Friday, May 8, 2026
Dear New Yorkers,
Will stabilized tenants see a rent freeze this year? After a first vote from the Mamdani-majority rent board last night, we still don’t have a straight answer.
The Rent Guidelines Board left the door open for a rent increase despite the new mayor’s promise to keep prices flat for a million rent-stabilized tenants in New York.
The board approved a range of possible rent levels in its preliminary vote. And yes, the range included the possibility of a freeze.
But that did nothing to assure tenant and labor groups in attendance, who loudly booed and demanded the members roll back the preliminary vote that passed after all previous motions for a rent freeze failed.
Weather 🌤️
Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. Isolated showers before 8 p.m.
MTA 🚇
In Brooklyn, Brighton Beach-bound B trains run local from Prospect Park to Kings Highway from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.
Alternate side parking 🚙
It’s in effect today, May 8.
By the way…
Remember that Sunday is Mother’s Day, and if you need a special thing to do, the Parks Department has a slew of events filled with music, flowers and all the beauty our parks have to offer.
Our Other Top Stories
- Support is cracking for “No More 24.” A key co-sponsor of the City Council bill that would ban 24-hour shifts for home health aides has dropped her support. That move comes as the Speaker deferred a possible vote on the legislation next week.
- Deal or no deal? The governor announced a $268 billion state budget yesterday. But shortly afterwards, the speaker of the Assembly said nope, no deal. Here’s what we know, and the big questions that remain.
- As the mayor scrambles to plug a multi-billion dollar budget gap, his administration is looking more closely at the money the city spends on private school tuition for students with disabilities. And as our friends at Chalkbeat found — per data the city previously declined to reveal — the vast majority of students who have access to that money are white.
Things To Do
Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.
- Friday, May 8: Performers from the Broadway production of Joe Turner’s “Come and Gone” reflect on “theater’s poet of Black America” August Wilson, celebrating his contributions to the American theater at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library. Free, from 2 to 3 p.m.Register here.
- Saturday, May 9: Step behind the velvet curtain for the New York premiere of “JIG SHOW: Leon Claxton’s Harlem in Havana,” a documentary by filmmaker Leslie Cunningham featuring a panel discussion with Cunningham and burlesque historians. Free, at 1 p.m. Register here.
- Saturday, May 9: Celebrate Japan Day at the fifth annual Japan Parade & Street Fair at Central Park West that celebrates the friendship between New York City and Japan with live performances and floats. Free, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
THE KICKER: High school journalists reported on the bizarre tale of a 28-year-old woman who lied about her age to attend a Bronx high school for two weeks as a student.
Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Friday.
Love,
THE CITY
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