Samwise Metro NYC Newsletter
Thursday, April 9, 2026
NYC Building Workers Set April 20 Strike Deadline, 600,000 Households at Risk
Nearly 34,000 doorpersons, porters, superintendents, and building maintenance workers represented by 32BJ SEIU are set to authorize a strike vote on April 15, with their contract expiring on April 20. A walkout would affect roughly 3,500 residential buildings and an estimated 600,000 households across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Workers are seeking wage increases tied to inflation and the preservation of a legal services fund for immigrant employees. Landlords, represented by the Realty Advisory Board, contend that Mayor Mamdani’s freeze on rent-stabilized apartment increases makes wage hikes financially impossible.
Mamdani Blasts Council Speaker Menin Personally Over Competing Budget Plans
The New York City Council released its preliminary budget response Wednesday, proposing to close a $6 billion deficit without raising property taxes or drawing on city reserves — a plan Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his allies swiftly rejected as unrealistic. Mamdani called the Council’s proposal fiscally irresponsible and personally attacked Speaker Julie Menin, whose plan avoids the mayor’s proposed 9.5% property tax hike. Menin countered that the increase would disproportionately harm Black and working-class communities. The clash marks a significant escalation ahead of executive budget negotiations, with no agreement in sight as the fiscal year deadline approaches this spring.
MTA Sues East Harlem Landlord Blocking Access for Second Avenue Subway Extension
The MTA filed an emergency lawsuit Wednesday against Edgardo Kramer, owner of 2049 Second Avenue in East Harlem, seeking court-ordered access to his five-story building to advance the long-delayed Q line extension. The transit agency says it cannot construct the planned 106th Street Station shell or surrounding tunnels without first reinforcing the building’s foundation. Kramer has resisted access, reportedly fearing an inspection will expose costly structural deficiencies. The $7 billion Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 project, already stalled by a Trump administration freeze on $18 billion in federal infrastructure funding, cannot proceed without judicial intervention.
City Council Proposes Free Subway and Bus Rides for Over One Million Low-Income New Yorkers
City Council Speaker Julie Menin has proposed expanding the existing Fair Fares program to provide entirely free subway, bus, and Access-A-Ride trips for New Yorkers earning at or below 150% of the federal poverty level — roughly $22,600 per year — and half-price fares for those earning up to 300% of the poverty level. Over one million city residents would qualify, compared to the 370,000 currently enrolled in Fair Fares, which provides half-priced rides. The Council is also exploring automatic enrollment to boost participation. A full Council vote on the proposal is expected in June 2026.
Home Care Workers Stage Daily City Hall Sit-In Demanding Vote on No More 24 Act
Protesters have been staging a daily sit-in at City Hall, demanding an immediate vote on the No More 24 Act — legislation that would ban 24-hour workdays for home attendants by mandating shifts of no more than 12 hours and capping weekly hours at 50. Council Speaker Julie Menin and bill sponsor Council Member Christopher Marte announced the legislation is expected to pass by mid-April, with an April 12 rally scheduled at City Hall Park. New York City has roughly 130,000 home care workers, approximately 90% of whom are women and 70% are immigrants.
Pakistani Man Pleads Guilty in ISIS-Inspired Plot to Mass-Shoot Brooklyn Jewish Center
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 21, a Pakistani national formerly based in Canada, pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal terrorism charges for plotting a mass shooting at a Brooklyn Jewish center on the first anniversary of the October 7, 2024 Hamas attack. Khan began distributing ISIS propaganda and discussing attacks on Jewish people online in November 2023. He was arrested in September 2024 while attempting to cross the U.S.-Canada border near Ormstown, Canada. In court, Khan described the plan as a “morally reprehensible idea.” Sentencing is scheduled for August 12; he faces a maximum of life in federal prison.
500 Protesters Demand NYC Pension Funds Stay Out of Israeli Bonds at Comptroller’s Office
About 500 demonstrators led by Jewish Voice for Peace gathered outside NYC Comptroller Mark Levine’s office Wednesday to oppose his announced plans to reinvest city pension funds in Israeli bonds. Protesters argue the bonds provide direct resources for Israeli military operations in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. The demonstration included an emergency Passover Seder and featured Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained by immigration authorities for more than 100 days beginning in March 2025. Levine’s predecessor, Brad Lander, had allowed the city’s Israeli bond holdings to lapse in 2023.
Trump Tariffs Blamed for NYC Tourism Decline and $3.8 Billion Drop in State Exports
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released a report in early April finding that federal tariffs contributed to a 3% decline in overseas visitors to New York — a loss of 176,000 travelers — and a $3.8 billion drop in state exports in 2025. Travel from Canada fell more than 21%, a decrease of nearly 3.6 million visitors. City Council leaders warned Wednesday that even with a temporary tariff pause, the damage to New York’s economy is severe, with Chinatown merchants citing cost spikes from the 145% import tax on Chinese goods as threatening the viability of their small businesses.