Curtis Sliwa on <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/curtis-sliwa-calls-out-9-11-families-demanding-nyc-mayor-zohran-mamdani-stay-away-from-ceremony-stop-being-sore-losers/">Thursday</a> told relatives of 9/11 victims who want New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani kept away from this year&#8217;s Ground Zero commemoration to &#8220;stop being sore losers,&#8221; arguing that they should respect the office even if they disagree with the person holding it.
“He’s the mayor. Stop being sore losers!&#8221; Sliwa told reporters Thursday. &#8220;You knew this is Zohran Mamdani. He was never a fake, phony, fraudulent, fugazi like a lot of politicians. He told you who he was.&#8221;
Some relatives of victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have backed a petition urging Mamdani not to attend this year&#8217;s ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks, which killed 2,977 people.
Giovanni Galante, whose 29-year-old wife, Grace Catherine Galante, was killed on 9/11 and who helped organize the petition, accused Mamdani of failing to &#8220;meaningfully acknowledge the horror&#8221; of the attacks and associating with people who have minimized them.
Fellow petition organizer Cheri Sparacio, whose husband, Thomas, was killed on 9/11, separately pointed to Mamdani&#8217;s association with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who said in 2019 that &#8220;America deserved 9/11&#8221; before later apologizing for the comment.
Mamdani has said he intends to attend the September 11 ceremony despite the opposition.
Sliwa, who ran against Mamdani and former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the Republican candidate in last year&#8217;s mayoral election, said victims&#8217; families are free to express their disapproval of Mamdani but argued that the mayor&#8217;s office itself deserves respect.
Sliwa called the entire effort ridiculous while speaking with reporters. 
&#8220;Once he got elected, you should have known he was going to be there at 9/11,&#8221; Sliwa said. &#8220;Now, if you choose to turn your back on him, I don’t want to ever tell family members what they should be doing on this holiday, not holiday, but this solemn occasion, that’s your choice. 
&#8220;But I believe you respect the office,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;He’s the mayor. He’s representing the city.”
Sliwa also revisited a controversial exchange involving Cuomo and radio host Sid Rosenberg during the closing stretch of the 2025 mayoral campaign.
Rosenberg had joked with Cuomo, who was running as an independent, that Mamdani would cheer for the terrorists if another September 11 attack occurred while he held office. Cuomo chuckled before responding, &#8220;That&#8217;s another problem.&#8221; 
Sliwa said Thursday that the comment damaged Cuomo politically at a moment when the former governor had been gaining momentum.
“He was gaining traction, and then he made that stupid remark and then didn’t handle it well,&#8221; Sliwa said. &#8220;And then Zohran exploited the hell out of it, as he should.&#8221; 
&#8220;That was Islamophobic,” Sliwa added.
&nbsp;

Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa leaves Manhattan Federa

Curtis Sliwa Calls 9/11 Families ‘Sore Losers’ For Opposing Mamdani Visit

9/11

Curtis Silwa

Guardian Angels

Mayor Zohran Mamdani

New York City

Manhattan rents climbed to another record in July, with the average apartment costing $6,655 per month as New Yorkers continue to grapple with some of the highest housing costs in the United States.
The average monthly rent jumped roughly <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/08/12/real-estate/manhattan-rents-reach-all-time-high-of-6655-per-month/">10%</a> from a year earlier, according to a new market report. 
Gary Malin, the chief operating officer of the Corcoran Group, blamed a series of city and state housing policies for contributing to the soaring prices. 
“Misguided New York City and State legislation, like ‘good cause’ eviction, the FARE Act, and the 2019 rent laws, have in large part created this perfect storm for sky-high rents,” Malin said. 
“These laws have curtailed the supply of rental housing,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;This has caused demand to build up to a boiling point and pricing for available apartments to reach all-time highs. Legislators seem to care more about optics versus the actual impact of their policies. Their initiatives may be well intentioned, but there’s been severe unintended consequences, and today’s apartment seekers are literally paying the price.”
The FARE Act, which took effect in 2025, generally prohibits landlords from requiring prospective tenants to pay broker fees when the tenant did not hire the broker. Before the law, New York renters were commonly charged broker fees equivalent to roughly 10% to 15% of a year&#8217;s rent. Critics of the law warned that landlords would respond by incorporating some of those costs into monthly rents.
“There’s no free lunch,” said Kenny Lee, a senior economist at StreetEasy. “Landlords will always try to offset the additional cost by passing some of it to the renters as a higher base rent. They are not running a charity.”
The record Manhattan prices also come as Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani pushes a dramatically different approach for part of the city&#8217;s housing market.
Mamdani campaigned on freezing rents for the city&#8217;s roughly one million rent-stabilized apartments, and the Rent Guidelines Board voted 7-1 to approve a rent freeze covering one- and two-year leases. The freeze will apply to qualifying leases beginning October 1. Some argue the looming freeze is already influencing landlord behavior as property owners anticipate being unable to raise rents on stabilized units.
Mamdani served as the state Assembly sponsor of legislation that sought to impose a statewide ban on certain broker fees before becoming mayor. 
Opponents of the rent freeze have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyc-rents-hit-highest-level-in-history-while-mamdani-moves-forward-with-freeze">warned</a> that holding rents steady while landlords face rising operating expenses could discourage investment in rent-stabilized buildings and lead to maintenance issues.
Arpit Gupta, an associate professor of finance at NYU Stern and the sole Rent Guidelines member to vote against the freeze, called the policy “troubling.” 
“Freezing [rent-stabilized buildings’] rents while their expenses remain uncapped is therefore a threat to their long-term financial viability,” Gupta <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mamdani-nyc-rent-freeze-explained-who-qualifies-when-starts-2026-6">said</a>. “Residents might continue to enjoy low rents, but at the cost of being trapped in units that no longer fit their needs, and with few alternatives and steadily deteriorating conditions.”
The freeze applies only to rent-stabilized apartments, leaving tenants searching for market-rate apartments exposed to a rental market that continues to set new records. 
&nbsp;

Manhattan Rents Surge To Historic High As Mamdani’s Rent Freeze Looms

Rent

Rent Freeze

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration is examining whether the federal government has the authority to intervene against New York City Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani&#8217;s controversial pied-à-terre tax. 
“I am looking to see if the Federal Government has any legal right to avert this disaster, before it is too late, for the millions of people who cherish New York and want to see it thrive, as opposed to becoming a filthy, crime ridden, decrepit place of mockery and scorn,” Trump said.  
“The NYC pied-à-terre tax is costing New York City and state a fortune in that the money, eventually to be gotten, is very little compared to the taxes paid by the tens of thousands of people who are fleeing the City, never to return,” he added. 
Trump&#8217;s comments come after a New York state judge temporarily halted the city&#8217;s rollout of the tax Monday amid a lawsuit from three homeowners challenging how the Mamdani administration is implementing it.
Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Wayne Ozzi issued a temporary restraining order blocking the city from enforcing tax notices and requiring the Department of Finance to remove a supplemental property roll published as part of the tax&#8217;s implementation. The Mamdani administration appealed the order hours later, automatically staying Ozzi&#8217;s order and allowing the rollout to continue while the case proceeds.
The tax, championed by Mamdani and authorized by New York state lawmakers with the support of Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, imposes an annual surcharge on high-value New York City homes that are not used as primary residences.
It generally targets second homes with market values exceeding $5 million. It also applies to condominiums and co-ops valued at more than $1 million. 
The controversy intensified after the city sent roughly 17,000 notices to homeowners whose properties officials believed could be subject to the surcharge. Some recipients said their properties were actually their primary residences and therefore should be exempt.
The Department of Finance also published a supplemental property roll containing roughly 960,000 properties. City officials have stressed that the roll includes residential properties that are not necessarily subject to the surcharge and is not a list of nearly one million people who will owe the tax.
The three homeowners suing the city are not challenging the legality of the tax itself. Instead, they argue that the Mamdani administration unlawfully shifted the burden onto homeowners to prove that their properties qualify for an exemption rather than requiring the city to first determine which properties are actually subject to the surcharge.
“The Mayor’s administration screwed up this rollout. It’s been a debacle, and it was in violation of state law,&#8221; Randy Mastro, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403224700112">said</a> Monday. &#8220;The Mayor wanted to grab a quick headline, so he rushed it out and instead he violated the very law that the state passed authorizing him to impose.” 
A hearing in the case is scheduled for August 31.
Mamdani has <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/judge-temporarily-blocks-mamdanis-pied-a-terre-tax-744b0003">promised</a> to &#8220;vigorously defend” the city’s implementation of the tax in court.
A spokesperson for the mayor said Monday that the administration is &#8220;confident in both the pied-à-terre surcharge and the City&#8217;s ability to implement it fairly and effectively.&#8221;
&nbsp;

trump_Mamdani

Trump Eyes Federal Action To Stop Mamdani’s Pied-A-Terre Tax

pied-à-terre tax

President Donald Trump

Zohran Mamdani

The man accused of killing the mother of a former top Trump Middle East adviser is believed to be behind a series of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the days preceding her death. 
Cara Trager was walking home with her husband in Queens, New York, on May 25 when Dawood Faisal sped through two red lights and crashed into multiple vehicles, sending one into the crosswalk and fatally wounding her, authorities say. The incident happened just two days after he allegedly vandalized the kosher Bagels &amp; Co. restaurant for the second time.
The timing has left Trager’s family questioning whether her death could have been prevented if the earlier antisemitic attacks had been addressed. Instead, Faisal is accused of getting behind the wheel in the heavily Jewish neighborhood, doing donuts in the street, and driving twice the speed limit before triggering the fatal chain-reaction crash. 
Trager’s family was already deeply connected to the fight against antisemitism: her son, Eric, was appointed by President Donald Trump as a senior director for Middle East and North Africa on the National Security Council from January to May 2025, where he <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-proposes-bridge-extend-gaza-ceasefire-white-house-says-2025-03-14/">worked closely</a> with Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff on Middle East policy and the war in Gaza.
According to authorities, on May 25 Faisal was driving a 2013 Toyota Prius southbound on Francis Lewis Boulevard at approximately 7:48 p.m. when he surpassed 75 mph in a 35 mph zone and ran at least two red lights.
He first allegedly slammed into a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon traveling through the intersection before striking a Nissan Rogue, sending it into the crosswalk where it hit Trager and her husband, Michael, who had been married for 47 years and were walking home from dinner.
Trager suffered severe head trauma and died four days later. Her husband suffered a shoulder injury, lacerations to his hands, and bruising to his face.
After the collision, Faisal allegedly got out of his vehicle and attempted to flee before picking up a stick to fight off good Samaritans who detained him until police arrived.
Video footage from the scene shows Trager face down on the pavement while her husband kneels down next to her along with debris and cars scattered through the intersection. 
<div id="attachment_1155059" style="width: 699px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1155059" class="size-large wp-image-1155059" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-11-at-11.23.54-AM-689x576.png" alt="" width="689" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-11-at-11.23.54-AM-689x576.png 689w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-11-at-11.23.54-AM-300x251.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-11-at-11.23.54-AM-768x642.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-11-at-11.23.54-AM.png 1094w" sizes=" (max-width: 689px) 100vw, 689px" />@bukhariancommunity via Instagram</div>
Michael recalled the moment he realized his wife had been struck in an interview with The Daily Wire, describing himself as “dazed” and struggling to understand what had happened.
“The first thing I did was I started punching myself to say, ‘Oh, gee, I’m still alive here,’” Michael recalled. “Then I saw that my wife was dead. I couldn’t believe it happened because I didn’t do anything wrong. We were crossing the street, and next thing I know, I’m on the ground with my wife.”
Faisal, 22, was arrested after the incident and indicted in June on second-degree manslaughter, assault, and other charges. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded into custody without bail. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. 
Michael attended Faisal’s arraignment just days after the crash, while Trager was hospitalized and dying from her injuries. 
“I was afraid that my wife was going to officially die when I’m at the arraignment, but I went,” Michael said, adding that Faisal’s family was also present at the proceeding and that his mother repeatedly cried while sitting in the courtroom.
“I&#8217;m thinking to myself, ‘What are you crying for? Are you crying for your son, or are you crying because your son killed my wife? Why are you crying?’&#8221; Michael said.
On July 31, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Faisal had been arraigned on separate hate-crime charges stemming from two prior incidents at Bagels &amp; Co., which openly displays itself as kosher and has Israeli flags in its storefront. The shop is located in the heavily Jewish Fresh Meadows neighborhood, close to the Tragers’ home and the area where Trager was killed.
Prosecutors allege that on May 15 around 6:18 p.m., Faisal knocked over nine metal plant stands outside the business, causing dirt and plants to spill onto the sidewalk, before allegedly picking up dirt and throwing it at the storefront twice.
Eight days later, at approximately 1 a.m. on May 23 — early Saturday morning, when religious Jews observe a day of rest for Shabbat — prosecutors allege Faisal returned to the store and pushed and kicked 11 metal plant stands, causing more dirt and plants to spill onto the sidewalk. He allegedly picked up the stands and emptied their remaining contents onto the sidewalk before attempting to kick over a large clay pot. When he was unable to knock it over, prosecutors say he ripped the plants out of the pot and other containers.
The vandalism was not the first time Bagels &amp; Co. had been targeted over its Israeli flags. In November 2021, a man recorded himself threatening to burn down the store unless employees removed the Israeli flags, prompting condemnation from local officials, reported <a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/the-scroll/articles/scroll-aug-7-intifada-comes-for-queens">Tablet Magazine</a>.
Video of the second alleged vandalism shows Faisal smashing furniture and the pots while wearing what appears to be traditional Muslim garb. Faisal is now being held at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center, where Department of Correction records list his country of “nativity” as Pakistan.
Authorities said that Faisal is not working or in school and that he was not on drugs or drunk during the manslaughter incident, according to Michael.
“As alleged, this defendant repeatedly targeted a Jewish-owned business and destroyed property in a vile act of antisemitism,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
If convicted, Faisal faces up to seven years in prison, according to Katz.
Faisal’s next court appearance is scheduled for September 8. Michael said he has been warned that Faisal could eventually be released on bail, a prospect that has left him fearful for his own safety.
Trager was aware of the bagel shop incidents, having spoken to her daughter Rachel Sales about them just two days before the fatal crash, Sales recounted in a piece for the <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2026/08/06/from-antisemitic-crimes-to-manslaughter/">New York Daily News</a>.
Sales said the subsequent discovery that the same man was accused of both the vandalism and the reckless driving that killed her mother had transformed the family’s grief into anger.
“This has turned our existing nightmare into a greater nightmare, showing us that my mother’s death may have been prevented,” Sales wrote. “The antisemitic vandalism crimes were known and widely publicized. Yet, this hateful dangerous man remained on the loose and soon killed my mother.”
Although authorities are not investigating the crash as a hate crime, Michael believes the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death deserve scrutiny, particularly given the heavily Jewish neighborhood where the crash occurred and Faisal’s alleged attacks on the Jewish business days earlier.
“My contention is that the area itself is very, very Jewish,” Michael told The Daily Wire. “It’s Bukharian, it’s a Russian Jewish area, and most of the people who were eyewitnesses, the people who detained him, were Bukharian Jews.”
Michael said the circumstances made it more likely that the victims would be Jewish, even if he does not believe that proves his wife was specifically targeted.
“If you’re going to do that kind of act in that area, at that time, you’re more than likely, if you’re going to kill somebody, to kill a Jew,” he said.
Trager was a longtime Queens journalist who was active in her Jewish community throughout her life. She wrote for publications including Newsday, the New York Post, Crain’s New York Business, and also produced publications and marketing materials for Jewish organizations including UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Theological Seminary. 
<div id="attachment_1155283" style="width: 1030px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1155283" class="size-large wp-image-1155283" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/IMG_1180-1296x732-1785791421-1020x576.jpeg" alt="" width="1020" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/IMG_1180-1296x732-1785791421-1020x576.jpeg 1020w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/IMG_1180-1296x732-1785791421-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/IMG_1180-1296x732-1785791421-768x434.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/IMG_1180-1296x732-1785791421.jpeg 1296w" sizes=" (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px" />Cara Trager (Courtesy)</div>
Trager served on the board of Solomon Schechter School of Queens, a Jewish day school, and held leadership positions at her synagogue, Etz Hayim at Hollis Hills Bayside. Her husband described her as deeply committed to Israel and Judaism.
New NYPD data show that <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/jews-targeted-in-70-of-all-nyc-hate-crimes-last-month-nypd-data-shows/">Jews were the targets</a> in 70% of confirmed hate crimes reported in New York City in July, despite making up roughly 10% of the city’s population.
Queens has been particularly affected, with a string of unsolved antisemitic incidents in recent months. In early May, four people allegedly spray-painted swastikas and other antisemitic messages on synagogues, Jewish homes, and a car in Flushing and Forest Hills, followed days later by the discovery of nearly a dozen swastikas at two Queens parks on Mother’s Day.
On May 18, Albert Itzkowitz, a 75-year-old former kosher bakery owner and rabbi, was found <a href="https://www.jns.org/news/u-s-news/exclusive-sweetest-kindest-man-family-says-of-orthodox-man-gunned-down-in-broad-daylight-in-nyc">shot to death</a> in Kissena Park. Police have ruled his death a homicide but have not identified a suspect or motive, and his family has urged investigators to consider whether he was targeted because he was Jewish. The NYPD and Itzkowitz’s family have offered a combined $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
The incidents continued into July, when two Orthodox synagogues in Queens were vandalized with feces and motor oil in attacks the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating as potential hate crimes.

Bebas Neue

Man Charged With Killing Mom Of Ex-Trump Adviser Is Linked To Series Of Hate Crimes

antisemitism

Crime

Islam

Judaism

New York

Trump Administraiton

Luigi Mangione’s high-profile murder trial will proceed with an anonymous jury and expanded courtroom access after a judge finalized several key details Tuesday ahead of the September trial.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro ruled that the identities of jurors will be kept from the public during the trial, which is scheduled to begin September 8 and is expected to last roughly six weeks. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/luigi-mangione">Mangione</a>, 28, has pleaded not guilty to eight state charges, including second-degree murder, in the December 4, 2024, shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
The anonymous jury comes as prosecutors warn that Mangione’s sizable and highly vocal supporter base could pressure witnesses and potential jurors. “The media attention surrounding this case — and the efforts of some of the defendant’s supporters both to intimidate witnesses and to interfere with the functioning of the jury — will place extraordinary pressure on witnesses and potential jurors alike,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann wrote in a Monday letter to Carro obtained by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/prosecutors-warn-luigi-mangione-supporters-may-intimidate-witnesses-jurors-murder-trial">Fox News</a>.
Prosecutors had asked the court to limit access to the proceedings and raised concerns that supporters could secretly record proceedings in an overflow room and distribute the footage. Carro nevertheless ordered that an overflow room be made available for members of the media and the public, after Mangione’s attorneys argued that limiting courtroom access would unfairly restrict coverage of the case.
The judge also warned that anyone who takes out a cellphone in either the courtroom or the overflow room will be removed. The decision represents a compromise between the defense’s desire for broad public access and prosecutors’ concerns about security and witness intimidation.
The defense previously requested that the trial be televised, although New York law generally does not permit cameras in the courtroom. Jury selection will also begin September 8, with Carro ordering the prosecution and defense to work together on a questionnaire designed to identify potential jurors who may have biases that could affect their ability to serve.
That process is expected to be particularly contentious given the circumstances surrounding Thompson’s killing and the public reaction to Mangione.
Prosecutors allege Mangione targeted Thompson because of his animus toward the health insurance industry. They say he tracked Thompson’s movements before he allegedly shot him from behind as the executive walked toward the New York Hilton Midtown, where UnitedHealthcare was holding an investor conference. Mangione was arrested days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an employee alerted police.
Mangione’s defense briefly announced in June that it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-defense-strategy-luigi-mangione-is-betting-everything-on">planned</a> to pursue a psychiatric defense before <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/luigi-mangione-defense-abandons-controversial-courtroom-tactic">withdrawing</a> that strategy a day later. The state case is separate from the federal charges Mangione faces in connection with the killing. The Justice Department had previously sought the death penalty in the federal case, but that option was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-says-prosecutors-cant-pursue-death-penalty-against-luigi-mangione?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Federal+Judge+Says+Prosecutors+Can%E2%80%99t+Pursue+Death+Penalty+Against+Luigi+Mangione">removed</a> in January after a federal judge ruled against pursuing a capital prosecution.
Mangione is expected to face trial in the federal case next year. With jury selection now weeks away, Tuesday’s hearing marks one of the final stages before the state trial begins.

Supporters of Luigi Mangione

Luigi Mangione Trial Gets Anonymous Jury Over Fears Of Intimidation

Luigi Mangione Trial Set For Anonymous Jury Amid Intimidation Concerns

assassination

Court

criminal

criminal investigation

Criminal Justice

Gun Violence

Healthcare

Luigi Mangione

Murder

Political Violence

trial

United Healthcare

UnitedHealthcare

A Staten Island judge temporarily blocked the rollout of New York City Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s controversial pied-à-terre tax on Monday. 
Judge Wayne Ozzi <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/08/10/us-news/ny-judge-approves-temporary-pause-of-mamdanis-pied-a-terre-tax-rollout/">issued</a> a temporary restraining order requiring the city to remove its published tax roll, which contains more than 900,000 properties, and barring officials from taking further action on approximately 17,000 warning notices already sent to property owners. The order also pauses related deadlines while a lawsuit challenging the tax&#8217;s implementation moves forward.
The surcharge applies to certain New York City properties that are not used as primary residences worth at least $5 million and condominiums and co-ops valued at $1 million or more.
The homeowners behind the lawsuit are not challenging the tax itself. Instead, they argue that the city’s Department of Finance is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/new-york-city-homeowners-sue-over-mamdanis-pied-a-terre-tax-rollout-1795d9a5">improperly</a> placing the burden on property owners to prove they do not owe the tax rather than requiring city officials to determine which properties are subject to it. The lawsuit claims the city placed “homeowners in an untenable position in the dead of summer.”
The lawsuit was brought by three homeowners, Rachel O’Brien, Carmine Morano, and Simon Hedley, who say they were forced to gather documents proving their properties are their primary residences.
“The rollout of this surcharge is a debacle,” said Randy Mastro, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. 
The city also published a searchable tax roll containing information on roughly 900,000 properties, prompting privacy complaints from homeowners. The Department of Finance has said that the vast majority of properties on the roll are not subject to the surcharge and that only roughly 17,000 property owners who received warning letters are potentially subject to it.
Mamdani <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/10/us/nyc-pied-a-terre-tax-lawsuit">said</a> Monday that his administration would “vigorously defend” the city’s implementation of the tax in court. His administration has maintained that the surcharge is legal and can be implemented fairly.
When Mamdani first promoted the tax, he released a controversial video featuring him outside the home of Citadel CEO Ken Griffin. 
Griffin responded by saying Citadel would add more jobs in Florida following what he called Mamdani&#8217;s “creepy” video. 
“We will add far more jobs in Miami over the next decade as an immediate and direct consequence of the mayor’s poor decision here with respect to his posting of that video,” Griffin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mamdani-doxxes-his-own-constituents-days-after-terror-attack">said</a>. 
The next hearing in the homeowners&#8217; lawsuit is scheduled for August 31.  
&nbsp;

Mayor Mamdani And Governor Hochul Make FIFA World Cup Announcement

Judge Puts Mamdani’s Pied-à-Terre Tax On Ice

Democratic socialists

Ken Griffin

Former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour went out of her way to get a pardon for fashion designer John Galliano following an antisemitic rant that should have seen him shunned from the industry forever.
Wintour, who is a trustee for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, met with Jewish leaders in an attempt to justify making Galliano the 2027 honoree of the Met Gala next spring. She put in an extraordinary amount of effort to clear the designer’s name, which has led to questions of whether the same effort would be put forth for someone who had used racist or “anti-transgender” slurs.
Galliano rose to fame as the head designer for Dior from 1996 until 2011. That came crashing down following the release of a video of his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUKGqhlRXH0#ddg-play">rant</a>, showing Galliano hurl antisemitic slurs at customers in a Paris cafe. During the tirade, he praised Hitler and told other cafe patrons that their ancestors should have been gassed.
At the time, he blamed drug and alcohol addictions for his outburst. He was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-14833259">fired from Dior</a> and fined, and his image was ruined.
Last week, however, The New York Times published a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/style/met-gala-costume-institute-john-galliano.html">report</a> stating that Wintour, Galliano, and Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of the Met’s Costume Institute, have been meeting with “influential rabbis and Jewish leaders” over the past year. Their goal was “to get their thoughts on the potential issues with next year’s planned fashion extravaganza — a show dedicated to Galliano’s work — and perhaps their blessing for it.”
Per the Times, the Jewish leaders have decided to accept Galliano’s apology and give their approval to have him be the 2027 Met Gala honoree. 
“The fear clearly was the show could be met with a lot of resistance — not just skepticism, but a feeling of it’s wrong,” Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism in North America, said. Rabbi Jacobs said Galliano’s overall demeanor is part of what convinced him. 
“The word I come back to is ‘sincerity,’” he said. “[Galliano] was open. He looked right at us and spoke in a clear way, not as if he had memorized talking points.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a comment to the Times: “We believe John Galliano has genuinely worked through the issues that led to his antisemitic outburst years ago in Paris, and we have long since accepted his apology. His efforts to repair the damage his words caused and to learn from that incident should be applauded.”
Even if Wintour is trying to push negative press and reinstate Galliano to his former glory, not everyone is on board. The Times just published an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/opinion/met-gala-galliano-antisemitism.html">op-ed</a> by Dana Thomas, author of the book “Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano.” She argued that choosing Galliano as the honoree was a “very bad mistake.”
“The Met is attempting to tackle questions regarding cultural memory, accountability, rehabilitation and reputation. In the process, it is asserting the ability of powerful cultural institutions to decide when achievements of talent outweigh failures of morality,” she wrote. 
Thomas noted that the drunken tirade was not a one-time event, and said Galliano was known for saying terrible things for the entirety of his career.

Galliano

Notorious Antisemite To Be Honored By Met Gala After Jewish Leaders Sign Off

Fashion

Jewish

This piece is part of MI x DW, a collaboration that brings Daily Wire readers exclusive commentary and research from the Manhattan Institute’s world-class team of scholars.
***
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made a consequential choice about who should bear the risks on New York’s streets.
<a href="https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/03/mayor-mamdani-announces-end-to-criminal-enforcement-for-minor-tr">Since March 27</a>, the NYPD has stopped issuing criminal-court summonses to cyclists and e-bike riders for low-level traffic offenses. Under the policy begun by former Mayor Eric Adams, a rider who ran a red light, ignored a stop sign, traveled against traffic, or disobeyed a traffic-control device could be ordered to appear in Criminal Court. Under Mamdani, riders once again receive ordinary Traffic Violations Bureau tickets.
That may sound like a technical change in paperwork. It is not.
The civil-ticket system has leverage over motorists because drivers have licenses, registrations, and plates. Their violations follow them. They can receive points, lose their licenses, and be identified as repeat offenders.
Legal e-bikes <a href="https://dmv.ny.gov/registration/electric-scooters-and-bicycles-and-other-unregistered-vehicles">carry none</a> of those identifiers. A rider may receive a fine, but there is no plate attached to the vehicle and often no operating license to suspend. Mamdani therefore eliminated the city’s strongest available consequence without first creating an equally credible system of identification and escalating penalties.
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He did so while New York was confronting growing micromobility risks. And he justified the decision primarily by emphasizing the burden enforcement places on riders rather than the safety and freedom of everyone sharing the streets.
That is the problem — and the larger lesson. Progressive officials increasingly treat enforcement itself as the central injustice. The interests of pedestrians, parents, seniors, responsible cyclists, and law-abiding drivers become secondary. Mamdani’s e-bike rollback is that governing instinct in miniature: consequences disappear today; the promised alternative arrives sometime tomorrow.
The timing could hardly be worse. <a href="https://www.amny.com/nyc-transit/deaths-two-wheeled-devices-increase-in-nyc/">By April 19</a>, 13 people had died in crashes involving motorized two-wheelers, up from seven over the same period last year — an 86% increase. <a href="https://home4.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/traffic_data/traffic-statistics/ts-en-us-Citywide.pdf">By July 26</a>, the toll had reached 39, compared with 24 a year earlier — a 63% increase.
Those figures require care. They include riders killed in crashes, not simply pedestrians killed by riders, and they combine e-bikes with scooters, mopeds, motorcycles, and off-road devices.
They also do not prove that Mamdani caused this year’s increase, but they can certainly make it worse. Much of the early rise preceded or closely followed his policy. But they show that New York already had a visible safety problem when Mamdani chose to weaken deterrence.
The legal nuance matters, too. A traffic infraction <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VAT/155">is not a crime</a> under New York law. A criminal-court summons routes the case through the Criminal Court, requires an appearance, and can result in a warrant if the recipient skips court. What he removed was the court-backed consequence the NYPD had been using for dangerous everyday violations.
Mamdani thinks that is equal treatment. Drivers usually receive civil tickets for comparable violations, he argues, so cyclists and delivery workers should receive the same.
But equal treatment requires equal accountability. Giving two people identical pieces of paper is not equality when one ticket is backed by a license, registration, plate, and driving record while the other is not.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the old civil-ticket system <a href="https://citymeetings.nyc/meetings/new-york-city-council/2025-05-29-1000-am-committee-on-public-safety/chapter/commissioner-tisch-explains-e-bike-enforcement-policy/">“virtually meaningless”</a> for precisely that reason. Mamdani did not close the accountability gap. He changed the ticket&#8217;s color and declared the systems equal.
The latest data demand vigilance, not hysteria. Through July 26, <a href="https://home4.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/traffic_data/traffic-statistics/ts-en-us-Citywide.pdf">reported</a> e-bike rider injuries were up about 31% year over year, from 438 to 572. E-bike fatalities rose from six to nine. Stand-up scooter and motorcycle deaths also increased, while moped deaths declined. Overall traffic deaths were flat, and pedestrian deaths were down.
A <a href="https://nyulangone.org/news/e-bike-and-scooter-crashes-are-leading-more-brain-injuries">2026 study</a> examined 914 bicycle- and scooter-injury patients. Roughly one-third suffered traumatic brain injuries, more than two-thirds were admitted, and about 30% required intensive care.
New York does not need indiscriminate punishment. It needs order: civil penalties for first-time minor offenses, reliable rider and vehicle identification, escalating consequences for repeat violations, targeted court enforcement for dangerous or chronic conduct, and aggressive seizures of illegal high-speed devices.
That enforcement should be paired with protected infrastructure, platform accountability, worker training, safeguards against discriminatory stops, and public data that separates e-bikes from mopeds, motorcycles, and scooters.
Compassion for delivery workers and traffic enforcement are not competing values. Compassion without accountability is indulgence — and ordinary New Yorkers absorb the cost.
Public safety is not an ideological inconvenience. It is the first duty of city government. Mamdani should start treating it that way.
***
Santiago Vidal Calvo is a Cities policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute.

NYC Fire Commissioner Called for More E-Bike Battery Regulations

Mamdani’s E-Bike Rollback Puts Ideology Ahead Of Safety

E-bikes

Jessica Tisch

MI x DW

New York City&#8217;s Democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani has dismissed the entire advisory board of the Mayor’s Fund, removing a roster of business executives who helped raise private money for city projects.
The Mayor&#8217;s Fund to Advance New York City is a nonprofit that pulls in private-sector donations to support city initiatives. Mamdani became the first mayor in at least three administrations to dissolve the board of advisers in its entirety, saying that he planned to rebuild from the ground up.
&#8220;I commend you for your dedication and the benefit you have brought to our City as you conclude your tenure on the Mayor’s Fund Board of Advisors,&#8221; Mamdani&#8217;s letter, obtained by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-03/mamdani-dismisses-business-leaders-advising-nyc-s-mayor-s-fund?taid=6a7119f2fbc22200010262af&amp;utm_campaign=trueanthem&amp;utm_content=business&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter">Bloomberg News</a>, read in part.
The list of prominent business leaders ousted from their roles, as <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/08/04/us-news/socialist-mamdani-launches-new-war-on-nyc-business-leaders-kicking-them-off-mayors-fund-that-backs-city-programs/">reported</a> by The New York Post, includes Richard Born, owner of BD Hotels; Jeffrey Gural, chairman of GFP Real Estate; Alex Katz, senior managing director at Blackstone Inc.; Edward Skyler, Citigroup Inc.’s head of enterprise services and public affairs; and James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York.
Economics professor Isabella Weber praised the move, saying it reduced the influence of business interests over city government.
&#8220;One of the beautiful things about Mamdani’s renewal of NYC government is that it shows how deeply business interests are usually baked into state capacity,&#8221; Weber wrote. &#8220;Why should private equity, banks and real estate interests advise a mayor on what to spend?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
One of the beautiful things about Mamdani’s renewal of NYC government is that it shows how deeply business interests are usually baked into state capacity. 
Why should private equity, banks and real estate interests advise a mayor on what to spend? <a href="https://t.co/Mnr75JlglY">pic.twitter.com/Mnr75JlglY</a>
— Isabella M Weber (@IsabellaMWeber) <a href="https://x.com/IsabellaMWeber/status/2084575037240054001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
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But Bloomberg Philanthropies head James Anderson countered that the advisory board&#8217;s role was to drum up charitable donations, not to decide how those donations were spent.
&#8220;This is a mischaracterization,&#8221; Anderson wrote. &#8220;The Mayor&#8217;s Fund is designed to bring philanthropic resources to public priorities. Its advisory board has historically helped mobilize those resources — not determine public spending. Remaking the board is the mayor&#8217;s prerogative.&#8221;
&#8220;Treating public-private collaboration as evidence of capture may be red meat for the base, but it&#8217;s a poor theory of urban governance,&#8221; he added.
Mamdani is expected to fill the positions for his new board later this year. Mamdani senior advisor Dora Pekec told The New York Post that the administration is &#8220;reimagining how philanthropy can augment, but not replace, public dollars and public goods, and we are eager to share more about our new board of advisors later this year.&#8221;

Mayor Mamdani Commemorates America’s 250th Anniversary

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Business

Democratic Socialism

Politics

Socialism

A lead actor who stepped down from his principal role in a Broadway show earlier this week has now apologized for comments he made criticizing the transgender movement.
Producers for the Broadway show &#8220;Hadestown&#8221; announced on Sunday that Geno Segers would no longer be stepping into the lead role as “Hades” in the popular show on September 1.
“The producers of ‘Hadestown’ and Geno Segers have mutually agreed that Mr. Segers will no longer join the Broadway production. Additional casting will be announced shortly,” the statement said. While the production heads gave no specific reason at the time, the move coincided with resurfaced comments Segers made about trans people and pronoun use going viral online.
Clips of Segers&#8217; comments were shared by the industry publication OnStage Blog, as The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/arts/hadestown-geno-segers-transgender-departs.html">reported</a>, and originated on Segers’ YouTube page.
One clip shows Segers saying, “I’m not against anyone living out their lives the way they want, but I am against their rights superseding the rights of other people. That’s a little bit foul.”
“I don’t see transgender people becoming oppressed or being oppressed,” he continued.
The actor also railed against preferred pronouns, saying, “If you asked me what my preferred pronouns are and it’s not obvious to you that I’m a he/him, that I’m good with he/him, surely you don’t need any help. I’m not wearing a dress.”
As so many have done before, Segers has now issued a groveling apology for holding non-approved opinions about transgenderism.
“I wish to extend my most sincere apologies to everyone impacted by my words,” Segers wrote in a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Dbl74QpCBTT/">statement</a>. “While I never intended to inflict harm, I recognize that the impact of my statements is what matters most.”
“I am fully committed to listening, educating myself, and elevating my standards. I will work tirelessly to earn the opportunity to make things right.”
Segers went on to apologize to everyone involved in “Hadestown,” writing that he was sorry “for the stress my actions have brought to this production.&#8221; He added, &#8220;I accept full responsibility for my words and acknowledge the necessity of immediate accountability.&#8221;
The actor concluded his statement by saying, “I extend my wholehearted support to the cast, crew, and my replacement. I wish you all tremendous success during your run. I have complete confidence that each of you will be phenomenal.”

Geno Segers

Broadway Actor Loses Lead Role After Transgender Comments Resurface

Broadway

Cancel Culture

Entertainment

Pronouns

Transgender

Mamdani’s Grocery Plan Takes Shape In Economic Policy Shift

The Hidden Reasons Grocery Prices Are Still Rising

Communism

Economics

Economy

grocery prices

grocery stores

Leftists

Matt Walsh

A far-left activist group supporting accused UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione is urging supporters to pursue a controversial legal strategy ahead of his upcoming murder trial: jury nullification.
The December 4 Legal Committee, named after the day prosecutors say Mangione fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has been <a href="https://x.com/d4legalcomm?lang=en">coordinating</a> fundraisers, raising roughly $1.5 million for Mangione&#8217;s legal defense while organizing protests and promoting jury nullification in the weeks leading up to trial. 
Jury nullification occurs when jurors vote to acquit a defendant despite believing the prosecution proved the defendant violated the law, because they believe a conviction would produce an unjust result. Although juries have the power to nullify, judges do not instruct jurors on the practice, and attorneys are generally prohibited from encouraging it in court. 
The tactic has surfaced at several points throughout American history, including in some cases involving slavery and prosecutions of Vietnam War draft dodgers.
The Fifth Amendment <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-5/">prevents</a> criminals from being subjected to double jeopardy, or being convicted twice for the same crime. The Amendment enshrines jury nullification by preventing prosecutors from receiving a retrial
Jury nullification has been used in the antebellum Civil War North to free slaves that were trying to be taken back to the South, and also by juries in the 70s who decided to acquit young Americans from dodging the Vietnam draft.
The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/31/us-news/luigi-mangione-could-walk-free-and-a-radical-organization-is-pushing-for-it/">reported</a> that two activists were arrested after distributing jury nullification pamphlets outside a Denver courthouse, although the Colorado Supreme Court later ruled in their favor.
New York criminal defense attorney Kenneth Belkin warned that efforts to promote jury nullification risk politicizing the justice system. 
“You don’t want prosecutions based on politics. You don’t want juries acting based on politics. You want them pursuing the truth,” Belkin <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/luigi-mangione-not-guilty-acquit-c9rnsq9xw">told</a> The Times.
Belkin said finding an impartial jury in New York City could prove difficult given Mangione&#8217;s support among some left-wing activists. 
“You have a juror pool in New York City that is particularly politically inflamed. It’s a very partisan city, and I think Luigi Mangione has a lot of support in New York City, despite the fact that he’s accused of an egregious murder,” Belkin said.  
“I think that’s concerning because if you have a large amount of people that are supporting a [suspected] murderer’s political stance in committing a murder, that raises a real possibility that you could get some jurors on that jury that may not convict, no matter what the evidence says.”
Sonali Chakravarti, a professor of government at Wesleyan University, said jury nullification gives “a jury to have true freedom to render the outcome that they think is the most just under the circumstances.” 
But she cautioned that “taken to an extreme, nullification would completely cause a breakdown of the legal system.”
Mangione is charged with fatally shooting Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel in December 2024 in what prosecutors say was a politically motivated killing. The case has attracted an unusual following, with supporters portraying Mangione as a symbol of frustration with the U.S. healthcare system.
His trial is scheduled to begin on September 8.

US-JUSTICE-CRIME-MANGIONE

Left-Wing Activists Have A Plan To Free Luigi Mangione

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