Happy Wednesday in New York City, where thousands of empty city-owned apartments are filling up with squatters.
According to a new report released by the city’s Department of Investigation (DOI) yesterday, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) — the largest public housing authority in North America — now has about 6,700 vacant apartments, up from 2,800 in May 2023. New York is currently facing one of the most acute housing crises in its history, with approximately 350,000 homeless residents and 165,000 households listed on the NYCHA waitlist.
The DOI report found that vacant apartments typically go a year or more between inspections. NYCHA also reportedly uses the same generic lock on many of its vacant units. These two factors create a perfect opportunity for squatters, many of whom engage in illegal activity while residing on NYCHA property, endangering the safety of neighboring residents.
According to the report, police found an open-air narcotics market, an incident of active child abuse, weapons and even the body of a suspected member of the Sex Money Murder gang in NYCHA residences that had been recently vacated. City agencies say they’ve reclaimed hundreds of units from squatters in recent years, leading to dozens of arrests.
“NYCHA’s policy poses an unacceptable risk of facilitating unauthorized occupancy and even criminal conduct in vacant units, particularly in light of the absence of regular apartment inspections,” the report reads.
The findings put additional pressure on Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who made addressing the city’s housing crisis one of the foremost promises of his candidacy. Mamdani is already facing flak for focusing on private landlords and rent policy while neglecting the problems of public housing residents.
NYCHA announced that it would accept the DOI’s recommendations, which include more frequent safety checks of vacant apartments and unique locks for each residence.
Given the choice between higher property taxes in New York City and increased income taxes on city residents who earn at least $1 million, the majority of state and city voters preferred high earners take the hit, according to a recent poll.
Despite costly construction and years of rent payments, nearly 20 planned city-run pre-K centers never opened.
New York scored a victory in the fight to keep congestion pricing when a Manhattan Judge ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to end the program.
Students in New York State were served a total of 275 million free school meals during the first six months of the school year as part of the Universal School Meals Program.
The City Council ethics panel charged Councilmember Vickie Paladino, a far-right Queens Republican, with disorderly conduct in relation to social media posts over the past few months that were deemed Islamophobic.
Dominican-style barbecue restaurant Bark Barbecue plans to open its first standalone location in Bushwick, expanding beyond Time Out Market.
Shelter, described as “a club by and for music lovers,” celebrates 35 years of parties with two celebrations in Brooklyn this month.
advertisement
Our World In Photos
Photo: Tom Nicholson/AP
PARIS — Is this Paris, Texas or Paris, France — live, naked horses create a dramatic backdrop: A model wears a creation from the Stella McCartney Fall/Winter 2026-2027 Women's collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 4, 2026.
For more pictures like this, see Our World in Photos.
Brooklyn College Paleontologist Stephen Chester and colleagues reveal new clues about early primate evolution
Stephen Chester in his lab at Brooklyn College. Photo: Brooklyn College
A new scientific study led by paleontologist and Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate Center Associate Professor of Anthropology Stephen Chester is shedding fresh light on how the earliest known primate relatives evolved and spread across North America after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
It focuses on Purgatorius, a small, tree-dwelling mammal that lived about 66 million years ago and is considered the earliest known relative of all primates, including humans.
The PREMIUM tag indicates articles that come with extra photographs or special coverage. Thinking of a subscription? Try us out with a day pass for just 99 cents. No long-term commitment for a subscription.
advertisement
Become An AI Expert In Just 5 Minutes
If you’re a decision maker at your company, you need to be on the bleeding edge of, well, everything. But before you go signing up for seminars, conferences, lunch ‘n learns, and all that jazz, just know there’s a far better (and simpler) way: Subscribing to The Deep View.
This daily newsletter condenses everything you need to know about the latest and greatest AI developments into a 5-minute read. Squeeze it into your morning coffee break and before you know it, you’ll be an expert too.
Subscribe right here. It’s totally free, wildly informative, and trusted by 600,000+ readers at Google, Meta, Microsoft, and beyond.
The Mini
Our solver finished in 1 minute 9 seconds. Can you beat it?
Cartoon Sketchbook
By Emad Hajjaj
For the Road
Theater watch: The Heights Players launches its spring season with “ Superior Donuts.” “Superior Donuts” is a heartwarming comedy about friendships in a rapidly changing neighborhood. The main character, Arthur, owns a struggling donut shop. His life is forever changed when he hires Franco, and their friendship changes them for the better. Read on to learn more about the upcoming show.
Happy Birthday to“Everybody Loves Raymond” star, Patricia Heaton!
On This Day in 1931, the Eagle reported: “Unless the President interposes a veto, which is about as unlikely as any contingency that one can contemplate, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ will be the officially designated ‘National Anthem’ of the United States.”
Got a tip? Send it in to [email protected].