Friday, April 17, 2026
Dear New Yorkers,
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s new proposal for a law limiting cooperation between local police departments and federal immigration authorities in the absence of “probable cause” of a crime is being criticized by state lawmakers pushing a more sweeping bill for not going far enough — and by Republicans for going too far.
The negotiations among Democrats in Albany over the law, which would be packaged into the overdue state budget, come as a review by THE CITY of habeas petitions filed in federal courts in New York City and New Jersey found three dozen arrests in a recent six-month span in which local police departments in New York State allegedly collaborated with ICE to apprehend unsuspecting immigrants.
Those arrests all came in localities that lack New York City’s sanctuary city protections, leaving local law enforcement there free to share information with ICE and to coordinate operations.
Most of the cases occurred in Nassau County, where County Executive Bruce Blakeman is also the Republican candidate for governor running against Hochul — and where the sheriff and police departments have expansive agreements with ICE that deputize them to conduct federal immigration enforcement.
Many of the arrests identified by THE CITY, however, involved local police and probation officers tipping off ICE agents, rather than making arrests themselves. They also include ones where immigrants describe waiting for police and a tow truck after minor car crashes, only for ICE to come instead.
Read more here.
Weather 🌤️
Mostly sunny, with a high near 77 and a chance of showers, mainly after 2:00 p.m.
MTA 🚇
In Brooklyn, no Manhattan-bound J trains between Chauncey Street and Kosciuszko Street from 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.
Alternate side parking 🚙
It’s in effect today, April 17.
By the way …
The Queens Night Market season kicks off tomorrow with $5 “sneak preview” tickets before opening with free admission in May.
Our Other Top Stories
- Fifteen home health aides started an indefinite hunger strike on Thursday after the City Council failed to advance a bill banning 24-hour shifts — an issue that has roiled both the mostly immigrant women working in the home-care industry and the vulnerable patients who rely on their round-the-clock care. Read more here.
- After more than five years of prodding from local residents, elected officials and the MTA, Columbia University will pay $33 million to cover some of the cost of accessibility upgrades including a new elevator at the No. 1 line’s towering 125th Street station, THE CITY has learned.
- A federal judge said she is “very, very troubled” by a pattern of errors and foot-dragging by city lawyers in a class-action lawsuit filed in 2024 over in vitro fertilization benefits for gay men covered by the city’s health plan. Read more here.
Reporter’s Notebook
Council Confirms City Hall DOI Pick
The City Council voted overwhelmingly Thursday to confirm Nadia Shihata as commissioner of the Department of Investigation, even after some members had questioned her independence from Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
During a recent hearing before the Rules Committee, Shihata was grilled about $700 in contributions to the mayor’s campaign, as well as her longstanding friendship with Mamdani’s general counsel, Ramzi Kassem.
The full Council voted 40-9 to confirm (with two absentees), with Councilmember David Carr (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) voting “no” after revealing Shihata had ignored his request to review her private social media posts. “I think it’s reasonable to go through her past,” he said. But Councilmember Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn) praised Shihata’s history of independence as a Brooklyn federal prosecutor.
Shihata thanked both “the mayor for his nomination and City Council for its thorough questioning.” She is set to begin her new job next week.
— Greg B. Smith
Mamdani Releases His Tax Filing
Mayor Zohran Mamdani shared his 2025 tax returns on Thursday, showing nominal royalties from his previous career as a rapper.
Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, filed jointly for the first time and reported their gross income at $144,784.
Mamdani brought in the bulk of that, making more than $134,000 as a Queens state assemblymember. Duwaji, an artist who listed her job as a graphic designer, reported $10,010 in income.
The mayor also listed the royalties from his music career -– first as Young Cardamom, and later as Mr. Cardamom — at $1,643.
“If you want the royalties to go up, go to Spotify,” he joked when asked about his returns at the end of an unrelated press conference.
Mamdani did not list any charitable donations, but his spokesperson said he took a standard deduction which could include them.
—Katie Honan
Things To Do
Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.
- Friday, April 17: Join NYC Parks staff on a hike around Sherman Creek in upper Manhattan to explore the diversity of spring wildflowers. Free, at 10:00 a.m.
- Saturday, April 18: Spend the weekend celebrating the earth with free activities for all ages, including walking tours, an outdoor sound bath, climate tech demos and food trucks at Governor’s Island. Free, starting at 10:00 a.m.
- Saturday, April 18: Roller dance at the Central Park Skate Circle with live DJs, an event that’s nearly as much fun to watch as it is to join. Free, 2:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
THE KICKER: A beekeeper distributed 12,000 live bees to the city’s hobby beekeepers at a honey store in the Upper West Side last week.
Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Friday.
Love,
THE CITY
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