FAQ NYC

Ann Cheng, executive director of NYC’s Commission on Government Efficiency, and Emma Wolfe, former deputy mayor and NYU operations leader, unpack the five charter proposals on the back of NYC ballots. They discuss cutting red tape, faster permitting and procurement, city property, street safety, and a rainy-day fund. The conversation also covers early voting turnout, confusing ballots, campaign tactics, and City Council legislation.

Gwynne Hogan, an immigration reporter for The City, joins a live discussion on New York’s election stakes. She explores how migration, asylum policy, shelters and enforcement are reshaping politics. The panel weighs Hochul, Mamdani, Trump, voter fears, affordability and generational change, while sharing stories of immigrant hope colliding with ICE’s reality.

Katie Honan, a senior reporter at The City Reporter covering New York politics and local affairs, joins a lively discussion of the city’s unfinished carriage horse ban and its uncertain aftermath. The conversation also explores Bruce Blakeman’s fear-based campaign tactics, James Dolan’s political allegiances, and the remarkable life and posthumous journey of pioneering journalist Laisel Lester. O.J. Simpson coverage and local news priorities round things out.

Mamdani faces mounting pressure after the Marble Hill ICE shooting, with debates over sanctuary-city enforcement, federal power, and whether Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch should stay. His October 7 messaging draws backlash from Jewish groups and pro-Palestinian activists alike. The discussion also turns to New York’s election, Democratic weakness, theater picks, and a disappointing Knicks preseason game.

New York’s leading women weigh in on the Cornell rape allegations, Gov. Hochul’s choice of Letitia James, and the legal and moral fallout. The discussion also covers student journalism, AI regulation and its social costs, Chip City’s sudden closures, billionaire moon ambitions, political careers after office, and New York’s upcoming elections.

Mark Levine, New York City Comptroller and former Manhattan borough president, joins journalist Katie Honan of The City. They explore AI’s impact on New York’s economy, commercial real estate, pensions, government operations and cybersecurity. Levine warns of agentic AI, a potential market correction and a looming $6–7 billion budget gap, while sharing cautious optimism about the city’s creativity and resilience.

Asad Dandia, Brooklyn borough historian and surveillance-reform advocate, joins journalist Katie Honan to explore New York’s long history of terror and political policing. They trace anarchist bombings, COINTELPRO, post-9/11 surveillance, Islamophobia, and the targeting of immigrant communities. The conversation also examines online radicalization, the politics of public safety, and who gets labeled a terrorist.

Mamdani and Trump prepare for a high-stakes meeting at Gracie Mansion, while questions swirl around Israel, policing, and City Hall’s ability to deliver on an ambitious agenda. The conversation also explores a slavery-era African burial ground threatened by development, UN and Climate Week congestion, and the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s escalating legal and political turmoil.

Ric Burns, the acclaimed historical filmmaker, and James Sanders, an architect, writer, and urbanist, revisit their sweeping portrait of New York. They discuss the crises reshaping the city since 9/11, the legacies of LaGuardia and Bloomberg, the loss of the port, digital government, gentrification, immigration, housing pressures, and a changing relationship with the past.

Katie Honan, a New York City reporter covering politics and neighborhood affairs, joins a sharp conversation about 9/11 remembrance at O’Hara’s Pub, air-quality records, and manufactured outrage around Mayor Zohran Mamdani. They also examine a deadly Bronx Legionnaires’ outbreak, neglected water-tower testing, the selective rehabilitation of George W. Bush, and how time reshapes political legacies.