WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2025
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Dear New Yorkers,
The two candidates running for city comptroller didn’t go head-to-head as much as they showed how much they overlap during Tuesday’s final televised comptroller debate.
The candidates, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and City Councilmember Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn) both agreed that the city funnels too many dollars to outside consultants instead of to public schools, said pension funds should not be invested in cryptocurrency, and wanted to use the office to make the city more affordable.
The comptroller oversees the city’s $112 billion budget, and often acts as a check on the mayor. With a president threatening to slash federal funds, the comptroller’s perspective on how to balance the budget could prove particularly significant — and Brannan and Levine took different stances on the issue.
Levine proposed adding to the city’s reserve to protect against federal cuts, which Mayor Eric Adams has resisted. Brannan, on the other hand, proposed investing in the city’s most vulnerable communities — protecting them from the city-level cuts that bolstering reserves would require.
Read more here to catch up on the debate, co-moderated by THE CITY.
Weather ☀️
Warmer weather starts today and lasts through Friday: 80 degrees and sunny.
MTA 🚇
There’s no L train in Manhattan between 14 Street-Union Square and 8 Ave overnight. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.
Alternate side parking 🚙
It’s in effect today, June 11.
By the way…
The Whitney Museum is hosting free queer history walks on Fridays and Sundays all month for Pride. Sign up online.
Our Other Top Stories
- The FARE Act goes into effect today, meaning tenants will no longer have to pay brokers’ fees for their apartments if they didn’t hire the broker themselves. If you’re looking for an apartment and there’s still a broker’s fee, you can report it online.
- Thousands of people flooded Lower Manhattan on Tuesday protesting Trump’s immigration crackdown, which has been playing out inside city immigration courthouses for weeks. The NYPD arrested several dozen protestors, some aggressively, in a standoff that lasted over three hours.
- City Council leaders Gale Brewer and Speaker Adrienne Adams are requesting a probe into whether the NYPD has been violating NYC’s sanctuary city laws. Citing reporting from THE CITY, they wrote that “recent episodes raise serious doubts that should be urgently addressed.”
- Most judicial nominations are determined before voters even see their ballot. But in the June primary, some voters will have a say in filling vacancies on the Civil Court and selecting delegates — who then will select Supreme Court judges. Learn about what judge races you’ll see on your ballot here.
- It’s crunch time: Early voting begins this Saturday, and Primary Day is June 24. In our latest Ranked Choices election newsletter, we cover everything you need to know before voting: How to check your registration and find your polling place, guides on ranked choice voting and ranking strategy, and our Meet Your Mayor quiz so you know who to rank when you get into the voting booth. Plus, a reader question on mail-in ballots — read it all here.
Reporter’s Notebook
More Dirt
New Yorkers are getting better at composting, an analysis by Baruch College sustainability professor Samantha MacBride has found.
In May, New Yorkers across the city threw out about 89% of material that could be composted in May, meaning they properly diverted over 10% of compostable material. That’s an improvement from the more than 97% of compostable material trashed in March.
The trend follows a big change: On April 1, the Department of Sanitation began issuing fines for failure to separate organics from trash, then paused fines for most properties weeks later. MacBride said “the threat of fines” ed for the jumps.
Of the five boroughs, Staten Island did the best, correctly composting nearly 23% of organic material in May. Between April and May, The Bronx saw the biggest jump in rates, correctly sending 25% more organics to the proper channel from April to May.
On May 18, a record 5.4 million pounds of compostable material avoided landfills, and it was the fourth time in the last two months the amount collected smashed records, according to DSNY.
“These numbers show that New Yorkers want to compost, and they will do so when offered a simple, free, weekly service,” said DSNY spokesperson Vincent Gragnani in a statement.
— Samantha Maldonado
Things To Do
Here are some free and low-cost things to do around the city this week.
- Wednesday, June 11: Bingo! At Bryant Park. 7 p.m.
- Wednesday, June 11: It’s the start of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City, which features hundreds of free and choose-what-you-pay activities and performances.
- Thursday, June 12: Dance the night away to hits that defined club culture in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s with Vinyl Nights, a free, all-ages event. Bella Abzug Park in Hudson Yards, 6 p.m.
THE KICKER: On this day in 1862, the first horse-drawn hansom cab was introduced in Central Park.
Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Wednesday.
Love,
THE CITY
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