TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2025
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Dear New Yorkers,
Catholics across New York City mourned the death of Pope Francis on Monday, praising him for his welcoming message of love and inclusivity as leader of a changing church in a changing world.
“Until the last day of his life he was a messenger of hope,” Bishop Robert Brennan, the head of the Diocese of Brooklyn, said during mass in downtown Brooklyn Monday afternoon.
A small crowd gathered for afternoon mass the day after Easter. Among them was 78-year-old Rosa Williams, a lifelong Brooklynite, who said the Pope’s message in of immigrants was important to her given the current political climate.
“We’re all immigrants. We all have dreams that we came here for and to treat them so poorly just makes me really sad. He meant a lot to us because he was the Pope of the people,” Williams said.
Read more here about how New Yorkers Pope Francis.
Weather ⛅
Warm again! Partly cloudy and highs in the upper 70s.
MTA 🚇
The uptown A train skips Spring Street, 23 Street and 50 Street from 10:45 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.
Alternate side parking 🚙
It’s in effect today, April 22.
By the way…
Take a survey for the MTA for a chance to win a $100 OMNY card.
Our Other Top Stories
- Manhattan’s Chinatown took a hit during Covid-19, and another with congestion pricing. Now, Trump’s tariffs may be the straw that breaks the back of many of the neighborhood’s surviving small business owners: “we’re stocking up like our lives depend on it.”
- It’s not just tariffs that have people scared: city nonprofits are racing to prepare as rumors spread about the Trump istration possibly revoking their tax-exempt status or investigating them for illegal actions or noncompliance with executive orders. Attorney General Letitia James is hosting a webinar next week to offer guidance — and over 1,000 groups have already signed up.
- The first time House Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer recommended that Andrew Cuomo face criminal prosecution for allegedly lying to Congress, nothing came of it. But that was during the Biden istration: now, with more allies in the DOJ, Comer is trying again.
- A judge is temporarily blocking City Hall from allowing ICE back onto Rikers Island until she hears from both the Adams istration and the City Council, which is suing to block the move they allege violates the city’s conflict of interest law. The Council’s lawsuit also questions whether First dDeputy Mayor Randy Mastro had the authority to sign the executive order —a task he was delegated by Adams to avoid the appearance of a conflict.
- And speaking of Mastro, is he running the show at City Hall while Eric Adams runs for a second term? FAQ NYC co-hosts discuss the new deputy mayor’s aggressive approach and much more, including the Trump istration bearing down on New York and Pope Francis’s visit to the city a decade ago. Listen here.
Reporter’s Notebook
Another Day, Another Deadline
The Trump istration warned Monday that New York State is being given “one last chance” to terminate congestion pricing within 30 days — or risk losing federal funding on Manhattan highway projects.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy set a May 21 deadline for shutting down the Manhattan vehicle-tolling program in a tolls south of 60th Street designed to reduce congestion and help fund MTA capital projects.
“We won’t foot the bill if Governor Hochul continues to implement an illegal toll to backfill the budget of New York’s failing transit system,” Duffy wrote. “We are giving New York one last chance to turn back or prove their actions are not illegal.”
Duffy first attempted to shut down congestion pricing in created by law in 2019 would stay in place unless a court intervened.
“Cameras are staying on, and New Yorkers continue to benefit from the first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program — with less traffic, cleaner air, safer streets and a stronger regional economy,” Janno Lieber, MTA chairperson and CEO, said in a statement.
— Jose Martinez
Things To Do
Here are some free and low-cost things to do around the city this week.
- Tuesday, April 22: Volunteer at Queens Farm for Earth Day. Queens County Farm Museum, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- Tuesday, April 22: More Earth Day content: plant native trees along the river in Bronx Park. 9:30 a.m.
- Wednesday, April 23: Celebrate the new season of Terrestrials, Radiolab’s kid-focused nature podcast, with outdoor activities, live music and free snacks. Prospect Park, 4:30 p.m.
THE KICKER: See photos of Sunday’s Easter Parade, featuring fortune cookie hats, a metallic St. Peter and more.
Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Wednesday.
Love,
THE CITY
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