A New York man was fatally shot Monday afternoon after confronting a teenager who was talking loudly on a cell phone aboard a city bus in the Bronx, police said. 
Jonathan Pettigrew, 41, was riding a Bx36 bus around 2:30 p.m. near East Tremont Avenue and White Plains Road when he confronted the teen about the volume of his phone conversation. The teen then pulled a handgun and shot Pettigrew in the abdomen, according to authorities.
First responders rushed Pettigrew to Jacobi Medical Center, where he later died.
Police said the suspect fled the scene and remains at large.
An employee at the nearby Family Mexican Deli told Gothamist that surveillance video appeared to show the gunman fleeing south on White Plains Road. Authorities said the suspect was last seen wearing a white T-shirt.
“ Right now it&#8217;s just hard for me to believe what&#8217;s going on because I&#8217;m really, like, in a state of shock,” Pettigrew’s older brother, Avery Pettigrew, <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/police-seek-suspect-in-killing-of-father-of-7-on-an-mta-bus-in-the-bronx">told</a> Gothamist. 
He said his brother struggled with anxiety and was particularly sensitive to loud noise.
“ He got this anxiety where he, like me, we can&#8217;t be around a lot of noise,” Pettigrew said. “I guess the person that was on the phone was being very disrespectful and loud, and it was bothering him.”
Pettigrew worked in catering and was the father of seven children. He was likely on his way to pick up his youngest daughter from school when he was shot, two of his aunts <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/nyregion/bronx-bus-fatal-shooting.html">told</a> The New York Times.
 “This is his routine: He drops her off at school, he goes to work, he gets off work, he picks her up,” his aunt, Sandra Ferguson, said. “I just can’t believe this.”
“He took real good care of that little girl,” another aunt, Sabrina Vereen, said.

Philadelphia

Dad Of Seven Asked A Teen To Quiet Down. What Happened Next Was Deadly.

bus stop

cell phones

Crime

New York

New York City

Shooting

U.S.

The head of New York’s casino union is living like a high roller while his lieutenants allegedly raked in luxury goods.
New York Hotel Gaming and Trades Council President Rich Maroko made $923,053 in 2024, according to publicly available financial disclosures reviewed by the <a href="https://richierichmaroko.com/meet-richie-rich-maroko/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Center For Union Facts. </a>That near-million-dollar salary includes $313,386 in base salary, $380,108 things like retirement benefits, and $229,559 from other organizations.
Under Maroko’s leadership, union higher ups have been accused of rampant corruption. A group of New York City hotel owners last month retained a private investigator to probe a whistleblower’s claim that the union was shot through with “corruption, misconduct and malfeasance.”
“The whistleblower alleges union officials received free gifts of liquor, gourmet food and electronics including an Xbox and PlayStation from hotel-industry executives,” Crain’s New York Business <a href="https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/commercial/cny-hotel-owners-investigate-whistblower-claims-20260521/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. “The letter further alleges that union officials defrauded UNITE HERE Local 6, a Midtown-based chapter of the union, out of nearly $3 million by paying below-market rent for Eighth Avenue office space it owned.”
The New York Hotel Gaming and Trades Council is the latest union to come under fire for profligate spending and alleged corruption. In 2024, the International Longshoremen’s Association was slammed for a strike that shut down ports up and down the East Coast. Association president Harold Daggett emerged as a villain in that saga, thanks to his million-dollar salary, luxury yacht, contributions to Democrats, and alleged mafia ties, as The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dock-workers-sound-off-as-they-hit-picket-lines-in-massive-strike?author=Mairead+Elordi&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Dock+Workers+Sound+Off+As+They+Hit+Picket+Lines+In+Massive+Strike" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> at the time.
The Center For Union Facts is calling attention to Maroko’s pay raise as unions across the country use the World Cup to hike labor costs. That includes hotel workers in <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/local-business/seattle-hotel-workers-authorize-strike-ahead-of-the-fifa-world-cup/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Seattle</a> and <a href="https://peoplesworld.org/article/union-uses-world-cup-as-leverage-vs-ice-and-for-strike-votes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia</a>, as well as stadium workers in <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/06/08/nx-s1-5849249/sofi-stadium-workers-could-go-on-strike-ahead-of-first-world-cup-match-in-los-angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles.</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-world-cup-is-supposed-to-boost-the-economy-the-reality-looks-different" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MI X DW: BIGGEST EVENT ON EARTH COMES WITH A $150 GUT PUNCH</a>
“Hotel workers may believe they’re receiving a World Cup windfall,” said Charlyce Bozzello, the group’s communications director. “But from where we sit, Maroko is the one hitting the jackpot,”
“Union members deserve transparency about the lucrative compensation package they’re being asked to fund.”
The union recently enjoyed some positive press following its announcement of a massive new pay package for members. But even with that jump, members still fall far behind the brass. Workers made $38.87 per hour on average in 2024, about 570% less than Maroko.

President of HTC Rich Maroko attends rally with mayor Eric

New York Casino Union Leaders Hit The Jackpot While Workers Bust

gambling

Unions

World Cup

New York City converted the city council chambers to a drag runway and stage to kick off Pride Month.
Good Shepherd Services, an organization that <a href="https://goodshepherds.org">claims</a> to be &#8220;guided by social and racial justice,&#8221; shared video of staff members voguing — a kind of dance that originated in LGBTQ circles — during the council&#8217;s first &#8220;Pride Ball.&#8217;
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The LGBTQIA+ Caucus hosted the event, dubbed the city&#8217;s first Pride Ball, with Councilmembers Chi Ossé of Brooklyn and Justin Sanchez of the Bronx presiding over the raucous celebrations. 
Performers in drag sauntered and sashayed around the chambers to applause, cheers, and loud catcalls.
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Meanwhile, at NYC City Hall <a href="https://t.co/XJVQEjnd8G">pic.twitter.com/XJVQEjnd8G</a>
— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) <a href="https://x.com/KarluskaP/status/2062489337715925470?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The City Council also released several official photos from the event.
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TENS ACROSS THE BOARD at last night’s Council Pride celebration!
The Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus hosted the Council’s first ever Pride Ball, turning the people’s chambers into a runway.
Thanks to all of the fierce performers and proud New Yorkers who joined us in strutting into… <a href="https://t.co/0PX5HqCgsE">pic.twitter.com/0PX5HqCgsE</a>
— New York City Council (@NYCCouncil) <a href="https://x.com/NYCCouncil/status/2062213939367125460?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The members of New York City&#8217;s Council appear to be picking up where Democratic socialist Mayor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mamdani-says-one-month-isnt-long-enough-to-celebrate-queer-and-trans-new-yorkers">Zohran Mamdani</a> left off when he claimed that one month was not long enough to celebrate all of the queer and trans-identifying people of New York.
&#8220;It would take far more than a month to honor the contributions of queer and transgender New Yorkers. From the Cercle Hermaphroditos in 1895, the first trans advocacy group in the United States, to the drag balls of the Harlem Renaissance, to the Stonewall uprising, to the Lesbian Herstory Archives, to ACT UP!, founded in 1987 as queer people fought for their lives while the Reagan administration looked away, New York City&#8217;s history has long been shaped by queer and trans New Yorkers,&#8221; Mamdani said in an X post on June 1. &#8220;To all our queer and trans neighbors: you deserve a City where you can afford to live safely, openly, and joyfully.&#8221;

Zohran Mamdani who is likely to become next mayor of the

SEE IT: New York City Council Turns Chamber Into Drag Runway For ‘Pride Ball’

New York City Council Turns Chamber Into Drag Runway For PRIDE

LGBTQ

Pride Month

Zohran Mamdani

Celebrating Pride Month, New York City Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani shared an article claiming there has been an uptick in &#8220;violent killings&#8221; of people who identify as transgender. However, a review by The Daily Wire found that none of the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DYNjI44HDlJ/?img_index=7">deaths</a> cited in the article have been classified as anti-trans hate crimes by law enforcement agencies investigating the cases.
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Discrimination based on gender identity or expression is illegal in New York City.
Trans New Yorkers are protected by law. Our City will protect your rights, defend your humanity and stand beside you without hesitation. <a href="https://t.co/Ptoy3nAKz4">https://t.co/Ptoy3nAKz4</a>
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) <a href="https://x.com/NYCMayor/status/2061540194260558171?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
The article was published by Them, which describes itself as &#8220;the award-winning authority on what LGBTQ+ means today — and tomorrow.&#8221; It claims to cite seven transgender-identifying victims killed this year, but both the report and its underlying source identify only six individuals.
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<div id="attachment_1106345" style="width: 550px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1106345" class="wp-image-1106345" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-01-at-6.55.04-PM.png" alt="" width="540" height="221" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-01-at-6.55.04-PM.png 1416w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-01-at-6.55.04-PM-300x123.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-01-at-6.55.04-PM-1024x419.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-01-at-6.55.04-PM-768x315.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px" />Them</div>
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  <iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; border: 0; height: auto;" title="DW Player" src="https://public.dailywire.com/preroll-player/embed.html?playback-id=003LuSww202r6TjErbOEa9JtcWGMlxYwVG&amp;ad-tag-url=https%3A%2F%2Fpubads.g.doubleclick.net%2Fgampad%2Fads%3Fiu%3D%2F61914415%2Fdw.video.article%26description_url%3Ddailywire.com%26url%3D%26tfcd%3D0%26npa%3D0%26sz%3D640x480%26min_ad_duration%3D5000%26max_ad_duration%3D60000%26gdfp_req%3D1%26unviewed_position_start%3D1%26vpos%3Dpreroll%26output%3Dvast%26plcmt%3D1%26env%3Dvp%26vpa%3Dclick%26vpmute%3D0%26impl%3Ds%26correlator%3D%5Bcachebuster%5D" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Several of the cases cited involved domestic violence or personal disputes rather than alleged anti-trans attacks.
The first victim named is Eryka Caldwell. According to the outlet&#8217;s own previous reporting, Caldwell was allegedly stabbed to death by his boyfriend, 38-year-old Jonathan Fernandez. Caldwell&#8217;s sister said he had previously sought refuge from Fernandez in domestic violence shelters.
Even organizers of a vigil for Caldwell acknowledged the case was not viewed as anti-trans violence. The activist who spoke at the vigil said, “When we were organizing for tonight’s vigil, a few people asked me why the trans community would rally for Eryka, since she was a victim of domestic violence, not anti-trans violence.” 
Davonta Curtis was allegedly beaten to death by his boyfriend. Prosecutors say the suspect later stole Curtis&#8217;s car, phone, and money. Court records reportedly show the suspect searched phrases including &#8220;how to kill someone with a hammer&#8221; and &#8220;if a person gets hit in the head with a hammer while sleeping, what happens.&#8221;
Other cases were investigated as homicides without hate-crime designations.
Aleanna Royal Belcher was found dead in a homeless shelter stairwell with a stab wound to his abdomen. After completing their investigation, police said they did not believe the killing was a hate crime. 
Lucas Redbeard Knapp was shot after reportedly intervening in a confrontation between two parties. Law enforcement investigated the death as a homicide, not a hate crime.
Another individual cited in the article, Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, was <a href="https://www.12onyourside.com/2026/03/26/justice-shyyell-loved-ones-popular-drag-performer-speak-out-petersburg-police-investigate-murder/">found</a> shot to death inside a home. Public reporting contains conflicting descriptions regarding whether Sanchez-McCray even identified as transgender or was a gay man who performed in drag. Authorities have not announced a motive, and the investigation remains ongoing. 
Dannielle Spillman died in a hit-and-run incident after a dispute involving a vehicle. Authorities have also not classified the case as a hate crime, just like the other five killings in the article.

New York City Pride March Winds Through Manhattan

Mamdani Pushes One Of The Left’s Favorite Hoaxes

LGBT

Transgender

Less than a day into &#8220;Pride Month,&#8221; Mayor Zohran Mamdani claimed 29 more days won’t be enough to celebrate queer and trans-identifying New Yorkers.
“It would take far more than a month to honor the contributions of queer and transgender New Yorkers,” Mamdani wrote Monday in an X post, and listed four related examples including the drag balls of the Harlem Renaissance, a <a href="https://www.history.com/articles/drag-balls-house-ballroom-voguing">drag beauty pageant</a>, to celebrate.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It would take far more than a month to honor the contributions of queer and transgender New Yorkers.
From the Cercle Hermaphroditos in 1895, the first trans advocacy group in the United States, to the drag balls of the Harlem Renaissance, to the Stonewall uprising, to the…
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) <a href="https://x.com/NYCMayor/status/2061434503264895375?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
Even before &#8220;Pride Month&#8221; started, the Mamdani administration had already made LGBTQ efforts a focal point of the mayor&#8217;s term. 
In March, Mamdani created the Mayor&#8217;s Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs and appointed a trans-identifying man who goes by Taylor Brown to oversee the department’s leadership. 
The mayor’s office declined to tell The Daily Wire the city’s budget for the new office. Last year, the New York City Council <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I689DsoiPB0">revealed</a> it had secured the highest funding yet to support “transgender and expansive New Yorkers.” 
In April, Mamdani took on the Trump administration after it removed the Pride flag on Stonewall National Monument&#8217;s federal flagpole. 
Mamdani immediately condemned the action, saying, “I am outraged by the removal of the Rainbow Pride Flag from Stonewall National Monument. New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history.”
A coalition of LGBTQ organizations sued the Trump administration. Both parties ended up <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-admin-mamdani-clash-over-stonewall-monument-reaches-final-decision">settling</a>, and the Trump administration agreed to restore the Pride flag to Stonewall National Monument within seven days. 
<iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; border: 0; height: auto;" title="DW Player" src="https://public.dailywire.com/preroll-player/embed.html?playback-id=NJImACtyd8qr901jiXzUj00P9jus01iozN02&amp;ad-tag-url=https%3A%2F%2Fpubads.g.doubleclick.net%2Fgampad%2Fads%3Fiu%3D%2F61914415%2Fdw.video.article%26description_url%3Ddailywire.com%26url%3D%26tfcd%3D0%26npa%3D0%26sz%3D640x480%26min_ad_duration%3D5000%26max_ad_duration%3D60000%26gdfp_req%3D1%26unviewed_position_start%3D1%26vpos%3Dpreroll%26output%3Dvast%26plcmt%3D1%26env%3Dvp%26vpa%3Dclick%26vpmute%3D0%26impl%3Ds%26correlator%3D%5Bcachebuster%5D" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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On the campaign trail and in his preliminary budget, Mamdani pledged $65 million for trans medical programs after the Trump Administration <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-trump-administration-seeks-to-cut-off-access-to-transgender-health-care-for-u-s-children">blocked</a> hospitals and providers from performing transition-related medical treatments for minors from participating in Medicaid programs. 
The Mamdani administration has not yet revealed whether the city will produce funds for the promised $65 million for trans healthcare. 
New York City is expected to remain one of the nation&#8217;s most prominent hubs for &#8220;Pride Month&#8221; celebrations, even as LGBTQ organizations report a significant decline in corporate sponsorships compared with previous years.
Jordan Braxton, co-president of the United States Association of Prides, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/05/30/nx-s1-5805854/pride-parade-struggle-corporate-sponsorships">said</a> most pride celebrations have reported declines in funding.
This year is quickly shaping up to be an even less celebrated pride month than 2025 and looks completely different from the Biden era, when pride flags were hung from the White House balcony. Since returning to office, the Trump administration states that the government now recognizes only two genders — male and female — and has pressured the states to follow suit, especially in men and women&#8217;s sports.

Mamdani Says One Month Isn’t Long Enough To Celebrate Queer And Trans New Yorkers

An AI startup is offering free home cleaning services for New York City residents in an effort to train their future robot workforce.
Social media skeptics were quick to point out the privacy concerns that would inevitably arise from allowing cameras to capture every inch of a client’s living space. But for many commenters, the deal was too good to pass up. 
Shift announced the offer on social media Thursday, explaining that the insights it will gain from offering free cleanings will more than pay for how much they spend to get it.
“Here&#8217;s how it works. Book a shift cleaning. A vetted shift operator comes to your home wearing one of our devices. They clean. They leave. You pay nothing,” the post says.
“In exchange, we record the cleaning. Robotics is being built on data about how people do daily tasks, and the value of that recording is what funds the service. Anything personal in it is anonymized before the recording is processed.”
The X post went on to mention that this service is just the beginning. “By now, you have heard about the shift to AI more times than you can count. About the shift toward you, the part where you actually feel it, you have heard almost nothing. Shift is what starts to make it concrete, in specific cities, with specific services.” 
“Today, cleaning in New York. Soon, handymen, repairs, and errands,” the post concluded.
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Today, we&#8217;re launching shift. We&#8217;re starting by cleaning your apartment in New York City, for free.
Here&#8217;s how it works. Book a shift cleaning. A vetted shift operator comes to your home wearing one of our devices. They clean. They leave. You pay nothing.
In exchange, we record… <a href="https://t.co/oBrCXcEz5G">pic.twitter.com/oBrCXcEz5G</a>
— shift (@joinshiftX) <a href="https://x.com/joinshiftX/status/2060044783519735987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Every home cleaned today lays the groundwork for a home that cleans itself tomorrow,” the company says in the video. 
A promotional video shows a cleaner washing windows, mopping and vacuuming floors, scrubbing dishes, and wiping down counters. He&#8217;s clad in a white uniform and a baseball cap with an obvious camera mounted on the front of it. 
According to Shift’s co-CEO and co-founder Bercan Kilic, this “magic hat” records the work with a hidden camera that documents their every move.
On its <a href="https://www.shiftapp.nyc/">website</a>, Shift promises that “privacy is fully protected,” with information such as names, faces, or personal information from screens and ID cards blurred before being used for AI training. The company also claims the data “is never shared publicly and is never used for advertising.” 
The video has more than 3 million views as of Friday. While many commenters said they want to sign up for the free cleans, others were more cautious.
“Nothing is free. People are being taken advantage of,” one person <a href="https://x.com/Francis_Watts/status/2060324058424864966">wrote</a>. “You should be paying them. Their data is more valuable than that, and you know it. Unscrupulous corrupt AI corporations like yours are evil.”
“This is so freakin’ creepy. Don’t people understand that nothing is free?” another person agreed.
“If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product,” a third person <a href="https://x.com/database_dealer/status/2060332712653627832">observed</a>.

Robot’s hand cleaning the kitchen cabinet.

AI Company Will Clean Your Home For Free, But There’s A Catch

Artificial Intelligence

Privacy

Robots

Zohran Mamdani has found a new way to play Santa Claus with other people&#8217;s money.
Last week, New York City&#8217;s socialist mayor proudly announced a deal that will allow 1,000 New York City residents to purchase World Cup tickets for just $50 each, complete with free transportation to the games. The announcement was framed as a victory for affordability and access, proof that government can step in and help ordinary people enjoy one of the world&#8217;s biggest sporting events.
But there&#8217;s one problem: the games aren&#8217;t being played in New York City. They&#8217;re being played in New Jersey.
While Mamdani enjoys the headlines and takes credit for making the World Cup more &#8220;affordable,&#8221; New Jersey residents will be dealing with the traffic, security costs, transit disruptions, and logistical burdens that come with hosting one of the largest sporting events on the planet. New Jersey taxpayers are helping shoulder those costs, yet New York politicians are the ones claiming the political victories.
The arrangement is a perfect illustration of a broader problem in progressive politics. Time and again, politicians create highly visible benefits for a select group of people while pushing the costs onto someone else. The formula is simple: generate a headline, distribute a perk, celebrate the winners, and avoid talking about who ultimately pays for it.
Mamdani&#8217;s supporters will argue that he is simply making good on his promise to make New York more affordable. But affordable for whom? The World Cup has become a luxury event, with many tickets costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars. A giveaway of 1,000 discounted tickets doesn&#8217;t solve that problem. It simply creates a handful of lucky winners while leaving the overwhelming majority of families priced out of the event.
That&#8217;s the dirty little secret behind many modern political &#8220;solutions.&#8221; They&#8217;re often designed to create the appearance of action rather than address the underlying issue. If housing is unaffordable, create a subsidy. If college costs are too high, forgive selected loans. If World Cup tickets are out of reach, give away a limited number of discounted seats. The politician gets a favorable news cycle while the larger problem remains unsolved.
What makes this case especially frustrating is that New Jersey is doing much of the heavy lifting. The state&#8217;s infrastructure, public safety resources, and transportation systems will all be put under enormous strain during the tournament. Yet when an opportunity arises to provide a meaningful benefit to residents, New York City negotiates a special arrangement for its own constituents and then celebrates it as an achievement.
If the games are being played in New Jersey, why aren&#8217;t New Jersey families receiving the same opportunity?
The answer is obvious. This was never primarily about soccer. It was about politics. Mamdani understands that voters remember benefits far more than they remember costs. The benefits are visible, immediate, and easy to market. The costs are spread out, buried in budgets, and often paid by people who aren&#8217;t standing behind the politician at a press conference.
The World Cup should be an event that brings the region together. Instead, it has become a case study in how politicians increasingly operate: concentrate benefits, disperse costs, and claim credit for both. Mamdani may view this ticket giveaway as a political win, but for many taxpayers watching from across the Hudson, it looks like a familiar story — one group gets the perks while another gets the bill.
That&#8217;s not affordability. It&#8217;s political theater.
***
Rosemary Becchi is a tax attorney, taxpayer advocate, and founder of Jersey 1st.

Mayor Mamdani And Governor Hochul Make FIFA World Cup Announcement

Mamdani’s World Cup Giveaway Is A Grifter’s Game

DW Opinion

Subsidies

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is drawing renewed attention online after appearing at an Eid al-Adha celebration in New York City wearing a hijab alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Video from the Wednesday event in the Bronx — portions of which fall within Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional district — showed the congresswoman speaking onstage while wearing the Islamic head covering as Mamdani stood behind her in a kurta styled after an Arsenal soccer jersey.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="AOC wears hijab for Eid, one of Islam’s holiest holidays" width="422" height="750" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/55dSVypBSKo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The appearance quickly circulated online given Ocasio-Cortez’s status as one of the Democratic Party’s most outspoken leftist figures and self-described feminists in Congress.
Eid al-Adha is one of Islam’s holiest observances and commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim’s (Abraham’s) willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to God. The holiday began this week and is being celebrated by Muslims worldwide through Friday.
Ocasio-Cortez has <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-abortion-ban-alabama-woman-sexuality-feminism-1426902">spent years warning</a> that women’s rights and personal freedoms are under threat in America, frequently attacking conservatives over what she characterizes as patriarchal politics and authoritarian social policies.
Mamdani, the country’s highest-profile Muslim politician, has continued generating controversy recently over his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mamdanis-latest-slap-in-the-face-to-jewish-voters?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Mamdani%E2%80%99s+Latest+Slap+In+The+Face+To+Jewish+Voters">anti-Israel</a> activism and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mamdani-wants-to-decide-who-deserves-to-keep-their-property?author=Brecca+Stoll&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Mamdani+Wants+To+Decide+Who+Deserves+To+Keep+Their+Property">socialist</a> political positions.
The event itself was aimed at outreach toward Muslim voters and communities in New York City, where both Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez maintain strong support among activists.
The clip of the two politicians at the Bronx celebration rapidly gained traction across social media platforms Wednesday evening, becoming the latest flashpoint in ongoing cultural and political fights surrounding identity, religion, and Democratic politics.

SEE IT: Feminist AOC Wears Symbol That Oppresses Women

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Feminism

Muslims

On May 20, New York City experienced a summer storm, causing Brooklyn and Queens to flood, with streets turning into knee-deep rivers, cars submerged, and subway stations flooded. This happens whenever there is heavy rain; subway service has been disrupted due to flooded stations more than 75 times since 2020.
This happens with some frequency because New York City’s infrastructure is ancient, poorly maintained, and falling apart. The city relies on catch basins — the grates in the street — to capture rainwater runoff, and this decades-old network floods any time rainfall exceeds 1.75 inches per hour — a not-uncommon event. Even when rainfall is within the sewer system&#8217;s capacity, the catch basins often back up because they are clogged with trash and other debris, and city crews don’t keep them all clear.
In most areas of the city, stormwater drains into the same sewer that carries toilet waste to treatment plants, so when those grates back up, they flood the street with urine and feces.
New York’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, says that this is happening because the city doesn’t have enough money and city agencies are “underfunded.” His solution is to “tax the rich,” with a new tax on incomes over $1 million, as well as increases in corporate tax rates. He believes these proposals would raise about $10 billion per year in new revenues. New York City residents already pay the highest tax rates in the country.
But New York City’s municipal government is not “underfunded.” The city’s municipal spending is dramatically higher than that of other large cities, spending about $125 billion per year. Los Angeles, by comparison, has an annual budget of $14 billion, and Chicago’s budget is $18 billion. New York is spending about $23,000 per year per resident, while Chicago spends $9,100 and LA spends $5,400.
New Yorkers might be forgiven for wondering where all that money is going as they watch rats fighting over garbage while they wait for delayed subway trains in dilapidated stations.
For starters, New York pays about 10 times as much to build, update, and maintain things like sewers and subways as other global cities like Paris and Tokyo do for similar projects. Some of that cost is attributable to the complexity and age of New York’s underground infrastructure, but most of the expense comes from corrupt contracting, ridiculous labor rules that require excessive staffing at ridiculous wages, and complex and arcane environmental and regulatory requirements that employ armies of highly paid bureaucrats and consultants who fulfill the important task of producing reports that nobody reads at great public expense.
New York also has to pay high salaries; NYC has about twice the population of Los Angeles, but has seven times as many public workers. The city’s department of social services has 12,000 employees, doing outreach and providing resources to drug addicts and the mentally ill. But despite the best efforts of so many city workers, it is routine to see homeless people sprawled unconscious on the sidewalk in Manhattan’s trendiest neighborhoods.
Further, New York spends more per student than any other school system in the world, yet New York’s public school students lag behind those in other U.S. cities. Despite spending $35,000 per student per year, only 23% of NYC eighth graders achieved a score of proficient on the National Assessment of Education Progress test for math; 29% were proficient in reading. The school system is hiring more teachers and administrators even though it serves fewer and fewer students each year. Families are skipping vacations, wearing old clothes, and stretching their budgets to the limits to send their kids to private schools because Mamdani’s lavishly-funded public schools are so catastrophically inadequate.
And, of course, New York taxpayers fund lavish benefits for illegal aliens. New York City has spent about $9 billion on this since 2023. The city allocates $350 per day to each migrant household to cover food, shelter, and security. The city is paying for over 21,000 hotel rooms each night to host these important guests.
Zohran Mamdani thinks government is great and New York needs more of it. More city workers paid six-figure salaries to prompt ChatGPT to write emails that other city workers will then prompt ChatGPT to read. More money for NGOs. More money for more teachers and school administrators for fewer students. More money for migrants. And maybe, if New Yorkers can just dig a little deeper and pay just a little more, Mamdani’s underfunded government just might send somebody to clear out the storm drain.
***
Daniel Friedman is the Edgar Award-nominated author of “Don’t Ever Get Old.”

Bill Tompkins NYC sewers Archive

Mamdani’s Sewer Budget Blowout Gives New Yorkers The Flush

Budget

New York City Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani plans to seize neglected properties from landlords and transfer them to new ownership groups. 
“For buildings that have suffered chronic neglect, we will work to transfer ownership to responsible stewards. Stewards that include community land trusts, non-profits, or even the tenants themselves,” Mamdani said. “When necessary we will take aggressive legal action to remove negligent owners and property managers.” 
&nbsp;
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1101969 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-26-at-1.05.08-PM-477x576.png" alt="" width="477" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-26-at-1.05.08-PM-477x576.png 477w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-26-at-1.05.08-PM-248x300.png 248w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-26-at-1.05.08-PM-768x927.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-26-at-1.05.08-PM.png 1204w" sizes=" (max-width: 477px) 100vw, 477px" /></div>
Mamdani did not detail how the city would legally seize or transfer ownership of privately held properties. One possible mechanism is New York City’s controversial <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/property/property-in-rem-forclosure.page">Third Party Transfer (TPT)</a> program, which allowed the city to foreclose on distressed buildings whose owners owed back property taxes or water charges and had accumulated significant housing code violations before transferring them to nonprofit housing groups or tenant organizations. 
Under the program, landlords who failed to resolve violations or pay city debts could face foreclosure proceedings initiated by the city. Once the city gained control of a property, ownership could then be transferred to nonprofits, community land trusts, or tenant groups.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
NOW: Mamdani says his admin will transfer ownership from bad landlords to non-profits.
“For buildings that have suffered chronic neglect, we will work to transfer ownership to responsible stewards.
Stewards that include community land trusts, non-profits, or even the tenants… <a href="https://t.co/YHhzGWPgWh">pic.twitter.com/YHhzGWPgWh</a>
— Brecca Stoll (@breccastoll) <a href="https://twitter.com/breccastoll/status/2059289647688106237?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Critics argued the policy enabled the government to strip owners of valuable equity through aggressive code enforcement and foreclosure actions.
The TPT program was paused in 2019 after backlash from property-rights advocates and elected officials. The New York City Council is currently considering legislation that could <a href="https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/03/09/third-party-transfer-reform-city-council-landlords-property/">restart</a> the program. 
Mamdani said his “rental rip-off” hearings were instrumental in shaping his housing agenda. The Daily Wire attended the first hearing in Brooklyn and spoke with tenants paying well below-market rents in stabilized apartments who urged Mamdani to freeze rents while also demanding repairs and building improvements from landlords.
Mamdani’s latest housing proposal appears aimed at balancing those competing pressures.
On Tuesday, Mamdani also appeared to backtrack on his campaign promise to impose a blanket rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments. Under his revised proposal, some exempted landlords would still be allowed to impose a one-time rent increase on vacant units even if a rent freeze is enacted. 
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/mamdani-says-these-nyc-landlords-will-be-exempt-from-his-rent-freeze-ee53180c?mod=hp_lead_pos5">reported</a> that dozens of landlords could qualify for the exemption. Rent-stabilized apartments are currently subject to a 3% cap on annual rent increases for one-year lease renewals.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Interview

Mamdani Wants To Decide Who Deserves To Keep Their Property

Housing

Politics

Property Rights

Renters

If there were any doubt that Democrats are ecstatically lining up to echo the radical antisemitic rhetoric of hard-left zealots such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, and New Yorkers — even left-wing Jews — who are only too happy to support them, former New York City comptroller Brad Lander, a Jew who is running against incumbent Democrat congressman Dan Goldman, has made it abundantly clear.
Speaking at a mosque where the imam reportedly prayed for the “killing of infidels by [the] sword,” Lander not only vilified the state of Israel with the usual lies but also spoke of his hope for a “partnership” with Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib before concluding with a verse from the Quran praising Allah.
“I believe, as a proud Jewish New Yorker, that Israel&#8217;s genocide in Gaza is a desecration,” he began, resorting to the malicious lie about the Jewish state, before continuing, “is a violation of the understanding that everyone is created in God&#8217;s image — every one of those Palestinian kids in Gaza, just as divine as my beloved children.”
“And so, yes, in Congress, I will not vote for any more U.S. military aid to Israel, not the bombs that are destroying the hospitals and schools in Gaza, not the occupation in Lebanon, which is now, I believe, unfortunately, on its way potentially to being a genocide as well,” he blathered.
Then he turned to his hoped-for “partnership” with the most vehement anti-Israel members of Congress, declaring, “The kind of partnership I developed with Zohran. I hope to come to have with Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar and others in Congress to show we can build a city and a country and a world that everyone can afford and where everyone is welcome and where everyone&#8217;s humanity is respected.”
He later recited from the Quran in Arabic, “In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate, say he is Allah, who is one, Allah, the eternal refuge, he neither begets nor is born, nor is there to him any equivalent.”
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New York Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander recited a Quran verse at a Queens mosque, saying he hopes to partner with Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib in Congress. During the same event, the imam prayed for the Mahdi to kill infidels with his sword. <a href="https://t.co/ZoQ094kC5o">pic.twitter.com/ZoQ094kC5o</a>
&mdash; Open Source Intel (@Osint613) <a href="https://twitter.com/Osint613/status/2057357547992940627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
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An Emerson poll showed Lander with an enormous 34-point lead over Goldman.
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NYC CONGRESSIONAL POLLS with <a href="https://twitter.com/PIX11News?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PIX11News</a> 
NY12 Micah Lasher 22% Alex Bores 20% Jack Schlossberg 11% George Conway 10% 32% undecided
NY10 Brad Lander 57% Dan Goldman 23% 20% undecided
NY07 Claire Valdez 23% Antonio Reynoso 21% Julie Won 13% 43% undecided<a href="https://t.co/lxQTS6fT5K">https://t.co/lxQTS6fT5K</a> <a href="https://t.co/yYePKTb0Am">pic.twitter.com/yYePKTb0Am</a>
&mdash; Emerson College Polling (@EmersonPolling) <a href="https://twitter.com/EmersonPolling/status/2057402320074277042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Congressional Candidate Brad Lander Joins Court Watching Shift As US Judge Stops ICE Arrests In Immigration Court

Ultimate Betrayal: NY Jewish Dem Grovels To Anti-Israel Radicals To Buy An Election

Brad Lander

Congress

Israel

Rashida Tlaib

Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos blasted New York City’s socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday, saying that if the corporate giant operated like the Big Apple’s broken public school system, customers wouldn&#8217;t see their packages for well over a month.
In a scathing <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/20/cnbc-exclusive-transcript-jeff-bezos-speaks-with-cnbcs-andrew-ross-sorkin-on-squawk-box-today-.html">televised sit-down</a> on CNBC, the high-flying billionaire unloaded on Mamdani over a record-breaking $44 billion education budget that has yielded nothing but abysmal returns. Bezos slammed the city for blowing an astronomical $44,000 annually per student — outspending rivals like Los Angeles and Chicago by roughly 30% — even as student numbers plunge and exam performance craters.
&#8220;If we ran Amazon the way New York City runs their school system &#8230; your packages would take six weeks to arrive,&#8221; the e-commerce kingpin told anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin from a Blue Origin factory floor. &#8220;We’d have to charge you a $100 delivery fee. And then when the package did finally arrive, it’d have the wrong item in it anyway.&#8221;
The tech titan, boasting a jaw-dropping $269 billion net worth, hit back hard at Mamdani&#8217;s obsession with soaking the rich. Bezos insisted that doubling his own hefty tax bill would do absolutely nothing to support frontline educators, because the massive mountain of cash is swallowed whole by a bloated, management-heavy bureaucracy.
&#8220;None of this money is getting to the teachers, I promise you,&#8221; Bezos said, targeting the army of middle managers choking the system.
Mamdani couldn&#8217;t wait to clap back, taking to X to snap: &#8220;I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ.&#8221;
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I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ. <a href="https://t.co/JEnRnM2xII">https://t.co/JEnRnM2xII</a>
&mdash; Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/2057137240904511564?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The fiery clash erupted shortly after the Bezos Family Foundation <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/20/us-news/jeff-bezos-torches-mamdani-for-pouring-43b-into-mismanaged-nyc-schools/">pledged</a> up to $150 million toward early childhood programs across Gotham via a massive anti-poverty endowment. Meanwhile, the struggling mayor has managed to scrape together a pitiful $3.5 million toward his own heavily hyped $20 million childcare fund.
The 62-year-old mogul, who was raised by a teenage mother and a young Cuban immigrant, argued that clueless politicians constantly look to manufacture wealthy villains instead of fixing real operational messes. Rather than finger-pointing, Bezos urged leaders to look at systemic tax reform. His pitch? Wipe out the tax bills entirely for lower-income working-class families, including struggling local nurses.
&#8220;When people are starting out and they’re struggling, stop taxing them. We don’t need it,&#8221; Bezos concluded. &#8220;I don’t want to reduce it; I want to eliminate it.&#8221;

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