Happy Wednesday in NYC, where sports fans haven’t had this much excitement since the glorious Linsanity days of 2012.
As we all know by now, the FIFA World Cup is coming to the New York/New Jersey area and transit tickets to the games at MetLife Stadium are expensive. Enter an unlikely hero: the yellow school bus.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced yesterday that round-trip shuttle bus fares to the games, a fifth of which are reserved for New York residents, are dropping from $80 to $20. The price reduction is due in large part to the addition of a fleet of yellow school buses to the shuttle arsenal, expanding capacity by an additional 8,000 seats. In all, there will be 18,000 seats available to shuttle fans to and from the World Cup games in East Rutherford, NJ.
To make matters more hectic, the New York Knicks are four wins away from advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. Were they to do so, Knicks fans travelling into Penn Station for the basketball games would potentially collide with soccer fans travelling out of Penn Station for the World Cup matches, creating a perfect storm of scarf-waving, face-painted delirium.
NJ Transit has already announced that it will restrict access to Penn Station to allow only those traveling to and from the games to access the station for four hours before every World Cup match and three hours after. It just so happens that the first two matches at MetLife Stadium coincide with Games 5 and 6 of the NBA Finals, one of which would take place at Madison Square Garden.
NJ Transit has yet to indicate how it would handle colliding waves of dual-sport zealots. “The summer of 2026 is an exciting time for our region, with many major events occurring,” said NJ Transit spokesperson John Chartier in a statement. “We are asking everyone to stay tuned as we will communicate more details as the NBA Finals schedule develops.”
For those thinking about skipping the whole Penn Station Thunderdome and walking 11.5 miles to MetLife Stadium, the Guardian’s Mark McPartland has already scoped out the trek for you. TLDR: yes, it is possible; no, you shouldn’t try it if you value your calves.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a $124.7 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2027. The budget was achieved through a combination of savings, new tax revenue, a partnership with Albany and new investments.
Montague Open Streets is back, and the season kicks off with the second annual “Family Spring Fling” this Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., featuring dozens of free activities.
The last Walgreens in Brooklyn Heights is set to close on June 4.
Powerhouse Arts is set to host its third annual Community Day celebration this Saturday, offering a full day of free, hands-on creativity for visitors of all ages at its historic Gowanus location.
New York Rep. Dan Goldman is cosponsoring a bill in Congress that would apply term limits to justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Our World In Photos
Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
ANNAPOLIS — Where racial barriers most often get broken: First-year midshipmen, known as "plebes," carry a log during Sea Trials, a day-long training exercise that caps off the U.S. Naval Academy plebe year, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Annapolis, Md.
For more pictures like this, see Our World in Photos.
What makes a good teacher? Ask a Republican and a Democrat, and they are likely to agree
New York City teachers union members rally for paraprofessional raises in January, 2025. A bill mandating $10,000 annual raises for paraprofessionals will take a key step Thursday toward getting the approval of the City Council. Photo: Alex Zimmerman/Chalkbeat
If you follow the headlines, it can seem like K-12 schools in the United States are a political battlefield.
Some conservative parents and advocacy groups are lobbying to remove certain books from classrooms and libraries, most often those that highlight LGBTQ+ issues or race and racism.
But, a new survey of over 2,000 Americans over five years, from 2020 through 2025, including Democrats, Republicans and independents, reveals genuine, cross-partisan agreement.
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For the Road
A visit from the Bookmobile: Brooklyn Public Library celebrates the 75th anniversary of its Bookmobile service with an eight-stop trek throughout the borough this Saturday to share library programming, entertainment and refreshments. BPL cardholders will receive a free cookie or giveaway item, courtesy of its community partners. Attendees can sign up for a library card on-site to participate. Learn more.
Happy Birthday to talk show host Stephen Colbert!
On This Day in 1951, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “More than 40,000 servicemen, representing all branches of the military establishment, will parade down 5th Ave., Manhattan, Saturday in the second annual observance of Armed Forces Day. ”
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