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Happy Tuesday! Forget New Year’s Eve, the biggest party of the season is hitting the streets of New York on January 1, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
I’m talking about Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s epic block party/inauguration bash along seven blocks of Broadway in Downtown Manhattan, where an estimated 40,000 people will gather to celebrate Mamdani’s swearing in as the 112th mayor of New York City.
Mamdani will be joined during the inauguration ceremony by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Sen. Bernie Sanders, who campaigned with Mamdani during the election cycle. Attorney General Letitia James will formally swear in Mamdani at a more private ceremony at midnight on New Year’s Eve, but Sanders will administer the celebratory public proceedings the next day.
According to the mayor-elect’s website, the block party will feature live music, big screens and “interfaith elements” — but no public restrooms. All of New York is invited. You can RSVP here.
New York is fully infected with Zohran-mania, and it’s set to explode on New Year’s Day… along with a few bladders.
13 Investment Errors You Should Avoid
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The New York State Nurses Association announced yesterday that 97% of nurses at 12 private hospitals across New York City — including five hospitals in Brooklyn — voted to authorize a strike, two weeks before their Dec. 31 contract expiration.
The Trump administration yesterday suspended leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast due to what it said were national security risks identified by the Pentagon. Read more below.
The City Council launched a new guaranteed income program for young, homeless New Yorkers, allocating $1.5 million in the FY2026 budget to support 60 participants ages 18 to 24.
New York enacted its first major overhaul of consumer protection law in 45 years with the signing of the FAIR Business Practices Act, expanding the state’s authority to crack down on unfair and abusive business conduct.
Yesterday, AG James led a coalition of 21 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to preserve funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
A four-alarm fire broke out early Monday at a three-story building at 494 Humboldt St. in Brooklyn, prompting a large FDNY response.
Nearly 100 Bensonhurst residents gathered at a forum to discuss building apartments above the recently reopened New Utrecht library, with many expressing concerns.
A bipartisan health coverage bill cosponsored by Brooklyn State Assemblymember William Colton (D-47) would mandate insurance coverage of acupuncture.
A 12-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing another boy in the chest on Thursday at Betsy Head Park.
Judge Brian Cogan of Brooklyn federal court declared a mistrial Monday afternoon in the espionage case of Linda Sun, a former high-ranking aide to two governors.
Our World In Photos
Photo: Samson Otieno/AP
NAIROBI — Little ballerinas ready and waiting for the show: Young dancers wait to perform during a Christmas ballet event in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025.
For more pictures like this, see Our World in Photos.
People walk past Macy’s flagship store, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in New York. Photo: Yuki Iwamura/AP.
What better way to celebrate the holidays than getting out of the house? From a Slavic soul party in Park Slope to a Santa meet-and-greet at the Atlantic Terminal Mall to ice skating at Roebling Rink, there are so many ways to enjoy Brooklyn this week. Click here for our top live events in the borough.
🔎 Today’s Executive Intervention
Trump blocks offshore wind farms
President Trump renewed his attack on wind power yesterday by pausing leases on two major wind farms off the shore of New York — the Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind project, both of which are under construction — as well as three other wind farms along the Atlantic coastline.
The pause will take effect immediately and applies to every large-scale offshore wind project being built in federal waters. The Department of the Interior framed the move as a national security measure, citing “recently completed classified reports,” as well as long-standing concerns that the movement of the turbine blades interferes with radar.
“Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum in a statement.
The permit pause is the latest move in a months-long federal campaign against the New York wind projects that saw the Trump administration issue a stop-work order on Empire Wind’s construction in April. Gov. Hochul reportedly managed to revive the project by approving the Northeast Supply Enhancement natural gas pipeline.
Both Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind are well underway, with billions of dollars, thousands of jobs and years of work already invested in their construction. Combined, the two projects are expected to generate power for approximately one million homes by 2027. Without them, experts warn, New York City will face increasingly dire energy deficiencies at a moment when the city is already dealing with reliability challenges.
“I just want the Trump administration to know the widespread effect this is going to have on our economy, on people’s jobs, the ability to support their families,” Hochul said at a press conference yesterday. “It’s just another attack on a place like New York that is working so hard to have an all-the-above approach so I can keep the lights on.”
Equinor and Orsted, the developers behind Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind, respectively, indicated they would immediately halt construction, with a spokesperson for Equinor warning that a prolonged suspension would significantly curb progress.
Two weeks ago, a federal judge struck down Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to block wind farm permitting, calling it “arbitrary and capricious.” By grounding the latest interference in national security threats, the Trump administration hopes to build a sturdier legal case.
Critics argue that the projects were already vetted for national security concerns following a years-long federal review process. “The record of decisions all show that the Department of Defense was consulted at every stage of the permitting process,” national security expert Kirk Lippold told AP News.
“These delays put both workers and energy security at risk, and are guaranteed to raise our electric rates. This is no time to halt the progress the offshore wind industry has already made,” Marguerite Wells, executive director of Alliance for Clean Energy New York, told The City.
The Mini
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Cartoon Sketchbook
By Jimmy Margulies
For the Road
P.R. for Public Restrooms: An investigation by the City Council found that many of the city’s public restrooms are closed during posted hours, lack basic supplies, or are poorly maintained, according to a report released yesterday. Read more here.
Happy Birthday to “Stranger Things” star Finn Wolfhard!
On This Day in 1944, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WITH AMERICAN FORCES ON THE WESTERN FRONT (U.P.) ― A single, battered American regiment was all that stood between the Germans and Luxembourg’s capital during the first 48 hours of the Nazi offensive, but that thin line held and saved the city through probably the most critical hours of the western war.”
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