New York
Drastic cuts to Rochester, New York schools
By Steve Filips, 20 January 2020
Ninety-five teachers have been laid off and 150 displaced in the Rochester City School District, due to massive over-spending, provoking immense anger among students, parents and staff.
Mass abstention as union pushes through New York City transit contract
By Alan Whyte, 16 January 2020
The vast majority of New York City transit workers boycotted a vote on a concessions contact backed by the Transport Workers Union.
Hasidic Jews injured in machete attack in Rockland County, New York
By Philip Guelpa, 30 December 2019
The attack Saturday was the latest in a growing number of hate crimes occurring within a climate of racial tension encouraged by both Trump and the Democrats.
As the Transport Workers Union attempts to push through major concessions
New York City transit workers speak out about workplace dangers and attacks on health care
By Daniel de Vries, 30 December 2019
While the TWU has tried to hide the extent of the concessions, the reality is that the agreement contains $44 million in health care and other givebacks.
Vote “No” on the TWU sellout contract!
Form rank-and-file committees to defend New York City transit workers!
By WSWS Transit Worker Newsletter, 18 December 2019
To defend jobs and living standards, transit workers must build new organizations of struggle to oppose the gang-up of the MTA, the Cuomo administration and the TWU.
“The union bosses tell us they are fighting for us while they sell us out”
New York City transit workers denounce union-backed tentative agreement
By Alan Whyte, 12 December 2019
The newly published Memorandum of Agreement between the TWU and the MTA seeks to incorporate the union into management, increase the transit agency’s exploitation of workers and financially reward the union bureaucracy.
New York University charges food-insecure students for "free" meals
By Sam Dalton, 11 December 2019
Last semester 1,933 students, nearly 10 percent of the school’s undergraduates, utilized the Courtesy Meals Program.
New York transit union offers massive concessions to block strike
By Alan Whyte and Daniel de Vries, 9 December 2019
The tentative agreement agreed by the union seeks to stifle any movement by New York’s subway and bus workers against the demands of the Democratic Party for major cuts.
Job actions by New York City transit workers
By Alan Whyte, 27 November 2019
The union organized the slowdown because it fears it will be unable to impose the demands of the Democratic Party-run transit agency without provoking a rebellion by workers.
Three homeless men die in abandoned house fire in New York City
By Philip Guelpa, 26 November 2019
As the city’s homelessness crisis continues to worsen, increasing numbers face life-threatening risks.
Trump threatens “substantial” increase in anti-China tariffs
By Nick Beams, 13 November 2019
In a speech to the New York Economic Club, Trump claimed, amid falling GDP numbers, that his administration had “launched an economic boom the likes of which we have never seen before.”
“Teachers, autoworkers, everybody in this country, should go on strike”
New York City bus and subway workers speak out against concession demands
By a WSWS reporting team, 6 November 2019
The Metropolitan Transit Authority wants to introduce part-timers, outsource work to cheap-labor contractors and reduce overtime pay as it funnels more money to the Wall Street banks and wealthy bondholders.
Hundreds protest police violence in Brooklyn, New York subway
By Josh Varlin, 4 November 2019
Recent incidents of police violence in the subway system, connected to the crackdown on “fare evasion,” have fueled growing anger among workers in New York City.
New York City police kill five in less than a month
By Fred Mazelis, 30 October 2019
Behind the killings is the undoubted rise in social tension, the product of unprecedented inequality, along with decaying conditions affecting the working-class.
New York City transit workers and the fight for social equality
By Allen Whyte and Daniel de Vries, 30 October 2019
Working without a contract since May, transit workers are facing unprecedented attacks on working conditions being demanded by Wall Street.
New York University’s new mental health initiative cheats students in need of counseling
By Sam Dalton, 29 October 2019
NYU has launched a wellness program that is inadequate for the mental health needs of its students.
Workers and students speak at Sanders rally in New York
By our reporters, 22 October 2019
The WSWS discussed issues of war, healthcare and the role of the Democratic Party in capturing and destroying social movements against capitalism.
Four homeless men murdered in New York City’s Chinatown
By Owen Mullan and Sandy English, 14 October 2019
The tragic incident, involving six of the poorest people in the United States, is a product of the city’s social decay, the most unequal large American city.
New York City transit authority adds 500 police officers
By Philip Guelpa, 11 October 2019
Amidst crumbling infrastructure, deteriorating service, and repeated fare increases, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is hiring 500 new police officers to patrol the New York City transit system.
ICE arrests nearly 600 immigrants in enforcement surge, targeting “uncooperative” local jurisdictions
By Leslie Murtagh, 7 October 2019
The coordinated attack on immigrants by the Trump administration across 20 states at the end of last month was the largest multi-state operation reported so far this year.
Report shows advanced decay of New York City subway stations
By Isaac Finn, 7 September 2019
A recent report from the New York City Comptroller’s office, “NYC Subway Station Conditions,” details debris falling from station ceilings and elevated trains.
New York transit agency seeks casualization of its workforce
By Alan Whyte, 4 September 2019
Management’s demands are nothing less than a declaration of war and an attempt to institute slave-labor conditions.
New York Police Department collecting DNA from unsuspecting workers and youth
By Erik Schreiber, 31 August 2019
In violation of Fourth Amendment protection, the policy has targeted individuals who have not been accused of any crime.
New York judge orders Fordham University to recognize Students for Justice in Palestine club
By Fred Mazelis, 10 August 2019
The decision is a small but significant blow against the campaign to equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority approves plan to cut 2,700 jobs
By Isaac Finn, 9 August 2019
On July 24, the transportation authority board approved the “MTA Transformation Plan,” which includes the possible layoff of 2,700 workers and the use of contractors to replace retiring workers.
Big business, academia and the state team up to launch “Cyber NYC” spy program
By Leslie Murtagh, 26 July 2019
A $100 million “cybersecurity” initiative has been launched to develop New York City as a center of internet censorship and spying.
Manhattan blackout affects tens of thousands of New Yorkers
By Josh Varlin, 15 July 2019
While its public infrastructure decays, New York City is home to the largest number of billionaires and millionaires in the world.
New York taxi drivers driven to penury and suicide
By Philip Guelpa, 19 June 2019
Predatory lenders lured taxi drivers into unsustainable debt that drove many into bankruptcy when medallion prices collapsed.
NYPD disciplinary trial of cop who killed Eric Garner concludes
By Sandy English, 15 June 2019
Final briefs were submitted in the NYPD’s trial of Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who choked Eric Garner to death in Staten Island in 2014.
As New York City transit contract expires, governor launches vindictive attack on workers
By Daniel de Vries and Alan Whyte, 18 May 2019
The union is keeping 40,000 workers on the job while governor Cuomo whips up hysteria over allegedly fraudulent overtime.
Students for Justice in Palestine at New York University smeared as anti-Semitic
By Isaac Finn, 17 May 2019
The attack on the Students for Justice in Palestine is part of an international campaign to slander left-wing organizations that criticize the Israeli state.
New York City public housing fire kills six
By Tim Avery and Philip Guelpa, 11 May 2019
A fire in a Harlem building owned by the New York City Housing Authority killed two adults and four children.
De Blasio’s solution to New York’s public housing crisis: Tear it down
By Philip Guelpa, 2 May 2019
As a pilot project, Mayor Bill de Blasio proposes to demolish two buildings in a Manhattan public housing complex and turn the land over to private developers.
New York pre-K teachers demand pay parity, as union seeks to sabotage strike
By Steve Light, 1 May 2019
As thousands of early childhood educators plan to walk out across New York City, AFSCME is dialing back the scheduled strike.
The Threat of Fascism and How to Fight It
North and Vandreier conclude US tour at New York University
By our reporters, 20 April 2019
Christoph Vandreier, deputy national secretary of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei, and WSWS chairman David North concluded their lecture tour with a well-attended meeting at New York University.
Deadly week for construction workers in New York City
By Mark Witkowski, 18 April 2019
In the space of less than a week three construction workers were killed, as the building boom in the city continues to claim the lives and limbs of workers.
Major retrospective at the Whitney Museum in New York City
“Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again”: The artist who wasn’t there
By Erik Schreiber, 30 March 2019
A recent retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art provided an occasion to re-examine Warhol’s work and evaluate what it means for American and global art.
Massive Hudson Yards real estate project opens in Manhattan
By Fred Mazelis and Mark Witkowski, 25 March 2019
The development is the latest and most extreme expression of the gentrification and inequality that has reached unprecedented levels in the capital of American capitalism.
New York University student paper joins in “anti-Semitism” witch-hunt against critics of Israel
By Josh Varlin and Sandy English, 13 March 2019
The Washington Square News was forced to remove an article describing Women’s March Co-Chair Linda Sarsour as an “accused anti-Semite” after student protest.
De Blasio accepts federal monitor to oversee New York City Housing Authority
By Josh Varlin, 7 March 2019
The Trump administration’s appointment of a monitor for the largest public housing system in the country presages further attacks on poorer sections of the working class in New York City.
Bernie Sanders adapts to racial politics at Chicago campaign rally
By George Gallanis, 5 March 2019
Sanders’ speech in Chicago used his experiences in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, while a student at the University of Chicago, to make an appeal to identity politics.
New York City transit agency raises fare, threatens budget cuts
By Alan Whyte, 4 March 2019
The latest increases in fares and tolls presage further cuts to service and are expected to roll lead to more hikes.
New York University students angry over police “cleanup” of homeless on campus
By Owen Mullan and Sandy English, 23 February 2019
NYU students expressed outrage over an NYPD “cleanup” of the homeless in front of the university’s Silver Center building on February 6.
Father and four young daughters perish in Watertown, New York, house fire
By Steve Filips, 19 February 2019
The rental had no functional smoke alarms and was not registered by the landlord, averting an inspection to verify safety before it could be rented out.
After months of courtship, Amazon calls off New York HQ2 deal
By Clare Hurley, 18 February 2019
The decision to pull out over opposition from workers locally comes amid news that Amazon paid no taxes last year.
New York City school-bus workers’ union ignores strike vote, accepts sellout deal
By Steve Light, 8 February 2019
New York City School-bus workers voted to strike, but ATU Local 1181 signed tentative contract that continues poverty pay and precarious employment.
Stanley Hill, who presided over wholesale corruption in NYC unions, dead at 82
By Alan Whyte, 7 February 2019
Hill personified the transformed role of the unions, in both the public and private sectors, as junior partners of big business and the government in imposing attacks on jobs and living standards.
Fire in my mouth: New York Philharmonic premieres oratorio on the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
By Fred Mazelis, 6 February 2019
The hour-long work probes an infamous example—in New York City in 1911—of capitalist exploitation and the sacrifice of workers’ lives on the altar of private profit.
ICE arrests of immigrants at New York courthouses up by 1,700 percent since 2016
By Josh Varlin, 30 January 2019
A report by the Immigrant Defense Project indicates that ICE routinely violates its own rules for such arrests.
New York governor announces L train will not shut down while repairs go ahead
By Alan Whyte, 23 January 2019
The plan to keep the subway tunnel open during the repair of damage from Hurricane Sandy was unveiled by the governor without consultation with the MTA.
New York City mayor de Blasio tries to burnish his “progressive” credentials
By Fred Mazelis, 22 January 2019
A series of pronouncements only highlight de Blasio’s bankrupt record and his role as the servant of the financial elite.
New York City public housing residents in the South Bronx without heat for a decade
By Katy Kinner, 14 January 2019
During the winter months, New York City’s social misery is on full display as public housing residents live without reliable heat or hot water.
Amazon hires public relations firm to counter popular hostility to headquarters project in New York City
By Clare Hurley, 11 January 2019
Amazon’s desperate public relations campaign represents an inverse reflection of mounting opposition to the conglomerate’s practices.
Actors and stage managers strike against developmental work with Broadway League
By Katy Kinner, 11 January 2019
The National Council of the Actors’ Equity union announced a strike on Monday, calling for a new contract.
New York City judge orders 13-year-old held awaiting trial for murder of Barnard College student
By Owen Mullan, 9 January 2019
Tessa Majors was stabbed and killed during an apparent robbery in Morningside Park in Harlem in early December.
Federal government threatens takeover of NYC Housing Authority
By Philip Guelpa, 4 January 2019
There is no “excess capacity” in the available housing inventory that could absorb tens of thousands of additional low-income people looking for a place to live due to the loss of NYCHA housing.
As transit crisis continues
Fare evasion increases on New York City subways and buses
By Josh Varlin, 4 January 2019
Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials and New York politicians are using the increase in fare evasion to blame commuters for the transit crisis.
New York City school therapists protest for changes to union-backed contract
By Steve Light, 17 December 2018
The action demonstrates, yet again, the determination of teachers to defend their living standards and stop the assault on public education, against the unions' role.
Four years after Eric Garner’s death, killer cop faces NYPD disciplinary hearing
By Leslie Murtagh, 12 December 2018
The New York City officer who choked Garner to death in 2014, Daniel Pantaleo, has avoided any criminal charges.
Outrage spreads over video showing police ripping child from mother’s arms at Brooklyn food stamp office
By Fred Mazelis, 11 December 2018
The young mother, after being mistreated and brutalized, is being held without bail and facing four separate charges, including resisting arrest.
Hundreds of thousands of low-income New Yorkers excluded from mayor’s affordable housing plan
By Philip Guelpa, 7 December 2018
The plans of both Mayor Bill de Blasio and the comptroller leave the critical shortage of affordable housing in the hands of private developers.
New York Governor Cuomo proposes band-aid for student hunger
By Leslie Murtagh, 26 November 2018
Governor Cuomo has made an entirely inadequate proposal to address food insecurity facing state and city public university students in one of the wealthiest states in the US.
New York transit chief resigns as transit authority proposes more fare and toll hikes
By Alan Whyte, 26 November 2018
Transit fares have increased by 53 percent over the past decade, and another increase is anticipated for 2021.
New York teachers union pushes through concessions contract
By Steve Light, 13 November 2018
The United Federation of Teachers rammed through a contract that includes below inflation rate wages in order to prevent a strike in the largest school district in America.
“The UFT says there is no giveback but there is plenty giveback”
New York teachers angry as union hides givebacks in new contract
By Steve Light, 13 November 2018
David North lecture tour
Nearly 100 attend meeting in New York City on the 80th anniversary of the Fourth International
By our reporters, 13 November 2018
David North spoke on the need for a scientific understanding of history to an audience at New York University composed of workers, students and professionals from the New York and New Jersey area.
Workers killed in New York state helicopter crash and zinc mine accidents
By Steve Filips, 12 November 2018
One of the threads that connects these and other deaths at work is the gutting of safety measures and oversight to maximize profits.
Nearly 150,000 New York City public school students are homeless
By Philip Guelpa, 24 October 2018
The rate of homelessness among public school students in America’s largest city and financial center is the highest ever recorded.
New York City teachers union attempts to rush through sellout contract
By Guillaume Garnier and Steve Light, 19 October 2018
The United Federation of Teachers is trying to sell its membership a contract that cuts health care, reduces real wages and maintains poor conditions for students.
Seventh New York taxi industry driver commits suicide
By Leslie Murtagh and Daniel de Vries, 18 October 2018
The suicide shines a spotlight on the dire conditions facing drivers of the approximately 80,000 cars in New York City affiliated with ride-sharing app companies.
Billionaire Bloomberg rejoins Democratic Party
By Patrick Martin, 12 October 2018
The billionaire’s political career demonstrates the fundamental identity of the two corporate-controlled parties that comprise the US two-party system.
Deadliest US transportation incident since 2009
Limo in crash that killed 20 owned by FBI terror “sting” operative
By Josh Varlin, 10 October 2018
The limo company, owned by a valued FBI agent provocateur, had failed 80 percent of inspections over the last two years, yet remained in business.
Deadliest US transportation incident since 2009
Limo crash in upstate New York kills 20
By Josh Varlin, 8 October 2018
The tragedy underscores the dangerous state of roads in the US.
New York City affordable housing crisis continues to worsen
By Philip Guelpa, 3 October 2018
Nearly half a million affordable housing units were lost over the last dozen years, while there was a fourfold increase in high-end units during the same period.
New York police officers caught running prostitution ring
By Guillaume Garnier, 28 September 2018
Seven NYPD officers were arrested this month for their involvement in the administration of prostitution rings and illegal gambling.
New Census Bureau report details poor conditions in New York’s Public Housing
By Mark Witkowski, 28 September 2018
The latest triannual US Census report on New York City housing reveals worsening conditions for the poorest New Yorkers.
Andrew Cuomo defeats Cynthia Nixon in New York Democratic gubernatorial primary election
By Sandy English, 15 September 2018
Cuomo had the backing of the dominant sections of the ruling class, raising over $25 million for his campaign.
New York University president receives base pay of $1.3 million
By Katy Kinner, 4 September 2018
Andrew Hamilton’s total pay, including compensation and bonuses, would be roughly $2 million, placing him tenth on the list for highest-compensated university administrators.
Mayor demands New Yorkers “respect police officers”
By Isaac Finn, 24 August 2018
Following the posting of a handful of videos on social media of New York City residents cursing at police, Mayor de Blasio told New Yorkers that they “have to respect police officers.”
Former New York City jail guards union head convicted of bribery
By Josh Varlin, 24 August 2018
The conviction of former New York prison guards’ union president Norman Seabrook sheds light on a corrupt nexus of police, union and corporate-financial figures exchanging money and favors.
Audit examines the decline of New York’s Long Island Rail Road
By Alan Whyte and A. Woodson, 16 August 2018
Last year, an estimated 9.2 million commuters experienced late or canceled trains.
New York City Council caps Uber
By Clare Hurley, 14 August 2018
A temporary glitch for the app-based ride hailing service, the legislation will do little to address the underlying crisis of public transportation in the largest US metropolis.
Former tennis player James Blake criticizes NYC mayor for handling of false arrest in 2015
By Isaac Finn, 7 August 2018
On Wednesday Blake condemned New York City’s Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio for failing to inform him about a disciplinary trial of the cop who tackled him in front of a hotel.
Long Island Rail Road derailment underscores decay of New York’s transportation infrastructure
By Josh Varlin, 3 August 2018
The derailment affected thousands of commuters well into the evening rush hour.
Bernie Sanders embraces the anti-Russia campaign
By Patrick Martin, 23 July 2018
There is no contradiction between the influx of military-intelligence candidates into the Democratic Party and the Democrats’ making use of the services of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez to give the party a “left” cover.
Steam pipe explosion in Manhattan spreads asbestos
By Sandy English, 23 July 2018
The accident is the latest in a series that points to the decay of the physical infrastructure in New York.
“We should be governing ourselves in this fight”
UPS workers’ opposition grows to Teamsters sellout
By Will Morrow, 19 July 2018
The proposed deal maintains poverty level wages for part-time workers, introduces a new lower-paid “hybrid” worker, and does nothing to address unsafe working conditions.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio agrees to contract with city’s largest union
By Ali Elhassan, 18 July 2018
The three-year deal, covering 100,000 workers, contains a paltry raise that will be paid for by increased out-of-pocket medical expenses.
Trump administration rescinds right of detained immigrants to in-person court appearances in New York City
By Guillaume Garnier, 5 July 2018
ICE has stopped allowing detained immigrants in its Manhattan facility to appear in person at court hearings.
Report: Lower-income New Yorkers suffer the greatest mass transit hardships
By Alan Whyte, 5 July 2018
An independent study by two Federal Reserve Bank of New York economists concludes that the city’s lower income residents experience more transit interruptions and delays than those with higher incomes.
Unaccompanied immigrant children sent to New York are “disappeared” by ICE
By Steve Light, 29 June 2018
As refugee children were separated from parents at the southern border while seeking asylum in the United States, some were transferred almost 2,000 miles to New York City.
What the New York primary victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez means
By Patrick Martin, 28 June 2018
A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Ocasio-Cortez offered not a hint of genuine socialism in her campaign.
DSA member Ocasio-Cortez beats incumbent Congressman in New York Democratic Party primary
By Isaac Finn, 27 June 2018
In a major political upset, Democratic Socialists of America member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won the Democratic Party primary for New York’s 14th Congressional District against incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley.
After years of neglect, New York City public housing headed for privatization
By Philip Guelpa, 26 June 2018
The abysmal conditions in which 400,000 tenants are forced to live are the result of decades of disinvestment.
How the DSA bolsters the Democratic Party establishment: The case of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
By Isaac Finn, 23 June 2018
The DSA congressional candidate in a New York City district is sowing illusions that the Democratic Party establishment can be pushed to the left.
Another New York City taxi driver commits suicide
By Clare Hurley, 21 June 2018
Abdul Saleh’s suicide is the sixth among the city’s livery drivers in the last six months.
Left Forum gathering’s “strategy for the left”: Support the Democratic Party
By Sandy English, 20 June 2018
The orientation to the Wall Street and CIA Democrats was very clear at this year’s gathering in New York City of assorted opponents of revolutionary socialism.
Before the Fall: German and Austrian Art of the 1930s on view in New York City
By Fred Mazelis, 26 May 2018
The timeliness of this work hardly needs restating amid the social and political crisis on both sides of the Atlantic.
Puerto Rican students at New York University ask to stay another semester
By Isaac Finn, 24 May 2018
Twenty-seven Puerto Rican students, who are attending NYU through a program to aid survivors of Hurricane Maria, have requested that the NYU administration extend the program.
Columbia University graduate students set to strike in New York City
By Josh Varlin, 24 April 2018
Graduate students at the New York City Ivy League university are striking after Columbia refused to bargain with the union.
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