shoots & Kills a Second U.S. Citizen in Minneapolis

Is Trump's ICE, Recruiting Deviants who Commit Violent Crimes Against the American Public, in Order to Make All Americans Submit to Trump's Will?

January 24, 2026 / U.S. National Issues / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.

Does Donald Trump really expect us to believe that ICE is protecting us, when they are shooting and killing U.S. citizens?

Editor's Note. Please note that ICE agents do not appear to be as well trained, or as disciplined as other law enforcement personnel in the U.S. Furthermore, since Trump took office, it has been reported that ICE recruiting practices are failing to properly screen and background check their applicants, some or even many of whose backgrounds should raise red flags such as affiliations with white supremacist groups such as the KKK and Nazis. ICE reportedly puts these new recruits on the streets without full training by historical norms. And under Trump, ICE leadership appears to employ legally questionable practices in dealing with the public using questionable home search entry practices as well as spraying chemical agents in peaceful protesters faces. For details see this 6 minute video on CBC.

You're not likely to find this on TV News, whose news teams read the billionaires' teleprompter-fed narratives, while modeling the news distractions, instead of doing the hard work of investigatining, analyzing and presenting the real news.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.7059189?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

LINK

All state and municipal governments should protect their citizens from ICE, who frequently resemble thugs in viral videos, by requiring no masks for any law enforcement without a court order, body cameras worn at all times, and must be turned on for any interactions with the public or targets, and published guidelines, on when beating, spraying and shooting to kill American citizens is permitted, as we saw ICE agents do to Alex Pretti in the video - click on graphic below or at right.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/minute-minute-timeline-fatal-shooting-alex-pretti-federal/story?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dhfacebook&utm_content=null&id=129547199

• CLICK here to read our report about Alex Pretti Shooting in Minneapolis & Donald Trump's Psychological Tendencies Toward Violence.

Happy MLK Weekend

See Things to do Below

January 17, 2026 / Things To Do NYC / Gotham Buzz.

We're working diligently to finish up our year end cleaing and new year planning & preparations. We had hoped to complete this effort by now, but it's taken a bit longer because we want to do it right. And we're incorporating old and new capabilities which we either haven't used in a long while, or haven't used at all. So stay tuned, as we hope to make it worth your while.

So we're going to punt on putting together much for this weekend, other than provide what we'd done previously, as below. We hope to / expect to resume our normal publishing next weekend. Thanks for your understanding and have a nice weekend.

Emergency Action, Pack The Court!

Stop the Out of State Billionaire Oligarchs NYC Public Land Grab

MidtownSouthCC.org sent us the following:

We need to show the judge the overwhelming support for the tenants’ and that public housing needs to be protected! Join us Wednesday, January 14, 2026 — 9AM at 71 Thomas Street. The city, @ebottcher, @essence.development & @relatedcos plan to plan to raze 24 public housing buildings and displace more than 3,000 tenants at Chelsea Addition & Fulton 11. Chelsea Addition is made entirely of senior tenants. This is a greedy land grab designed to benefit wealthy developers. They are lying to residents, trying to force them to accept their eviction from their homes. The city & big developers plan on adding 2450 luxury apartments where Chelsea NYCHA buildings would be demolished. Allowing this to happen would set a dangerous precedent for ALL NYCHA housing in New York City and increase the cost of living for ALL New Yorkers.

Following this meeting there's a Press Conference on the same day, Wednesday, January 14, 2025 — 2PM at Hudson Guild – 441 West 26th Street, Between 9th and 10th.

See a section we started and are still working on - Bloomberg and the Adams Administrations enabled Huge Public Land Grabs at Discount Prices to NYC Real Estate Oligarchs, as well as our Audience commentary in our OpEd section [use link from top tool bar under Politics & Government].

Was ICE Justifiably Enforcing the Law when it Committed a Very Public Killing?

See and Judge for Yourself, Whether Trump is Using ICE to Desensitize the American Public to the Government Use of Violence Against Any Human, Regardless of Citizenship

January 8, 2026 / National News / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.

Here's a link to an video by the Minneapolis Star & Tribune [on 1/11/26 added a second video link to the NYT coverage of the shooting which provides even more context] where they provide video of the incident and context. The videos allow you can see and judge for yourself whether the ICE agent's firing of two shots, killing the driver of the car, Renee Macklin Good, who was an American citizen and mother of three, was the use necessary lethal force. Or, whether it was an unjustified, cold blooded murder by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, a member of the Trump Administration, which they now appear to be covering up with the help of Fox and the other billionaire owned TV News outlets.

This was the first link we posted on Thursday, January 8, 2026.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/G-s0AFakl0o

This link is an update posted on Saturday, January 11, 2026, providing a more complete picture with multiple video angles by the NYT showing quite clearly that 'the president' and 'the vice president' and the ICE lady, Kristi Noem, mischaracterized or even lied about what happened.

https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000010631041/minneapolis-ice-shooting-video.html?smid=url-share

CLICK ON FOTO LINK to see shooting video.

Uptick in Violent and Fatal Events in Which Trump's ICE is Involved

It's worth mentioning that ICE agents have killed at least 9 people within the past year, including two American citizens. Additionally about 32 people died in ICE Detention Centers this past year. Since Trump took office Americans support of ICE has fallen from a favorability of +16% to -14% today, with 52% of Americans now disapproving of how the Trump / Noem ICE agency is doing its job. Some detractors are compariing ICE and their detention centers to the Nazis.

The ICE Officer did not Appear to Follow Correct Procedures ... Again

The ICE Officer, Jonathan Ross, who reportedly shot the Minneapolis mother, Renee Macklin Good, appears to have a history of not following proper law enforcement procedure when apprehending suspects or detainees, as Ross had an incident in June 2025, where he was significantly injured because he did not follow proper procedures when approaching a suspects vehicle.

Per law enforcement training, an officer is never supposed to reach inside of a vehicle, because it puts them at risk of injury. Furthermore an officer is not supposed to position themselves in front of a vehicle to block it, for the same reason. In June of 2025 Ross broke the window of the car of a suspect, and stuck his arm inside the window. The suspect, Juan Munoz-Guatemala, drove off, dragging Ross about 100 yards, which put Ross in the hospital.

In the Minneapolis incident, just a few days ago, the victim driver, Renee Macklin Good, is video recorded greeting the officer in a friendly manner. She's an American citizen with no police record, so she was not a suspect. She did not have any weapon and that was clear from the videos taken. Macklin Good was part of a neighborhood watch team peaceful protesting ICE agents trying to apprehend their neighbors. Her vehicle was partially - but not fully - obstructing the roadway, which was shown on the video, as one ICE vehicles in the caravan drove around Mackin Good's vehicle, literally a minute before the shooting. So it seems the use of lethal force, on an American citizen and mother of three, by Ross was completely unwarranted. But use the link above to click into the video so you can judge for yourself.

Did Murdoch's Fox News Fake the News Again?

I believe in the axiom innocent until proven guilty. But I also believe that seeing is believing. And thus far nothing has come out to controvert what I've described above, except false narratives of what happened by the Trump Administration which - like Trump's lies about 'Stop the Steal' and January 6th Insurrection - appear to be aided, abetted and amplified by billionaire Rupert Muroch's Fox News' dishonest, deceitful, manipulative reporting.

Macklin Good's relatives may want to lawyer up and send Fox News and Rupert Murdoch cease and desist letters for what could be their defamatory and misleading coverage. Fox News seems to have a penchant for repeating lies, particularly when the falsehoods serve their owner's private agenda.

What has happened in Minneapolis and the Trump Administration and Fox News response to it, is nothing short of disgusting. Do these people - Murdoch, Trump and associates - have no humanity or decency?

Trump, Fox & ICE Depiction of the Incident Appears to Contradict Reality

Did Trump & Fox Publicize False or Misleading Narratives to Manipulate?

According to a January 8, 2026 report by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the leading local newspaper in Minneapolis, this is how Trump / Noem ICE described what happened which is contradicted by the video posted via the link above.

"... Federal officials described Ross [the ICE agent who shot Good the victim] as an “experienced” officer. Ross was injured in a dragging incident during a June operation in the Twin Cities ... The woman killed was identified by her mother as Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good, 37 ... Minnesota leaders are calling on the federal government to allow state investigators to probe the fatal shooting, after the FBI took sole ownership of the probe ... “The FBI informed the [Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension] that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had reversed course: the investigation would now be led solely by the FBI,” said the state’s top investigative agency ...".

If what the Trump Administration said was true, then why have they forced local law enforcement out of 'the investigation'? Or is the Trump / Noem 'investigation' really a a Trump / Noem / ICE cover up like Trump / Bondi / DOJ did with the Epstein Files?

Trump is easily the most famous liar on planet Earth [look it up]. That's a fact. What he says is pretty close to meaningless and he talks a lot. And Billionaire TV News seems to try to not miss repeating even a word of it. The Washington Post said that Trump told over 30,000 lies, made misleading statements or spoke falsehoods in his first term as president. But in the second Trump Administration, Trump isn't the only liar. In fact I'm hard pressed to think of anyone in the Trump cabinet who is not a liar.

In 2025 alone, Kristi [shot her dog] Noem and ICE have reportedly made numerous false and misleading statements including: 1) lied to Congress [Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune & Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson have utterly failed the American people by not asserting the powers of the coequal branch of government over which they preside], 2) misrepresented arrest data, 3) per a court ruling lied and distorted facts, 4) defied at least one court order, and 5) allegedly smeared detainee(s).

The Orwellian World of 1984 is Here

How Many Americans Will Ignore their Own Sense of Reality?

George Orwell was an early 20th century journalist, who covered and wrote extensively about dictators and totalitarian regimes, describing how they grab power from the people who don't pay attention [aka not woke], and who don't assert their power and rights - before they lose them. Regarding situations such as the matter of the ICE shooting in Minneapolis, and the Trump / Murdoch Fox News response to it, he said this.

"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."

What did he mean by this statement. He means that when Rupert Murdoch's [a modern day Joseph Goebbels] Fox News team of propagandists, and the Trump Administration team of mythomaniacs, are all lying in concert; and use the power of the federal government and mass media to manipulate the people's perceptions of something the people can witness with their own eyes - the American public has to make a choice.

The choice is whether to a) believe your own eyes and ears and do your own thinking, or b) ignore what you see, hear and think, and accept whatever Rupert Murdoch's Fox News and Donald Trump's Administration tell you. As Orwell says, it will be their final, most essential command, because if you quit relying on your own senses and mental faculties to make your own decisions, you will have completely given up your freedom and own self determination.

I Think, Therefore I Am v. I Don't Think, Therefore I Am Not

The 17th century, French philosopher, Renee Descartes, famously said, "I think, therefore I am." In the 21st century, I wouid like to add an Orwellian corollary to that, which is, "I don't think, therefore I am not.". The essence of this corollary is that if you let the state do your thinking for you, you no longer exist mentally, emotionally or spiritually. The most important part of your existence will have died. Up until she was shot by an ICE agent earlier this week, Renee Macklin Good, was very much alive, according to my Orwellian corollary. You can honor her, by not acceding to the lies and falsehoods spread by the Trump Administration and Murdoch's Fox News, while encouraging others to do the same by showing them the video noted above.

I watched following TV News programs in the wake of the ICE shooting, and here's my grading of each of them. Fox News gets a F- for trying to create their own false interpretation of what happened; NDTV gets an F for being one-sided and asking no insightful questions, NBC & CBS get solid grades like a B or B+ on their first day news shows. I missed watching ABC and the CW. Democracy Now also gets a solid B or B+. And the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper website gets an A to an A+ for great local coverage of the many facets of this important story, as does the NYT for their video coverage to which we provided a link above. Both are free as of this writing.

January 11, 2026 Update. In the half week following the killing, many subsequent broadcasts by the corporate TV networks generally failed to maintain a sense of balance and truth, because of their incessant repetition of the 'official lies' put out by the Trump Administration, without correcting them when they run short clips. Specifically Noem statements, where she claims the ICE agent was protecting himself and the people around him - which is clearly not the case if you watch the NYT video report [see link in first graphic at the beginning of this story]. And the billionaire TV News showed short, edited video clips which failed to show thewhole truth - as the NYT report, to which we linked to above.

Pay attention to this TV News degradation of accuracy and resort to superficiality, and help properly inform your family and friends by refering them to the NYT video report. This will clearly illustrate why Americans MUST shift their news consumption from billionaire controlled TV News to the web, where real journalism still lives.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report about how Trump's & Noem's ICE agent appears to have committed manslaughter and they appear to be trying to cover it up.

Mamdani Mayoral Inauguration Day, as Seen from the Nosebleeds

The Bitter Cold didn't Nip the Warmth of Our New Mayor on his Big Day

January 1, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

I'll be the first to admit that the photos shown herein, aren't likely to win any awards. But I never take photographs or write reports to win awards. I take and write them to share with our readers what's going on in our fair city, as seen by one of their own - a fellow member of the plebeian citizenry of NYC. And I also report on things, with an eye toward posterity.

In the photo at right, Zohran Mamdani and Rama Duwaji are shown walking out of City Hall and onto the steps of the political public stage on January 1, 2026. Mamdani was inaugurated privately, earlier in the day, by NYS Attorney General Letitia James. And he would be inaugurated again, cermoniously, by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, about an hour after this photo was taken.

As I was freezing my buns off in the bitter cold outside of City Hall, waiting for Mamdani to appear and give his speech, my thoughts matched the chilly bitterness of the season. The biting 20 mph+ wind gusts & the well below freezing temperatures, didn't thaw out my anger, as some long-winded speakers seemed to ignore the fact that this was Zohran's day - not theirs. And that those of us in attendance, had been waiting outside on the open streets of south Manhattan, with the biting winds coming in from the harbor, for hours.

Eventually my camera succumbed to the cold, as my battery, having been fully charged earlier this morning died. Thankfully, it was after I got a couple of photos of our new Mayor and his wife. I interpreted the battery dying, as god's invisible message, giving me permission to go home, before I froze to death.

In the photo above or at right you can see a number of well known, former and current, NYC and NYS government officials. Starting from the first row in the lower left corner, wearing a green coat is Governor Kathy Hochul, to her right is NYS Attorney General Letitia James, fashionably dressed in a camel-colored coat wearing a beret, to her right is U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez in a dark coat and to her right are U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and his wife. Above and just right of Sanders is former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is standing to the right of former Mayor Adams [his head is buried underneath a newsie cap] and his friend, Tracey Collins. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, who did not endorse Mamdani, is on Adams' left.

I shambled to the subway station at City Hall, passing through the garrison of NYPD officers who were also enduring the piercing winds, and numbing and bone chilling cold. They seemed better dressed than I for the weather, as I'd not attended such a frigid, hours-long, outdoor event, since the January 5, 1985 NFL Playoff game between the NY Giants and Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Today, at City Hall in NYC, it was 27 degrees, with 14 - 16 mph wind gusts, and a wind chill temperature that ranged from 8 - 18 degrees. As I had no cap, and nothing to break the wind from coming through my jacket and jersey, my arms and legs started shivering continuously, before I decided to go home.

On the subway my fingers and toes began to thaw. At first there was some pain as the blood started circulating through them, bringing back the warmth they had recently lost. The same thawing began to come over me mentally, as I pondered my own life on the ride home, as I thought about our new Mayor.

Zohran Mamdani's Inauguration Speech January 1, 2026 in Fotos

One of the things that struck me is that as Zohran is an immigrant, who was born on the other side of the world in Uganda, in Africa; he doesn't just see himself in the context of us 8.5 million New Yorkers who live here, nor does he limit his view of us collectively to the 342 million Americans we are, but rather sees us as a plantery whole of 8.3 billion Earthlings, of which NYC represents 1/10th of 1% of the planet population.

What Mamdani had to say and some context for it follows.

• CLICK here to view the rest of our report on the Inauguration of Zohan Mamdani at City Hall in NYC on January 1, 2026 including photos.

New Years Resolutions 2026: The Road Ahead

A Few Axioms To Keep In Mind Throughout The New Year

January 1, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Holidays / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

For all of us, today starts the beginning of a new year. It's an opportunity to start anew. And even if we don't fulfill our highest expectations, moving the needle in the right direction, is always a good thing.

The rest of this report is about some of the things you can do personally to make 2026 a better year for you.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on New Years Resolutions 2025 - The Road Ahead.

Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Christmas / New Year Weekend with Holiday Markets, Holiday Events & NYE Parties - are Some of the Top Things to do this Weekend & Next Weekend in NYC

December 26, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. Sunrise 7.18 am. Sunset 4.35 pm. For the first time since June, the days are starting to get longer. We're up 2 minutes of sunlight versus last week.

Generally, the weather will be in the low 30's on Friday and Saturday, and then on Sunday it will start cold - in the 20's - and end at around 40 degrees. There's going to be precipitation Friday early evening starting around 5 / 6 pm and ending Saturday by about 9 am - leaving behind somewhere between 4 and 6 inches of snow.  The rest of Saturday is dry, as is most of Sunday.  On Sunday, around 6 pm it will start raining, which, along with the temperatures, will melt the snow.  The rain will continue into Monday afternoon, dropping about a half inch of rain in total over the 20 hour period.

The photo at right, taken in Sunnyside Queens a couple of years ago, shows an example of the holiday home decorations one can find in the five boroughs of NYC.

This weekend use the links below to find holiday events, holiday markets and look for things to do over the New Years Eve weekend. We'll be updating the NYE pages over the weekend.

• CLICK here to view the rest of our report about things to do Christmas / New Year week in NYC - Events NYC the last week of December.

Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Christmas Weekend with Holiday Markets, Holiday Events & NYE Parties - are Some of the Top Things to do this Weekend & Next Weekend in NYC

December 26, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC. Continued.

Things To Do This Weekend in Manhattan NYC

• CLICK this link to view this and other current & upcoming Manhattan holiday markets & shops.

• CLICK this link to view our report on Manhattan holiday events & things to do NYC.

• CLICK this link to view things to do this weekend in Manhattan NYC.

• Click here for Manhattan New Years Eve Parties & NYE Parties & Events NYC 2025 / 2026 .

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS - See the Manhattan Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Manhattan Buzz New Member Sign Up.

Things To Do This Weekend in Queens NYC

• CLICK this link to view details of this and other current & upcoming Queens holiday markets & shops QNS NYC.

• CLICK this link to view upcoming Queens Holiday Events & Things to do NYC.

• CLICK this link to view things to do this weekend in Queens NYC.

• Click here for Queens New Years Eve Parties NYC & NYE Parties & Events NYC 2025 / 2026 .

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS - See the Queens Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups. The new member sign up function has been fixed by providing this link - Queens Buzz New Member Sign Up.

Things To Do This Weekend in Brooklyn NYC

• CLICK this link to view this and other current & upcoming Brooklyn holiday markets & shops BK NYC.

• CLICK this link to view upcoming Brooklyn Holiday Events & Things to do NYC.

• CLICK this link to view things to do this weekend in Brooklyn NYC.

• Click here for Brooklyn New Years Eve Parties & NYE Parties & Events NYC 2025 / 2026.

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS. See the Brooklyn Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups.

Things To Do This Weekend in the Bronx NYC

• CLICK this link to view this and other current & upcoming Bronx holiday markets & shops BX NYC.

• CLICKthis link to view this and other current & upcoming Bronx holiday events and things to do Bx NYC.

• CLICK this link to view things to do this weekend in the Bronx NYC.

• Click here for Bronx New Years Eve Parties & NYE Parties & Events NYC 2025 / 2026.

MEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS. See the Bronx Member Events Calendar for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups.

Things To Do This Weekend on Staten Island NYC

• CLICK this link to view this and other current & upcoming Staten Island holiday markets & shops SI NYC.

• CLICK this link to view upcoming Staten Island Holiday Events & Things to do NYC.

• CLICK this link to view things to do this weekend on Staten Island NYC.

• Click here for Staten Island New Years Eve Parties NYC & NYE Parties & Events SI NYC 2025 / 2026.

SI MEMBER EVENTS CALENDAR. See the Staten Island Events - Member Events for free posts made by arts, cultural and community groups.

Have a nice Christmas / Hanukkah / Kwanzaa holiday weekend.

CENSORED but Leaked: CBS 60 Minutes Show on Immigration

And While the Video Shows how Cruel the Trump Administration is Treating other Humans; the Background Story Surrounding it, is at Least as Important for Americans to Understand

December 23, 2025 / National News / TV News Fail / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.

Somebody leaked a copy of the immigration segment planned for a 60 Minutes Show that the Ellisons' CBS censored through Bari Weiss, who is CBS's new Editor in Chief. I say censored, because they said they wouldn't air it until after obtaining a 'Trump Administration response' - or as we say in the business 'aka Trump Administration approval' - which effectively gives Trump the ability to censor it.

The photo above or at right was included in the effectively censored 60 Minutes segment about how Trump and Noem appear to be inhumanely managing ICE and immigrant deportations. According to the documentary, the inmates in the background are likely long term El Salvadoran criminals and inmates, not the immigrants deported from the U.S. by Noem.

This video is not likely to be available very long, so if interested you may want to watch it, before it's taken down.

https://www.muellershewrote.com/p/watch-the-60-minutes-cecot-segment

Network TV News is a Shadow of its Former Self & Primarily Controlled by Billionaires

The Ellisons already control an outsized share of American media, which can be used to manipulate the American public's perspective, which in this case is through the omission of important news. The Ellisons' current properties include Paramount / CBS, Tik Tok and they are in the process of making a hostile takeover attempt to acquire Warner Bros. Donald Trump reportedly has supported, possibly even tipped the scales in their favor, in the Paramount / CBS deal, as well as supporting their acquisition of a major share of Tik Tok, and now with tacit support of their Warner Bros hostile takeover.

The photo above or at right shows Larry Ellison and Rupert Murdoch of Fox News in the Oval Office shortly after Trump was inaugurated as president. Both billionaires supported Trump's bid for the presidency. In this photo, the only thing missing is that it doesn't explicitly show the two billionaires with their hands held out - as both appear to be waiting to be rewarded for their Trump campaign financial and media support - with government tax breaks for billionaires [done √ BBBill], and FCC rules waiver [√ done DeleteDeleteDelete] or changing of the laws in their favor [done √ Tik Tok ban law held in abeyance by multiple Executive Orders].

Use the following link to view a report that encapsulates what's really going on here.

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/trump-skydance-comcast-wbd/

It's Not Likely to get Better, but Rather Worse for 'We The People'

And use this link to see what the future of TV News looks like. I think of it as a privately owned propaganda press. It's worth noting that Hitler and Goebbels took control of the media, before exerting complete control over Germany. The difference between then and now is that 1930's Germany didn't have the internet, which is where the non-billionaire news - the peoples' news aka the real news - lives on.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/billionaire-media-titan-john-malone-big-tech-will-dominate-the-future-of-tv-134723149.html

The graphic above or at right shows how throughout most of the 20th century the American middle and lower classes gained share of wealth from the top 1% [the graph shows the top 1% losing share of wealth until about 1980]. Around 1980, Rupert Murdoch, an immigrant from Australia, was granted and allowed to control American TV outlets through a waiver of FCC Rules by the Reagan Administration. Murdoch continued to acquire more and more media assets, controlling more and more share of voice, and ultimately controlling more and more of the politicians' favor who needed his media manipulations to win elections. And in what appeared to be a quid pro quo, Murdoch received ample rewards including numerous waivers, tax breaks and deregulation, which helped him amass an empire, enabling him to make fools out of a significant number of Americans who trusted his manipulative media outlets, such as Fox News, the NY Post and the Wall St Journal. Murdoch's share of wealth grew significantly, while the share of wealth controlled by the people he fooled diminished significantly. Now, it seems, every billionaire is trying to do the same thing, which means Americans must migrate their news consumption to the web to learn the truth of who is who and what is what, or soon they and their heirs, will be reduced to peasantry, like so many people in China and Russia.

We're seeing this play out in a rerun performance by the Trump Administration which has no problem taking money from future generations of Americans in order to provide the richest people on the planet with tax breaks. That is the second huge wealth transference of TRILLIONS of dollars by Trump from everyone else to the uber wealthy. It's as if he's throwing his voters a bit of parade candy, in exchange for them allowing him to take out a full value mortgage on their homes. Fools.

Jefferson said, "if a nation expects to be ignorant and free ... it expects what never was and never will be."

In a Real Democratic Republic the People have the Power - Not Just the Appearance of it

The question that keeps coming to mind, as I witness events unfolding of actions by the Trump Administration, is how far the American People will go in letting the Administration degrade the rule of law and decency in our nation, before they stand up and assert their power to say - No, this is not decent and this is not right. Each generation of Americans defines who we are, and what this nation stands for, by virtue of what they do, what they let others do and what they do not do.

"A government for, by and of the People" can be transformed from a rallying cry into an empty slogan, but only if, We, The People, let that happen. Founding [grand]Father Ben Franklin, when asked what form of government the colonists had created, responded, "A republic, if you can keep it." A republic is defined as, "... a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives ... a group with a certain equality between its members."

In the photo above or at right you can see the inmates at the CECOR prison in El Salvador, which Human Rights Watch has reported is guilty in severe human rights violations, including systematic physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Human Rights Watchg has stated that the U.S. - and I assume by association, the people guilty of creating and implementing these inhumane deportation policies - are complicit in the torture and enforced disappearance of so many people.

Keeping the Republic Responsive to the People, isn't going to be Easy Because of Changes Made over the Past Four & a Half Decades

That equality has been significantly eroded over the past few decades, starting with the Reagan Administration changes to media laws which had forbidden control by immigrants [now many large platforms like Fox News and X.com are controlled by immigrants] and had limited amount of media one person could control [Reagan / / Clinton / Bush changes allowed wealthy investors and corporations to acquire vast numbers of traditional broadcast and print outlets giving them outsized control and influence over what Americans see, hear and think].

The graphic above or at right shows a May 5, 1995 report in the NYT about how Rupert Murdoch won and the American people lost again - by ceding media control to fewer and fewer people, so that the broadcast TV media today is less a conversation of varying opinions, than the propagandist assault on the American public of the billionaire perspective on people, places and issues.

This consolidation allowed the billionaires to gain control over the electorate by manipulating what the electorate saw and didn't see, as well as by manipulating the electorates' attention to things by amplifying stories via sensationalism, and diminishing stories by distracting from them. What followed was a packing of the Supreme Court, and subsequent rulings by the court in favor of the billionaires, thus giving them even more power by allowing them to buy elections, as we saw most recently done by Elon Musk's $250 million [in essence] purchase of the votes needed in the key swing states in the 2024 presidential election.

Since Trump took office, after having appeared to fraudulently campaign as a champion of the working class, there's been a rout of the working class by virtue of the transference of trillions of dollars from the working class to the uber wealthy via tax breaks, to be paid for with loans taken out in our collective taxpayers' name. And then, to turn the knife in the wound - Trump-style - the oligarch's choices [Trump and the MAGA Republican Senators and Congressfolk] took away healthcare subsidies, student loan subsidies, attempted to take away SNAP food stamps, reduce or cut education investments, infrastructure investments, clean energy investments and the list goes on.

Trump & the Republicans are Taking the Nation in the Opposite Direction of Where This Nation been Going for Most of its Existence.

So, maintaining the republic is the collective responsibility of us all. Up until about 1980, this nation had been governed wisely and the people had chosen their representatives wisely. Since then the American people have been bamboozled by the billionaire press aka TV news, resulting in the incredible loss of wealth and power noted above [the lower classes have reportedly lost $80 TRILLION in wealth to the upper classes since 1980].

Karoline Leavitt is featured in the photo above or at right. Never in my life, have I seen someone at the White House podium, so shamelessly and unapologetically tell so many straight-faced lies or falsehoods to the American people. In this case, she is misrepresenting many of the immigrants the Administration is trying to deport.

So, what can you do? You can start by migrating some or most of your news consumption to the web where you can get a fuller perspective of people, places and events, than you can by watching billionaire TV news accident and crime videos, lengthy ad nauseum weather reports, and distraction laden celebrity news and celebrity court cases - from which you'll learn virtually nothing that's useful.

We're working on a section to help folks migrate their news consumption to the web by providing reliable sources for various types of news as well as a history of what has happened over the past 45 years. Both are in fairly rough shape and need more work, but that said, here it is.

Recommended reliable news sources on the web. And here's a link to our evolving series about how corrupt billionaire TV news has become - both need more work and updates which we'll get to in 2026.

If this report makes sense to you, do your civic duty to your country and share it.

Epstein File Vote: TV News Misses the Point .. Again

Billionaire TV News Reports What They are Told (for ratings) with Scant Comprehension

November 18, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion.

Billionaire TV News Reports the Headlines but Misses the Meaning

Billionaire TV News is waiting at the Capitol to cover the House vote to open the Epstein files.

Like it actually matters.

If you have absolutely nothing else going on in your life, then stay glued to the TV News screen to find out how the House and Senate will vote on the issue.

But it doesn't matter and it won't make a difference, as Donald Trump is doing what he does best. Making fools on the American people and the rule of law, by deceiving them and finding loopholes in the law to exploit. Both skills that Donald J. Trump has been practicing all of his life.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on TV News Misses the Point Again: Epstein File Vote.

How did Steve Cohen's Casino License Bid Get this Far?

Did Billionaire Network TV News, Ignore Cohen's SAC Capital Insider Trading History, in Order to Enable the Fellow Billionaire to Keep Gaming Us & the System?

December 1, 2025 / NYC Business / NYC Politics & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

SAC [Steve A. Cohen] Capital

Pleads Guilty to the Largest Insider Trading Scandal in Modern History

The short story on Steve Cohen is that in 1992 he founded a company that operated a number of hedge funds. He was so proud of it, that he put his name on it - SAC Capital - which is short for Steve A. Cohen Capital. Fast forward less than 20 years to 2010 and the SEC is investigating SAC Capital associates for insider trading. Fast forward another three years and SAC Capital has paid $1.8 billion and has pleaded guilty to insider-trading charges. It's one of the biggest insider trading scandals in modern history and the largest involving a hedge fund.

For details on the Steven A. Cohen Capital Insider Trading case see -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.A.C._Capital_Advisors

Did Cohen Foster a Culture of Corruption at SAC?

Cohen himself never personally pleaded guilty, in part because it's difficult to prove scienter - which is a legal term for intent or knowledge of wrongdoing. But that said, the Steve A. Cohen Capital firm, was founded by and run by Cohen for 20 years. And one of Cohen's high school chums, Michael Steinberg, became one of SAC's most senior portfolio managers. Steinberg was cited by one of his analysts, Horvath, as essentially telling Horvath to seek out non-public information, that they could trade on, which in essence is insider trading.

And while the Steven A. Cohen Capital firm says they take compliance with regulations seriously, a report by American University Business Law Review notes that SAC refused to give them even one example of its refusal to hire someone because of compliance concerns. On the other hand, the Steven A. Cohen Capital firm did hire people, such as Richard S. Lee, who was known to be a risk, as he had just been fired by a Chicago firm for altering his holdings in their accounting system on his first day on the job. Even SAC Capital Legal had reportedly advised against hiring him. Lee eventually ended up as one of the firm's employees who was convicted.

For further details on Cohen's alleged malfeasance use the following links.

https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1071&context=aublr

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hedge-fund-manager-steven-cohen-settles-with-commodities-agency

• CLICK here for the rest of the story, including Cohen's management of the NY Mets - How did Steve Cohen of SAC Capital get Awarded a License for Metropolitan Park Casino Queens?

Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Scroll Down to see Each Boro's Headline Events & Things to Do: Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island - NEXT WEEK - Halloween, NYC Marathon & DST

October 24, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Sunrise 7.17 am. Sunset 6.02 pm. Daylight Savings Time. We're getting 10 hours & 44 minutes of daylight or four hours and 22 minutes less of sunlight than we were getting the weekend of the Summer Solstice, on June 20, 2025. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of this year, providing 15 hours and 6 minutes of sunlight in NYC.

The photo above or at right, was taken Wednesday at the Spectrum News NY1 NYC Mayoral Debate at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, in Queens. From left to right are Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa. The debate was suprisingly spirited and interesting. We'll provide details over the weekend, or early next week.

NYC Specific Weather - This can be very Different than TV News TriState Weather. No rain all weekend, continuing an extremely dry Fall, and year in NYC & NYS, due to climate change. The temperature highs will be in the 60's all weekend and the temperature lows will be around 50 all weekend. The humidity will range from about 50% to 80% all weekend with the humidity highs peaking each morning around 8 or 9 am and the humidity lows bottoming out mid to late afternoon between 2 and 4 pm. The winds will range from 5 - 10 mph all weekend. Looks like a very nice Fall Weekend. Enjoy.

Saturday Early Morning Edition @ 3 am. Done with the Front Page Weekend Post of events and attendant pages. Weekly News Updates coming later in the weekend, so stay tuned.

New. Note the Changes Below. In late September we started adding a weekly new segment with multiple stories with links to deeper reports. Scroll down the page for some enhanced local news coverage and check out our local news section using the drop down button, on the main tool bar in the upper left corner under the header. This will continue evolving over time. Stay tuned and thanks for clicking in.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report, as well as other Weekend Things To Do in NYC This Month 2025 _ NYC events.

Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Scroll Down to see Each Boro's Headline Events & Things to Do: Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island

Updated October 4, 2025 v. 10/3/2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Sunrise 6.53 am. Sunset 6.36 pm. Daylight Savings Time. We're getting 11 hours & 42 minutes of daylight or three hours and 24 minutes less of sunlight than we were getting the weekend of the Summer Solstice, on June 20, 2025. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of this year, providing 15 hours and 6 minutes of sunlight in NYC.

The photo above or at right, was taken on Sunday at the Tour de Bronx Bike Ride on the Grand Concourse at 161st Street just outside of the Bronx Borough Hall. About 4,000 cyclists signed up for the event, and based on what I saw on a beautiful, warm, sunny, dry morning, most of them showed up for the ride.

NYC Specific Weather - This can be very Different than TV News TriState Weather. Looks like a great weather weekend. No rain. The temperatures highs will be in the mid 70's Friday, rising to the low 80's on Saturday and Sunday. The temperature lows will be in the high 50's on Friday and the mid 60's on Saturday and Sunday. The winds will be a pretty steady 5 mph all weekend. And the humidity will swing wildly again this weekend, from about 95% to 45% Friday, and from 80% to 45% on Saturday and Sunday. The humidity rises when it's dark out, peaking around daybreak, and then falling during the day, bottoming between 3 and 5 pm.

Saturday Morning Edition @ 10.15 am. Mostly done, with a bit of clean up to do on some of the attendant pages. We'll have it finished by about noon'ish. It's another big, fun filled weekend. Please share with family & friends. Have a good weekend.

Ongoing. We started adding a bit more news and events two weeks ago. Scroll down the page for some enhanced local coverage and check out our local and other news section using the drop down button, on the main tool bar in the upper left corner under the header. This will evolve over time. Stay tuned and thanks for clicking in.

NYC-Wide Office Candidate Debates Begin Next Week

Thursday, October 9, 2025 beginning at 7 pm - the First NYC-Wide Candidate Debate - organized by the NYC Campaign Finance Board and rebroadcast on Sunday. Further details coming next week.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report, as well as other Weekend Things To Do in NYC This Month 2025 _ NYC events.

November OpEds - Month to Date 11.30.25

• CLICK on the Header to this section (immediately above) to read all of these OpEds and more.

New York’s Millionaires Will Get a $12 Billion Federal Tax Cut Next Year

• by Andrew Perry of the Fiscal Policy Institute - 11.20.25

TAKE ACTION: Stop the Federal Government from Gutting Clean Water Protections!

• by Pat McClellan, Policy Director, NY League of Conservation Voters - 11.19.25

A NEW LOW: NYCHA is Suing Chelsea Seniors

• by Layla Law-Gisiko - Democratic District Leader AD75/A - 11.17.25

Developer Sued for Damage to Landmarked Building that Displaced Elderly, Rent-Stabilized Tenants — Demand the City Acts

• by Andrew Berman - Executive Director, Village Preservation - 11.11.25

A New York For All of Us

• by Marina Marcou-O’Malley & Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari, Co-Executive Directors at the Alliance for Quality Education - 11.5.25

Ballot Measures Deregulating a Broad Range of Development in NYC Are Approved

• by Andrew Berman - Executive Director, Village Preservation - 11.5.25

There’s No Place For Islamophobia In Our Schools Or City

• by Marina Marcou-O’Malley & Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari, Co-Executive Directors at the Alliance for Quality Education - 11.2.25

Live Interview with Key Representatives / Activists about FEC Chelsea NYCHA

9.10.25 _ Queens News / News Analysis & Opinion _ Click here to learn a bit more through an interview by Erroll Louis on Spectrum TV on August 28, 2025, who interviewed an author / community activist and the President of the FEC Tenants Against Demolition about what's going on there - NYC Oligarchy - Stephen Ross, Related Companies, Essence, Eric Adams transferring huge amount of public wealth & NYC billionaire TV doesn't much report it. Also on the front page scroll down to the Landlord Tenant Harassment button to become familiar with the bigger picture.  And click into the drop down OpEd section from the front page tool bar to learn more about the FEC Chelsea NYCHA land grab by Stephen Ross and Related Companies.  Ross and Related Companies have been the beneficiaries of the transfer of acres upon acres of prime public NYC land all over NYC for what seem like fire sale / corruption prices.

In the meantime, see front page, government and politics, neighborhoods and things to do sections.

NYC Mayoral Race - Polls

September 21, 2025 / NYC Mayors Race / Brooklyn Politics / Brooklyn News NYC / News Analysis & Opinion / Brooklyn BLVD NYC.

This section is dedicated to providing our audience with a weekly update of recent polls surrounding the NYC Mayoral Race, and select other NYC public positions to be decided in this upcoming election.

• CLICK here to view our running report of polls of the NYC Mayor's Race of 2025.

Billionaires are Rapidly Changing TV News & Not in a Good Way

Billionaires are Amassing a Huge Concentration of Mass Media Assets, in What Appears to be the Privately Owned Propaganda Press

September 18, 2025 / New York City News / NYC Billionaire Press Billionaire TV News & Free Speech in America / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.

All six TV Networks are controlled by billionaires [or folks whose wealth rounds up to billionaires or are members of billionaire families]. Increasingly they appear to be turning the TV networks into privately controlled propaganda machines. Too often they appear to resemble Rupert Murdoch's mistreatment of the truth in the news. This means they seem to omit key facts and even entire stories from view, while amplifying falsehoods and outright lies spoken by politicians and their teleprompter readers alike, which go uncorrected, leaving those who still trust Network TV News, ignorant and in the dark as to what's really going on in this country.

Network TV News Corps Appear to be Trading Journalistic Integrity for Media Market Share so they can Price More Aggressively. America Beware, as they will have Even More Influence over what you / we Americans see, hear & think.

Colbert was cancelled by CBS and numerous seasoned journalists departed for journalistic integrity reasons. CBS appeared to be compromising their integrity, as Colbert is the top rated show in the time period. But Trump doesn't like Colbert, and CBS had a merger deal that needed to be approved by the Trump Justice Department and FCC, so poof, Colbert cancelled. CBS denies this reasoning, saying they have other [unannounced] plans.

Disney / ABC paid off Trump in a lawsuit many attorneys were sure they could have easily won. And this week Disney / ABC took the Jimmy Kimmel Show off the air for making an opinionated comment of which Trump didn't approve, on the Kirk assassination shooter. Kimmel had joked that the shooter was a MAGA Republican which he does not appear to be, although reportedly the rest of his family is.

The alleged shooter was reportedly in a relationship with someone working through gender identity issues, which is just one of the many important issues of our day, that billionaire TV News repeatedly fails to fully inform upon. This link will take you to the Metropolitan Museum website, of a past photo exhibit, wherein in the mid 1800's a French photographer documented a hermaphrodite, which is someone with both male and female genitalia. That's a fact, that I have NEVER seen raised nor discussed by the flunkies on TV News, who don't seem to be knowledgeable about the world around them, and definitely far too often, just simply do not do their basic homework on important issues.

And the sad thing is that this translates to an increasingly ignorant American public, as up until this year TV was the dominant news source. This year news on the web FINALLY passed TV News, and I am hoping that that trend will accelerate as more Americans start paying attention to how badly TV News fails them, daily.

If you decide to click this link you'll encounter what is likely a shocker to most folks [was to me the first time I saw it at the Metropolitan Museum exhibit in the late 1990's]. But the idea isn't to shock, but rather to instruct - Metropolitan Museum photo exhibit by Nadar of hermaphrodite.

• CLICK to view the rest of this report about how the NYC billionaire press is taking over free speech in America. GB.

Local & National [Primarily Web] News Sources we Currently Trust

7.7.25 Update / Opinion / Work in Progress

We've entered The Disinformation Age. Much of the mass media is controlled by billionaires, especially TV assets. They changed the FCC laws so they are no longer required to behave ethically, accurately and so the billionaire press does what it does best, pursues profits regardless of community collateral damage. They're only sharing information that they want you to know. They omit key facts they don't want you to know or even entirely ignore important stories that may embarass their billionaire friends. They try to manipulate viewers' perceptions in order to get them to vote for candidates representing the billionaires' interests, and provide open mics to the candidates their choice - not fact checked - even when these pols are making numerous false or misleading statements.

Trusted Web News Sources - Gotham Buzz

Updated 8.20.25 v. 6.20.25 _ Currently Recommended News Sources to Help You Wean Yourself from Servile Dependence on Billioniare TV News.

For local NYC / NYS news we currently find ourselves using The City, Politico, Axios, Vox, Wikipedia, the Gotham Gazette, Gothamist and City & State. Also NPR and PBS. Note that we will continue to revisit this section and continue developing this list of local, state and national news sources sometime in the not-too-distant future.

For national news we find ourselves using many of the above sources, as well as Mother Jones, Wired, the Atlantic, the New Yorker, the browser Firefox curates a fair news offering, finance.yahoo.com is good for business news, and moderated social media outlets like BSky.app has an intelligent, highly skilled audience that does a fair job of identifying key news reports. The search engines are also useful for fact checking and doing further research into issues, people and other things. Collectively these news sources should enable you to effectively do your civic duty to inform yourself about people and issues before voting.

The NON-Billionaire TV News that we currently find reliable, includes left-leaning Democracy Now [on FNX & CUNY TV], PBS News Hour, and PBS Documentaries are also very informative. The Washington Post and New York Times are still fairly reliable, but sadly, not as implicitly as I found them to be in the past. Both the NYT and Wapo have undergone ownership / top management changes within the past six years. And the new management teams' values appear to differ from their predecessors, so pay attention to editorial changes / impacts.

I no longer find any of the Network TV News outlets to be even remotely close to being sufficiently informative. And far, far too often I find them to be misleading and parlayers of false information. I doubt they ever were really up to the job, but back in the day, they used the newspaper reporting to help keep them informed. Here again, newspaper journalism may not be dead, but it's very financially challenged and isn't remotely close to what it once was due to constained financials. But that said, you can still pick up a few leads from TV News, which you can then use to more fully inform yourself, by doing further research on the internet.

• CLICK here to view our list of trusted news sources on the web for local politics and news in NYC and for national politics and news in the USA.

City of Yes Passes by a Vote of 31 - 20

Stephen Ross, REBNY Members & the Adams Family Won & NYC Lost

December 6, 2024 / NYC Real Estate & Business / NYC Government & Politics / City of Yes Special Section / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.

The City of Yes for Housing Opportunities bill passed yesterday afternoon / evening in the City Council Chambers at City Hall. The City of Yes or NYC Municipal Legislative Bill - L.U. 181 & Res 689 - App. N 240290 ZRY (City of Yes Zoning for Housing Opportunity) amendment of the Zoning Resolution of the City of New York, modifying multiple Sections to expand opportunities for housing within all zoning districts, Citywide. *

The photo snapshot at right shows the NYC Council voting on the City of Yes.

City of Yes [Wo]Men - Roll Call Vote Tally 31-20

Voting For the City of Yes Members. Carlina Rivera District 2, Eric Bottcher District 3, Keith Powers District 4, Julie Menin District 5, Gale Brewer M District 6, Shaun Abreu District 7, Diana Ayala District 8, Yusef Salaam M District 9, Carmen De La Rosa M District 10, Kevin Riley Bx District 12, Pierina Ana Sanchez District 14, Oswald Feliz District 15, Althea Stevens District 16, Rafael Salamanca Bx District 17, Amanda Farias District 18, Francisco Moya Q District 21, Tiffany Caban Q District 22, Shekar Krishnan Q District 25, Julie Won Q District 26, Nantasha Williams Q District 27, Speaker Adrienne Adams Q District 28, Selvena N. Brooks-Powers Q District 31, Lincoln Restler District 33, Jennifer Gutierrez District 34, Crystal Hudson District 35, Chi Osse District 36, Sandy Nurse District 37, Alexa Aviles District 38, Shahana Hanif District 39, Rita Joseph District 40, Justin Brannan Bk District 47.

Pay attention to the delineation of NYC Council members by the boroughs noted above by letters. Speaker Adrienne Adams delivered enough Queens council member votes (7) in favor of the legislation, which had they voted as their Community Boards did, would have killed the City of Yes bill.

Did Adrienne Adams and these NYC Council members betray the people of Queens they were elected to represent? Well, if so, keep in mind they are up for re-election in June 2025. So please educate yourself, fact check the statements made herein by using the power of the internet, and then after you've done enough research to know what's true, start spreading the news and get behind people who will represent you, the voters, not the big money that funded their campaigns.

Voting in the Negative. Joann Ariola District 32, Chris Banks District 42, Joseph C. Borelli District 51, David Carr District 50, Eric Dinowitz District 11, James Gennaro District 24, Kamillah Hanks District 49, Robert Holden District 30, Linda Lee District 23, Farah N. Louis District 45, Kristy Marmorato District 13, Christopher Marte District 1, Diane Mealy District 41, Mercedes Narcisse District 46, Vickie Paladino District 19, Lynn Schulman District 29, Sandra Ung District 20, Inna Vernikov District 48, Kalmar Yeger District 44, Susan Zhuang District 43.

We will keep this roll call of the vote on our site indefinitely in the City of Yes Special Report Section, because you, the voters, can use it as one benchmark vote, that helps you understand who is representing you, and how they are representing you. This becomes particularly important as there is the Democratic Primary in June 24, 2025 and the general election is November 4, 2025. Almost all of the elections are decided in the June primary because 56% of NYC is Democratic and only 26% is Republican. The remaining 18% are independent.

* Editor's Note.  The summary of the bill leaves out the part about the NYC Council members forfeiting their power, and because they represent us, they are forfeiting our power and legal rights to weigh in on new developments in our neighborhoods.  The summary also leaves out the part where by rushed passage of the 1,388 bill, the real estate developers and international investors can harvest a huge amount of tax abatements for 'affordable housing' that would be 'affordable' to individuals making up to $141,000 and a family of three making up to $183,00 per year or making rental payments of $4575 per month.  And the summary leaves out the part about the negotiated deal, wherein how Eric Adams is going to miraculously fund the $4 billion, that magically appeared just by Eric Adams promising it, after Eric Adams tried to cut $100 million from the budgets of public schools in January 2024 and cut $22 million from the budget for public libraries as recently as November 2023.  Adams promise of $4 billion is just that, and only that - a promise - as it is NOT IN THE BUDGET. And we all know the value of a politician's promise, especially when it's made by someone like Eric Adams, who has a documented history of lying, and is managing a tight budget that doesn't have $4 billion of funding lying around. He's going to have to take that funding from other places like public schools, public libraries and the NYPD.

Buglisi Dance Theatre Company at Lincoln Center 911

Weekend Events / Things To Do & Update Coming Later Today

Reposted September 11, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / Things to do NYC / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

This is a video of one of the rehearsals for the Table of Silence performance this morning at Lincoln Center, commemorating the 19th anniversary of 911. They return to perform the Table of Silence at Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center on Thursday 9/11 at 8.10 am. Free.  Or catch the live stream - https://www.lincolncenter.org/series/lincoln-center-presents/table-of-silence-project-911-259

• Heartfelt wishes to all.  May you have a harmonious day and success working toward having a harmonious life.

Click for our report series on Landlord / Tenant Harassment in NYC

Please be advised that this series will be evolving slowly starting sometime in Q4 2025 and continuing thereafter. Thus far we've posted some of our historical coverage, but by far and away, the best is yet to come.

Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros

Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year Weekend with Holiday Markets, Holiday Events & NYE Parties - are Some of the Top Things to do this Weekend & Next Weekend in NYC

December 26, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

NYC Weather. Sunrise 7.18 am. Sunset 4.35 pm. For the first time since June, the days are starting to get longer. We're up 2 minutes of sunlight versus last week.

It looks to be a rainy weekend, on both Saturday [1/3 inch] and Sunday [over 3/4 inch]. There are bound to be plenty of times, during both days, when there's little rain falling; so be brave, and don't let a little water stop you from enjoying your precious time with family and friends.

The temperature highs will rise from about 30 on Thursday, to 34 on Friday, 44 on Saturday, and into the low 50's on Sunday. The temperature lows will rise from the mid teens on Thursday, to the high 20's on Friday, into the low 40's on Saturday and Sunday. The winds will range from 5 - 7 mph on Thursday and Friday, kicking up to 5 - 10 mph Saturday and then again up to 15 mph on Sunday. It's going to be a humid weekend ranging from 70% on Thursday up to 90% on Sunday. These temperature statistics are unusually high for this time of year versus historical norms.

The photo at right, taken in Sunnyside Queens a year ago this week, shows an example of the holiday home decorations one can find in the five boroughs of NYC.

This weekend use the links below to find holiday events, holiday markets and look for things to do over the New Years Eve weekend. We'll be updating the NYE pages over the weekend.

• CLICK here to view the rest of our report about things to do Christmas / New Year week in NYC - Events NYC the last week of December.

New Years Resolutions 2025: The Road Ahead

A Few Axioms To Keep In Mind Throughout The New Year

January 1, 2025 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Holidays / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

For all of us, today starts the beginning of a new year. It's an opportunity to start anew. And even if we don't fulfill our highest expectations, moving the needle in the right direction, is always a good thing.

The rest of this report is about some of the things you can do personally to make 2025 a better year for you.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on New Years Resolutions 2025 - The Road Ahead.

Click this link for holiday parties, party venues, party halls and catering halls in Jackson Heights Queens NYC.

Get it While it's Hot - 'Affordable Housing' Lottery in LIC

150 'Affordable Housing' Units Available for Folks w/ Incomes of 'Only' $99K to $250K

October 23, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Real Estate & Business / Gotham Buzz NYC.

'Better hurry' to participate in this 'affordable housing' lottery for apartments in the Jasper at 49-20 5th Street in Long Island City, Queens. Studios are renting for the 'low, low price' of $2,900 per month and two bedroom apartments are a 'steal' at only $4,400 per month.

To qualify you 'only' need to be earning between $99,000 and $250,000 per year. These annual incomes, which are an eligibility requirement, are only 'slightly' higher [+50% to +291%] than the median NYC salary of $64,000 per year.

But don't worrry, if you miss this 'great' opportunity for 'affordable housing', because the real estate developers, real estate investors, billionaires, property owners and Mayor Adams, are pushing hard to get through the City of Yes Zoning Law changes, which will provide huge tax breaks to investors, billioinaires and real estate developers to make even more of this kind of 'affordable housing' available all over NYC.

Isn't that 'exciting'? It looks like more 'affordable housing' is finally on its way ...

See related stories below and in our City of Yes Special Report section on Gotham Buzz.

And you still have time to be heard by the NY City Council regarding your opinion of the City of Yes. Written Testimony is accepted for 72 hours after the hearing that was held Tuesday 10.22.24. Use this email address to send them your opinions - landusetestimony@council.nyc.gov. I believe the comment period expires at the close of business on Friday 10.25.24.

The LIC Summit 2024

Photos and Clean Up to Follow

October 8, 2024 / LIC Neighborhood / Queens Real Estate & Business / Queens Buzz.

A. Prelude to Attending the LIC Summit 2024

It was a beautiful, sunny, dry day as I walked over to the Museum of the Moving Image in LIC / Astoria.  I arrived around 11 am to attend part of the second half of the LIC Summit, which is a real estate and business conference which examines in depth, an LIC centric world, but also mindful of the surrounding environment.

After I made my way through a flawless check-in, I found my way into the theater and sat down to listen in on the panel providing a Long Island City real estate update.  These panels are structured such that the moderator serves up a number of questions to the panelists for comment, which is then followed by audience questions, which sometimes are the best, because they are asked by people like you and me, who have lived and worked in the area for a long while and witnessed and have adjusted to the huge changes that have occurred in Long Island City over the past couple of decades.

I.  First Panel - LIC Residential Real Estate Update

This panel included Patricia Dunphy of SVP of Rockrose Development, Eric Benaim CEO / Founder of Modern Space, Dan Mogolesko SVP of the Durst Organization, Peter Papamichael Principal of the VOREA Group and Crystal Xu Director of Business Development United Construction & Development Group.

As I came in at the end of the panel presentation, I only caught the Q&A portion of the program, which follows.

A performance theater / school owner pondered aloud whether the developers were still interested in involving and supporting the arts and culture scene in Long Island City.  At the turn of the century LIC was well known as a thriving artists community, as it offered very competitive rents and good access to mass transit.  In the near quarter century since then many - if not most - of the artists have moved out of the area as they can no longer afford the rents, which have skyrocketed from under $1,000 / month to over $4,000 per month.

One of the panelists said they are interested in supporting the arts and he mentioned Culture Lab LIC as one of the arts institutions that has survived the changes.  But that was pretty much the full extent of the conversation surrounding the arts community.  So I reckon the short answer would be no.

• CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the LIC Summit 2024 - Real Estate Development in LIC Queens NYC.

Click here for things to do this weekend Brooklyn NYC or click here for things to do this weekend in Manhattan NYC.

Coney Island - Final Fireworks of the Summer 2024

August 30, 2024 / Coney Island / Brooklyn / Brooklyn BLVD.

On Friday night, the final fireworks show by the Alliance for Coney Island, started around 10 pm on the Reigelmann Boardwalk just east of the Steeple Chase Tower and adjacent to the Luna Amusement Park. It was a comfortable evening, with a slight, cool breeze coming in off the water. There were hundreds of spectators who came to see the show and enjoy an end of the summer ride and snacks at Luna Park. I shot the 10 - 15 minute show from various locations around the Boardwalk, water and Luna Park and then edited it down to about 2 - 3 minutes, ending with a bit of island music. Enjoy the show.

Triumph of The [Rupert's] Will: How Murdoch Manipulates Voter's Perceptions & Public Policy

Australian born Billionaire Appears to use his Media Outlets to Shape Voter's Views, Loading them with Misconceptions, So They'll Elect Compromised Fox Nation Pols, Who Upon Assuming Office, Seem to Reward Murdoch's Media Support, by Crafting Public Policy to Conform to Murdoch's Will, Favoring his Business Interests

September 4, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / U.S. Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.

As mentioned previously, I've been doing a fairly deep dive into learning as much about the Third Reich and Nazi Germany as time permits, in order to more fully understand what's happening in present day events.

Media Manipulation for Fun & Profit

I began noticing similarities between Australian born billionaire Rupert Murdoch's manipulative use of his large share of Amerian media in 2016, to what Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Propaganda for the Nazis, did beginning in the 1920's until his end in 1945. On May 1, 1945 Goebbels poisoned his children, his wife and himself as the Allied forces neared his home. Hitler and his companions had committed suicide the day before, as Allied forces invaded Berlin. None of them had the courage to stand trial for their crimes against humanity ... although like Mussolini, they may not have made it to court.

1. Did Fox 'News' Attempt to Protect the Reputation of a Propaganda Asset via Omission?

So today, we're going to look at just a few of Murdoch's media manipulations made in just the past couple of months - and I'm nearly certain that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, I don't have the resource to fact check what is the largest misleading news content producing organization in the nation, and possibly the free world.

Let's start with the first two photos on this page. This story broke in the Guardian on July 7, 2020.

The first photo shows Fox News 'reporting the news' regarding the sexcapades of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell. In the first photo, Fox News conveniently cropped out Donald Trump. In the second photo [at right] we have the 'full picture' aka the truth.

The man who calls everyone else a 'sleezeball' is seen with Melania 'being best', and two of the people alleged to be among some of the sleeziest on the planet [Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell]. Do birds of a feather flock together?

So we must ask why Rupert Murdoch would crop Donald Trump out of the photo? Is it to avoid portraying the Donald in a negative light in order to keep him - a Murdoch asset - in office?

Trump appears to have been a boon to billionaire Murdoch through massive billionaire tax cuts funded by debt to be paid for by America's children and unborn? Or is because Trump's actions in the Middle East vis a visIsrael seemed to serve to legitimize Murdoch's investment in Genie Energy in the illegally occupied Syrian Golan Heights? Or was it because Trump loosened up the FCC ownership limits for mega media companies like Murdoch's thus allowing the few to control our media, which givens them the power to influence the national democratic conversation - and in Murdoch's case - it seems the power to corrupt it in order to profit from it. Or was it because Trump famously fired all U.S. Attorneys, including Preet Bharara - who was investigating Murdoch's companies for sexual harrassment and phone hacking - less than 24 hours after Sean Hannity on Fox News told him to do just that? Perhaps most importantly, Trump's Attorney General Bill Barr, greenlighted the merger of Disney / ABC, which was an inverted takeover resulting in Rupert Murdoch becoming Disney / ABC's largest shareholder.

• CLICK here to read our report on NYPBA police union endorsement of Trump seems out of step with the union rank and file, as well as the NYPD and NYC - but Murdoch's NY Post provides propaganda cover.