THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2025
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Dear New Yorkers,
In New York’s campaign finance system, corporations are not people.
While there are caps on how much money individuals can give to campaigns, there’s no limit on what companies can give to independent influence groups — which in turn can spend as much as they want to their preferred candidates.
Some of the most influential real estate and financial interests in the city have coalesced behind former Governor Andrew Cuomo, flooding an independent expenditure committee called Fix the City. In all, that group has amassed more than $9 million in donations — more than any individual candidate in the running is permitted to spend on the primary race if they’re participating in the public matching program.
But corporations and special interests have set their sights on City Council races as well, spending $1.7 million so far to try and influence races across the city, according to campaign filings updated Tuesday.
Such groups can spend unlimited sums so long as they do not coordinate with campaigns.
Read more here for the biggest outside spenders so far in this year’s City Council contests.
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Weather ☔
More rain, and similarly chilly to yesterday, with highs in the low 50s.
MTA 🚇
No G train between Bedford-Nostrand Avenues and Court Square overnight (starting 9:45 p.m.) through the rest of the week. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.
Alternate side parking 🚙
It’s in effect today, May 22.
By the way…
The city’s finally outside — here’s what to do if you leave your stuff in a park somewhere.
Our Other Top Stories
- In November, we’ll get to elect borough presidents: mini-mayors that serve as cheerleaders for their borough, appointing community board and allocating resources for neighborhood projects. Here’s who’s running, and why you should care.
- Former Mayor Bill de Blasio apologized to New Yorkers for using tax dollars to pay for NYPD protection on the campaign trail. But taxpayers are still on the hook for hundreds of thousands in legal bills, according to records obtained by THE CITY.
- Our FAQ NYC hosts are teaming up with Ben Max of podcast Max Politics for a live taping ahead of the June primary. There’ll be refreshments, political analysis, special guests and audience Q&A — come out next Thursday, May 29 at New York Law School. 5:15 p.m.
- Our summer newsletter is back! From this Thursday before Memorial Day through Labor Day, THE CITY gives you the summer tips, events, weekend beach forecasts and interviews with the New Yorkers that make summer happen. Sign up here.
Garbage Time
Reader Tara N. recently wrote to us to ask when the Department of Sanitation plans to get garbage trucks that can lift and dump bins directly into trucks. She said she’s seen sanitation workers in her Brooklyn neighborhood manually pulling bags out from the bins, which spills trash on the sidewalk and street.
We asked DSNY about this and learned that the agency is working on two initiatives to update its trucks so sanitation workers don’t have to throw bags — a leading cause of their on-the-job injuries — and the city gets cleaner.
First, DSNY will roll out a fleet of automated side-loading trucks in West Harlem starting June 1.
These trucks will be able to lift and empty “Empire Bins,” which are on-street trash containers for buildings with at least 30 apartments (and some smaller buildings, too).
The agency is also outfitting the typical rear-loading garbage trucks with mechanical tippers that can lift and empty the smaller bins into the trucks. DSNY said it expects about 15% of the fleet to be done by the year’s end.
—Samantha Maldonado
Have a question for our newsroom? We’re all ears. Email us at [email protected] or reply back to this newsletter.
Things To Do
Here are some free and low-cost things to do around the city this week.
- Thursday, May 22: Use your sewing skills for good: make a quilt to donate to families in need. Morningside Heights Library, 2:30 p.m.
- Thursday, May 22: See new horror movie Dangerous Animals for free, followed by a Q&A with the director afterwards. Culture Lab in LIC, 7 p.m.
- Friday, May 23: Help restore a coastal meadow in The Bronx. Concrete Plant Park, 10 a.m.
THE KICKER: In honor of the Knicks making it to the Eastern Conference Finals, Mayor Eric Adams has announced that he is temporarily co-naming streets across Manhattan after Knicks players.
Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Thursday.
Love,
THE CITY
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