THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025
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Dear New Yorkers,
The city Campaign Finance Board has once again rejected Mayor Eric Adams’ request for public matching funds.
And the board is significantly expanding its investigation into Adams’ political fundraising — following a trail of evidence revealed by THE CITY.
In an April 15 letter, the CFB stood by its prior decision not to give Adams $4 million in matching funds sought by his reelection campaign, saying it had “reason to believe” that he had violated the law.
Separately, the board asked Adams’ lawyer for extensive records about a host of fundraising activities connected to eight individuals, all of which was first exposed by THE CITY, as well as three others involved in a case in which a Chinese billionaire pleaded guilty last year to orchestrating straw donations to Adams and other U.S. politicians.
The board is also expanding its investigation into Adams associates like Winnie Greco and two people named in THE CITY’s investigation of Adams’ operation at the New World Mall in Flushing, Queens — as well as other fundraising events flagged by THE CITY.
Read more here about the host of familiar names and faces now being investigated by the CFB.
Weather 🌤️
A little cooler: mostly sunny with highs in the upper 60s.
MTA 🚇
In The Bronx, the Manhattan-bound 6 train skips Longwood Ave, East 149 Street, E 143 Street-St. Mary’s Street, Cypress Ave and Brook Ave from 9:45 p.m. to 5 a.m. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.
Alternate side parking 🚙
It’s in effect today, May 1.
By the way…
If you’re moving into a new apartment, here’s how to get your security deposit back from your old place.
Our Other Top Stories
- In 2004, the subway token went the way of the dodo. “I used the token until the very last day,” rider Luis Ortiz told THE CITY at the 96th Street subway stop. “I’ll probably stick with the MetroCard until the last day, too.” Unfortunately for Ortiz — and a third of total subway riders — that day is coming soon.
- During last year’s Democratic presidential primary, there was an organized protest of U.S. government of the war in Gaza: submitting a blank ballot. Overall, roughly 40,000 people cast blank ballots in the city — almost 15% of the Democrats who turned out for the April 2024 vote. These neighborhoods cast the most of them.
- When New York corrections officers attack prisoners in infirmaries — as has happened dozens of times in the past 15 years — it is nurses who must document and treat the resulting injuries. Their choices can save lives or cover up abuse.
Reporter’s Notebook
City-Hired Expert Says City Doing Fine Job on Rikers Island
A consultant hired by the city’s Department of Correction told a federal judge overseeing Rikers Island that Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie should remain in place and there’s no need for an outside third-party receiver takeover.
“She [Maginley-Liddie] is a strong leader who has the confidence of the organization. That importance cannot be overstated,” the consultant Gary Raney, a former sheriff from Idaho, wrote to federal Judge Laura Swain on Friday.
Ramey’s assessment — first reported by The Queens Daily Eagle — echoes the DOC’s argument in January to appoint its commissioner as receiver.
The Legal Aid Society — and a host of elected officials and jail reformers — have appointing an outsider to run it.
A receiver would have nearly unlimited power to enact changes — including not having to follow existing collective bargaining agreements with the three unions that represent jail officers and supervisors.
— Reuven Blau
Columbia Student Freed
Moshen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student activist from Columbia University, was released Wednesday from federal custody at the orders of a federal district judge in Vermont. Mahdawi, 34, walked out of court on bail while his federal deportation case continues. “I am saying it clear and loud, to President Trump and his cabinet: I am not afraid of you,” he said to a crowd of cheering ers.
A legal permanent resident, Mahdawi had been in immigration detention since April 14 when he was arrested after he had taken and ed his citizenship interview. He has not been accused of any crimes, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has argued that his protest activities and presence in the United States undermines national security interests.
ers welcomed his release, but pointed to the ongoing detention of another Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, and that of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student. A federal judge in New Jersey is still weighing Khalil’s request to be released from ICE custody on bail.
— Gwynne Hogan
Things To Do
Here are some free and low-cost things to do around the city this week.
- Thursday, May 1: Hear from two memoirists about what it’s like growing up Chinese in New York. Lofty Pigeon Books in Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.
- Thursday, May 1: Ride a bike through Brooklyn’s Shirley Chisholm park — bikes and helmets provided. in advance and bring an ID. Slots from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Friday, May 2: Hike along the shoreline at Hunter’s Point South Park and learn about the city’s man-made wetlands. Queens, 2 p.m.
THE KICKER: If you lived in the 19th century and weren’t extending your lease, you’d be moving this morning — alongside every other person in the city.
Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Thursday.
Love,
THE CITY
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