Mayor Adams' 'City of Yes' gets some Queens support

Plus, Adams' pick for NYC's top lawyer also gets support. [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] [Mayor Adams’ ‘City of Yes’ housing plan wins a key endorsement in Queens]( An ambitious proposal to add tens of thousands of new homes across the five boroughs has picked up a key endorsement – from Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. Richards on Monday announced his conditional support for the Adams administration’s “City of Yes” housing proposal, becoming the final borough president to weigh in on the highly contested plan, which aims to expand the city’s housing stock by 100,000 units by loosening zoning restrictions. “Queens and New York City as a whole are facing housing and affordability crises the likes of which haven’t been seen in generations,” Richards said in a statement, adding that “the only realistic solution is to build more affordable housing as rapidly and strategically as possible” while also taking into account the “significant concerns” expressed by community boards, many of which have rejected the plan. [Read more.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- More politics stories to know this week What else is happening in City Hall A key City Hall ally said he’s backing Mayor Eric Adams’ pick for the city's top lawyer — even though the two publicly fought three years ago during a high-profile legal battle over an Upper West Side shelter. [Read more.]( What’s going on around New York State Tens of thousands of immigrant New Yorkers who are married to U.S. citizens would be spared deportation under an executive action by the Biden administration. A federal judge on Monday issued a 14-day administrative pause on approving applications to the program, and the pause may be extended pending further legal hearings. The order did not bar the government from accepting applications. [Read more.]( The state’s highest court is upholding a nearly one-year-old law that grants all eligible New Yorkers the right to vote by mail. [Read more.]( What's new in New Jersey Monday marked the start of a weeklong fare holiday at NJ Transit, an initiative launched by the agency to apologize for months of service disruptions. But the deal brought little relief to many commuters who said they’d rather have reliable trains than complimentary rides. [Read more.]( Rep. Bill Pascrell — a fixture in New Jersey politics for decades — died last week, leaving a second vacant seat in the state’s Democratic delegation just days from the deadline to get on the November ballot. [Read more.]( A nonprofit representing New Jersey farmworkers is suing the state over allegations that laborers are being denied the same equal pay protections as other workers in the Garden State. [Read more.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- [the logo for the Brian Lehrer daily politics podcast]( [RFK Jr. Thinks Trump Will Do What? And Other Post-DNC News]( With the Democratic National Convention in the rearview mirror, Vice President Kamala Harris is forging her own policy platforms while RFK Jr. plots his next steps to support the Trump campaign. [LISTEN]( Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential political coverage and more. [DONATE]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.