New York
New York City homeless crisis results in deaths of two toddlers
By Steve Light, 10 December 2016
Lack of affordable housing and overcrowding of the homeless shelter system results in tragedies, the most recent being the death of two young sisters by radiator steam burns.
Growing support for IYSSE campaign against censorship at New York University
By a WSWS reporting team, 7 December 2016
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality is winning widespread support from faculty and students after launching a campaign against efforts to block the formation of new clubs.
NYU’s corporate leadership bars socialist student group from campus
By Eric London, 3 December 2016
The decision by the Student Activities Board to reject the IYSSE’s application for group status sheds light on the ties between NYU, the US military and Wall Street.
UK: Two homeless people die in fire in derelict Manchester building
By Margot Miller and Dennis Moore, 30 November 2016
Labour councils have been in the forefront of demonizing the homeless.
Reverse the rejection of club status for the International Youth and Students for Social Equality!
An open letter to the New York University Student Activities Board
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, 29 November 2016
Earlier this month, the Student Activities Board of NYU, in an act of political censorship, blocked the IYSSE from establishing a club on campus.
205 NYU IYSSE statement
28 November 2016
New York City transit worker killed, another injured in subway accident
By Alan Whyte, 11 November 2016
Nearly 240 New York City transit workers have been killed on the job since 1946, most of them hit by trains.
Police killing of mentally ill 66-year-old Bronx, New York woman sparks outrage
By Fred Mazelis, 21 October 2016
The murder of Deborah Danner brought back memories of the 1984 death of Eleanor Bumpurs, another emotionally disturbed elderly woman, at the hands of the police.
Six-week-old baby girl dies in Brooklyn elevator tragedy
By Philip Guelpa, 17 October 2016
Chronically poor maintenance by the private landlord, facilitated by the city, creates dangerous and deadly conditions for working class tenants.
Video raises questions in 2012 New York police killing of Ramarley Graham
By Sandy English, 5 October 2016
A new surveillance video obtained by the New York Daily News shows paramedics covering and then uncovering the corpse of Ramarley Graham, who was killed by police in 2012.
New York and New Jersey scandals highlight corruption across political establishment
By Fred Mazelis, 27 September 2016
Charges in a wide-ranging investigation into bribery and extortion by New York Democrats came amid sensational testimony in the trial of close aides to Republican Governor Chris Christie in New Jersey.
The New York bombings: Feeding the “war on terror”
By Bill Van Auken, 23 September 2016
As with virtually every other terrorist act on American soil since 9/11, the latest bombings were carried out by someone known to US intelligence agencies.
Questions mount over government contacts with NYC bomb suspect
By Patrick Martin, 21 September 2016
The FBI opened an investigation into Ahmad Khan Rahami in 2014, and he was also under review by a unit of the Department of Homeland Security.
Massive police-military mobilization after New York City bombing
By Patrick Martin, 20 September 2016
The latest New York City bombing is yet another example of the pathological social environment created by a quarter-century of war.
Governor deploys National Guard and state police after bombing in New York
By Philip Guelpa, 19 September 2016
Following the explosion of one bomb and the discovery of a second in an upscale Manhattan neighborhood, police and military presence is heightened throughout the city.
Brooklyn workers and young people speak to Socialist Equality Party election campaign
By Sandy English, 14 September 2016
Supporters of the Socialist Equality Party campaigned in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant over the weekend.
Notes on the housing crisis
New York City surpasses London, Tokyo for highest rents
By Philip Guelpa, 10 September 2016
Extreme economic inequality in New York City is creating conditions that are unlivable for much of the city’s population.
Long Island University-Brooklyn locks out 400 professors
By Daniel de Vries and Allen Whyte, 9 September 2016
LIU’s action marks the first time a university has used a lockout to impose concessions on faculty.
New York police continue to violate court safeguards in surveillance of Muslims
By Isaac Finn, 2 September 2016
According to an oversight organization for the NYPD, police frequently violated court-imposed guidelines as part of the department’s spying on Muslims between 2010 and 2015.
Kafkaesque conditions facing homeless families in New York City
By Fred Mazelis, 1 September 2016
A major cause of the deepening homeless crisis is the lack of decent-paying jobs, combined with the even more dramatic decline of affordable housing.
“Political art” in New York City this summer
By Clare Hurley, 29 August 2016
While much of the artwork is as yet unsatisfying, it is welcome that many of these visual artists are registering awareness of the social and political crisis.
New York politicians maneuver to support charter schools
By Steve Light, 24 August 2016
Democrats and Republicans are aiding the privatization of public education by seeking to exemptions for charter schools from state regulations.
Majority of New York City residents cannot afford to buy their own homes
By Philip Guelpa, 23 August 2016
The rising price of homes coupled with stagnant or declining wages in the wealthiest city in the country means that only those with the highest incomes can afford to own their homes.
New York City police commissioner Bratton resigns
By Philip Guelpa and Fred Mazelis, 8 August 2016
The abrupt resignation of the NYPD commissioner comes amid a counteroffensive in response to protests against police brutality and police killings over the past several years.
050 Bratton resignation
5 August 2016
Maryland state’s attorney clears police officers involved in killing of Freddie Gray of all charges
By Nick Barrickman, 28 July 2016
Prosecutors dropped all charges against the remaining three officers still to be tried for the April 12, 2015 arrest and subsequent death of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray.
Nearly two thirds of New Yorkers suffer severe economic hardship
By Philip Guelpa, 28 July 2016
A two-year-long study of New York City residents reveals substantial, widespread poverty and other economic disadvantages.
Video: Workers discuss social crisis in Philadelphia on eve of Democratic National Convention
By Jerry White and Zac Corrigan, 23 July 2016
Workers and young people spoke with Socialist Equality Party candidate for US president, Jerry White, about social inequality in the city.
New York City workers discuss police killings, inequality with SEP candidate
By Jerry White and Zac Corrigan, 20 July 2016
On the second anniversary of the police killing of Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York, workers spoke with Socialist Equality Party presidential candidate about the class divide in America’s largest city.
Housing crisis intensifies in Syracuse, New York
By Steve Filips, 13 July 2016
The housing situation for the working class in Syracuse belies the claims of economic recovery by the Obama administration.
New video shows off-duty New York cop murdering motorist
By Sandy English, 11 July 2016
A store surveillance video has surfaced that shows the killing of Delrawn Small by off-duty New York Police Department officer Wayne Isaacs at a traffic altercation.
New York City takes major step in privatization of public housing
By Philip Guelpa, 11 July 2016
The de Blasio administration is moving forward with its NextGen program, which will lease open space within public housing complexes to private developers.
New report discusses gentrification and its impact on New York City neighborhoods
By Isaac Finn and Fred Mazelis, 23 June 2016
The recent report from New York University’s Furman Center is at best a pale reflection of the reality of the housing crisis facing the working class.
Arrest of New York prison guards’ union chief highlights broader nexus of corruption
By Fred Mazelis, 13 June 2016
Norman Seabrook, notorious for defending the brutality of correction officers, is accused of taking a kickback for investing union pension monies into a high-risk hedge fund.
Five New York City Rikers Island prison guards found guilty in beating
By Sandy English, 10 June 2016
A jury convicted guards at the Rikers Island jail complex this week on several counts in the vicious 2012 attack on inmate Jahmal Lightfoot.
New York court allows police to cover up mass surveillance operations
By Daniel de Vries, 10 June 2016
The NYPD's successful denial of an open records request about spying operation sets a potentially far-reaching precedent.
nypd
By Daniel de Vries, 9 June 2016
Nearly 5,000 Macy’s workers set to go on strike
By Mark Witkowski and Philip Guelpa, 31 May 2016
New York area Macy’s workers voted earlier in May to authorize strike action against the company’s demands.
New York Police Commissioner defends NYPD’s use of nuisance laws
By Robert Fowler and Sandy English, 12 May 2016
New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton has defended the NYPD’s use of so-called nuisance laws to unconstitutionally search residences and small businesses.
New York cop convicted of killing Akai Gurley receives no prison time
By Philip Guelpa, 21 April 2016
The police officer who shot and killed a young African-American man in a New York public housing complex has been sentenced to probation and community service.
Sanders campaigns in Syracuse, New York
By Steve Filips, 13 April 2016
In upstate New York, relatively good-paying jobs have been replaced by low-wage employment.
New York City affordable housing programs designed to benefit developers
By Philip Guelpa, 22 March 2016
A compromise over two affordable housing programs between Mayor de Blasio and the City Council will do nothing to ameliorate the city’s acute housing crisis.
Faculty and students protest budget cuts proposed for City University of New York
By Isaac Finn, 19 March 2016
Hundreds demonstrated against plans to cut $485 million in CUNY funding at Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office in Manhattan.
Justice Department refuses to prosecute New York police killer of Ramarley Graham
By Steve Light, 19 March 2016
The US attorney for Southern Manhattan has refused to bring civil rights violation charges against the cop who killed Graham in 2012.
Overcrowding in New York City Housing Authority fueled by lack of jobs and affordable apartments
By Fred Mazelis, 16 March 2016
The official population in the city’s massive public housing projects is 400,000, but an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 additional tenants are “off the books.”
New York City’s housing crisis deepens under “progressive” Mayor de Blasio
By Fred Mazelis, 12 March 2016
Nearly 10 percent of the city’s households now live in conditions defined as crowded, in apartments with more than one person per room.
Review board: New York police routinely conduct aggressive and illegal home searches
By Philip Guelpa, 8 March 2016
A civilian review board reports that the NYPD systematically violates protections against warrantless home invasions.
New York City transit upgrade aids developers
By Mark Witkowski and Philip Guelpa, 3 March 2016
Plans recently announced by Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio for transportation improvements will benefit real estate developers at the expense of working class riders.
Poor evicted under nuisance laws by New York City police
By Steve Light, 1 March 2016
The NYPD is carrying out housing evictions without warning using a “nuisance” law, even when no crime was committed.
New York police used military-grade cellphone surveillance equipment over 1,000 times
By Isaac Finn, 25 February 2016
The NYPD has disclosed documents on its extensive use of a mobile cellphone surveillance device known as “StingRay.”
New York City Council members award themselves a 32 percent pay raise
By Isaac Finn and Sandy English, 24 February 2016
The Democratic Party-dominated council’s decision to give itself a pay raise exposes the self-interested character of this upper middle-class layer of elected officials.
New York police officer convicted of killing Akai Gurley
By Philip Guelpa, 13 February 2016
After two days of deliberations, New York police officer Peter Liang was convicted of manslaughter and official misconduct in the shooting death of Akai Gurley.
New York City public employee pension funds in danger of “operational failure”
By Philip Guelpa, 9 February 2016
A newly released report indicates that the system that provides for city worker pensions is in serious difficulty.
Crane collapses in Manhattan, killing one and injuring three
By Alan Whyte, 6 February 2016
One person was killed and three others hurt when a 565-foot crane collapsed in lower Manhattan Friday morning.
Deaths in Bronx fires highlight homeless crisis
By our reporters, 4 February 2016
The search for shelter in the largest city in the US, especially in the cold winter weather, has had tragic consequences.
Uber cuts protested by New York City drivers
By Steve Light and Isaac Finn, 2 February 2016
With support from taxi drivers, Uber drivers in New York City protested rate cuts by the international company, which will reduce already meager incomes even further.
Notes on the housing crisis
Number of empty luxury apartments in New York City continues to rise
By Robert Fowler, 1 February 2016
As the number of homeless reaches new heights in New York City, more and more apartments owned by absentee, super-wealthy owners stay empty for most of the year.
Windfall affordable housing tax break for New York developers expires
By Philip Guelpa, 23 January 2016
Failure to renew the 421-a tax break for developers will have a negligible effect on the critical lack of affordable housing in New York City.
New York City intensifies assault on the homeless
By Philip Guelpa, 30 December 2015
As the growth of income inequality in the city compounds a major housing crisis, the de Blasio administration is increasing its attacks on the homeless.
Public meetings in Detroit and New York
The roots and political implications of the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino
9 December 2015
On December 9 and December 12, the IYSSE is holding meetings on the attacks in France and the US, and the way they are being used by the ruling class.
Behind the struggle for affordable housing in New York City
By Philip Guelpa, 4 December 2015
A current museum exhibit looks at the history of housing for the working class, and leaves much unsaid or distorted.
New York City police deploy new counterterrorism unit
By Sandy English, 23 November 2015
The ultimate purpose of the new police unit is to deal with opposition from the city’s increasingly impoverished working class to growing social inequality and the drive toward war.
City University of New York faculty protest for higher wages and defense of education
By Isaac Finn, 18 November 2015
After five years without a contract, hundreds of CUNY faculty held a protest in Manhattan to demand an increase in salary and an end to the attack on public higher education.
New York attorney general to investigate ExxonMobil over climate change falsifications
By Nick Barrickman, 9 November 2015
The attorney general is seeking access to financial records that may show the company misled corporate investors about the effects of climate change on the oil giant’s bottom line.
Leading New York state politicians on trial for corruption
By Philip Guelpa, 9 November 2015
The corruption trials of two prominent New York politicians, Democrat Sheldon Silver and Republican Dean Skelos, on fraud, extortion, bribery, and other charges, begin this month.
No details from New York police on X-ray surveillance vans
By Sandy English, 4 November 2015
The NYPD is refusing to release information about the deployment of X-ray vans, which it claims will be used for “counterterrorism” efforts.
New York City workers back autoworkers’ contract fight
By our reporters, 3 November 2015
Transit and telecommunication workers in New York spoke to the WSWS about the common issues facing workers in different industries.
Appeals Court allows lawsuit against NYPD’s spying on Muslims to proceed
By Isaac Finn, 27 October 2015
The lawsuit was filed in response to extensive spying on Muslims carried out by the NYPD’s now-disbanded Demographics Unit.
New York City mayor falsely hails sale of Stuyvesant Town complex as advance for affordable housing
By Fred Mazelis, 26 October 2015
Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio’s concept of affordability applies, at best, only to the top 10 percent of the city’s population.
New York City joins Strong Cities “anti-terror” network, stepping up police surveillance
By Isaac Finn, 10 October 2015
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement drew criticism from civil liberties and Muslim community organizations, who argue that the program will unfairly target Muslims.
New York mayor promotes gentrification of Brooklyn neighborhood
By Philip Guelpa, 8 October 2015
Democratic mayor Bill de Blasio has announced a housing program that will benefit developers and lead to the displacement of working class residents.
Consent decree calls for state oversight at New York’s Cooper Union
By Isaac Finn, 2 October 2015
The withdrawal of a lawsuit against the college leaves the issue of free tuition unresolved.
New York housing crisis impacts Brooklyn building workers and tenants
By Steve Light and Allen Whyte, 24 September 2015
Workers and tenants in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood are confronting a determined effort to drive them out of their building so it can be transformed into high-rent apartments.
New subway station in New York cannot hide the growing crisis of public transit and housing
By Mark Witkowski and Sandy English, 22 September 2015
New York City’s first new subway station in a quarter of a century is a gift to wealthy realtors.
Minimum-wage workers cannot afford apartments in New York City
By Isaac Finn, 16 September 2015
According to a recent report, it is impossible for a worker making New York’s minimum wage to find an affordable apartment in any New York City neighborhood.
New York Mayor de Blasio’s tale of two cities: Homeless routed out of encampments
By Clare Hurley, 9 September 2015
The Democratic mayor is taking more aggressive measures to close down homeless encampments.
Interviews with residents of Pamoja House Homeless Shelter in Brooklyn
By Clare Hurley, 9 September 2015
The WSWS spoke with several residents of Pamoja House Next Step Shelter, a 200-bed men’s shelter in Brooklyn.
A&P supermarket chain asks bankruptcy court to overturn labor agreements
By Isaac Finn, 1 September 2015
A&P is asking the court to disregard provisions related to seniority and cut severance pay, amid threats to slash 22,000 jobs.
New York cops spied on activists against police violence
By Sandy English, 29 August 2015
Newly released documents show undercover cops took photographs of organizers of protests against police violence last winter and recorded their activities.
The New York City housing crisis and the $100 million penthouse
By Philip Guelpa, 26 August 2015
The acute shortage of affordable housing in New York City continues to worsen while the prices of luxury residences for the city’s elite rise to unprecedented heights.
New York City lawyers suggest health care provider committed a crime in death of Rikers Island inmate
By Isaac Finn, 22 August 2015
Court documents indicate that New York City will opt out of a contractual obligation to defend the health care provider at Rikers Island.
New York governor implicated in torture by state prison officials
By Eric London, 12 August 2015
Prison guards tortured and beat dozens of inmates following the escape of two prisoners in June, hanging one with a plastic bag until he lost consciousness.
Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in the Bronx exposes safety issues
By Sandy English, 6 August 2015
Seven people have died and 86 have taken ill in the Bronx from the airborne bacterial form of pneumonia known as Legionnaire’s disease.
New York joins other cities and states in lifting minimum wage
By Fred Mazelis, 31 July 2015
The gradual increases to $15 an hour reflects fear of growing anger in the working class, but will still leave workers far short of a decent wage and living standard.
Verizon workers rally in New York, authorize strike action
By a WSWS reporting team, 29 July 2015
Workers denounced attacks on benefits and job security at Manhattan demonstration.
New York City airport workers’ job action called off by union
By Alan Whyte, 24 July 2015
A planned strike of 1,200 poorly paid New York City airport workers was called off after a deal was reached with the SEIU to achieve “labor peace.”
Brooklyn Library locations sold to real estate developers
By Isaac Finn, 20 July 2015
Two Brooklyn Library locations will be sold to real estate developers, allowing them to build housing market-rate units.
Family of Eric Garner demands criminal prosecution after New York City announces $5.9 million settlement
By Fred Mazelis, 15 July 2015
A key aim of the settlement is to continue the cover-up of Garner’s murder, including the manipulation of the grand jury to protect the police.
Behind New York’s Cuomo-de Blasio feud
By Philip Guelpa and Fred Mazelis, 14 July 2015
The two leading New York Democrats are governing at a time of growing crisis and disgust with capitalist politics.
Brooklyn real estate developer assails building workers and tenants
By Steve Light and Allen Whyte, 7 July 2015
Nine building maintenance workers in the Bedford-Stuyvesant community of Brooklyn were fired from their jobs for refusing cuts in wages and benefits.
Manhattan real estate prices hit record high
By Sandy English, 6 July 2015
The average sale price of an apartment in the New York City borough of Manhattan, the home of Wall Street, is now $1.87 million.
Public housing crisis intensifies in Syracuse, New York
By Steve Filips, 4 July 2015
The average person in Syracuse has to wait over three years to be placed in low-income public housing, with more than 3,000 people on waiting lists.
New York City police officers waited 20 minutes to report shooting of Akai Gurley
By Isaac Finn, 29 June 2015
Officers waited 20 minutes to report the shooting of an unarmed man in one of New York City’s public housing facilities and failed to give medical assistance as he lay dying.
Legislative deal means further deepening of New York’s housing crisis
By Philip Guelpa, 29 June 2015
Democrats and Republicans agreed to a deal which leaves essentially unchanged existing rent regulations and tax breaks that favor landlords and developers.
New York City mayor announces plan to hire more police
By Sandy English, 26 June 2015
Mayor Bill de Blasio has agreed to increase the size of the New York Police Department by 1,300 officers, at the cost of $170 million.
New York City plans public housing privatization
By Daniel de Vries, 11 June 2015
Democratic Party Mayor Bill de Blasio is using the New York City Housing Authority’s financial crisis to turn large sections of public housing property over to private developers.
Mounting opposition to Democratic politicians in New York
By Fred Mazelis, 9 June 2015
A new poll provides a pale reflection of the depth of public anger over corruption and inequality.
New York City nurses threaten strike over staffing levels
By Robert Fowler and Philip Guelpa, 8 June 2015
Nurses in New York City’s private hospitals overwhelmingly authorized strike action to demand adequate staffing.
New York City public libraries face continued assault under de Blasio administration
By Robert Fowler, 27 May 2015
New York City’s three public library systems will see a continuation of budget cuts and the denial of necessary capital spending under Democratic Party mayor Bill de Blasio.
New York mayor de Blasio’s housing plan: An assault on the working class
By Philip Guelpa, 23 May 2015
Bill de Blasio’s housing proposal opens the door to privatizing public housing while squeezing more money from low-income residents.
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