TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2025
Today’s SCOOP is brought to you by our .
Dear New Yorkers,
Congratulations, you won the New York City housing lottery! But not so fast: Before you can move into an affordable apartment, you have to provide a mountain of paperwork to you’re eligible.
But now, that mountain may look less like the Rockies and more like the Catskills as the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development is requiring applicants to provide fewer documents.
The changes aim to make it easier and quicker for income-restricted, subsidized apartments to be rented and sold — both for the applicants and the landlords.
While applying to lottery apartments is, as one Queens winner put it, “as easy as swiping on a dating app,” things get a lot more complicated once your application is selected.
Read more here to learn what changes are being made to the process.
Weather 🌤️
High 70s and mostly sunny.
MTA 🚇
In Brookly, there’s no 2 train between Franklin Ave and Flatbush Ave overnight all week. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.
Alternate side parking 🚙
It’s in effect today, April 29.
By the way…
If you ever hear about a new mystery virus on social media, don’t panic: learn how to interpret reports like an epidemiologist.
Our Other Top Stories
- After state corrections officers went on strike, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced an initiative to send some prisoners home early to ease the ensuing staffing shortage. But out of 766 possible candidates identified for the early release, only 151 have left incarceration.
- On the latest episode of FAQ NYC, guest Dana Rachlin of We Build the Block and the Brownsville Safety Alliance talks about those groups’ very different approach to public safety — one that centers community instead of the criminal justice system. Listen here.
Reporter’s Notebook
State Budget Deal Sets Spending Record
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the outlines of a $254 billion budget for the fiscal year that began 28 days ago amid signs that the budget will need to be reworked if Republicans in Washington follow through on plans to sharply cut federal aid to states and cities.
The framework, which is short on details expected to be revealed in coming days, represents a spending record but is only $2 billion more than the governor proposed in February, a sharp break in a pattern of significant increases from the governor’s plan. The governor also said that the legislature might need to rework the budget if the federal cuts are instituted. She also trimmed back her plan for a $3 billion inflation tax rebate to $2 billion.
Hochul won approval of several of her non-budget priorities like a school cell phone ban, and changes to criminal discovery and involuntary hospitalizations laws.
— Greg David
Payroll Tax Bump Funds MTA Plans
The MTA’s $68.4 billion five-year capital plan for critical transit system upkeep and expansion will be fully funded under the state budget deal announced Monday by Governor Kathy Hochul.
Hochul committed to funding the MTA 2025 to 2029 capital plan through what she called “modest adjustments” to the state’s payroll mobility tax that will allow the transit agency to pay for a capital plan whose highlights include buying 1,500 new subway cars, 500 commuter rail cars and repairs to decaying elevated steel and concrete structures across the transit system.
Top officials at the MTA have repeatedly said the $68.4 billion blueprint is the minimum it needs to keep the mass transit network in safe and reliable working order.
The governor said “shared sacrifice” will be required of the MTA as part of the funding the capital plan, which had been facing a sizable funding gap.
“Just like the city and state are each contributing $3 billion to this plan, the MTA itself will find savings for the final $3 billion of this plan,” Hochul said.
— Jose Martinez
Things To Do
Here are some free and low-cost things to do around the city this week.
- Tuesday, April 29: Get competitive at a Board Game Social at Bryant Park. 5 p.m.
- Wednesday, April 30: Go for an early-morning bird walk at The Battery. 8 a.m.
- Wednesday, April 30: Learn about the history of labor unions in a on the eve of May Day, moderated by THE CITY’s labor reporter Claudia Irizarry Aponte. The Cooper Union in Manhattan, 6:30 p.m.
THE KICKER: It’s Art Deco’s 100th birthday: learn its history and explore New York sites emblematic of the Jazz Age architectural style with this guide from Village Preservation.
Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Tuesday.
Love,
THE CITY
PS. Love THE CITY? Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by readers like you. Donate here.
Want to view Scoop in your web browser? Click here.
THE CITY’s work is made possible, in part, through the of our sponsors. Interested in becoming a sponsor of THE CITY? us here.
Copyright © 2024 THE CITY, All rights reserved.
