HERNANDEZ PLEDGES $1 BILLION IN ISRAEL BONDS AFTER LEVINE BREAKS HIS PROMISE

 

Standing with members of Brooklyn’s Jewish community in Flatbush, Republican candidate for State Comptroller Joseph Hernandez pledged today that the state pension fund will purchase $1 billion in Israel Bonds. The purchase would add to the fund’s existing holdings and cover what New York City refused to buy..

 

The pledge follows New York City Comptroller Mark Levine’s reversal of his campaign promise to reinvest the city’s pension funds in Israel Bonds, a decision Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he welcomed. The city’s pension funds held Israel Bonds from 1974 until former Comptroller Brad Lander let $39 million lapse in 2023. He never restored them, even after the October 7 attack. Levine campaigned on bringing them back, pointing out that the bonds had never missed a payment in 80 years.

 

The pressure isn’t stopping at City Hall. Activist groups have threatened litigation to force both the city and the state to divest. Tom DiNapoli, who controls the state fund as sole trustee, is running on the Working Families Party line.

 

“Mark Levine promised this community he would bring these bonds back, and when the pressure came, he broke that promise,” said Hernandez. “New York City walked away. I’m stepping in. These bonds have never missed a payment. Standing with our friends is the right thing to do, and it’s a smart investment for pensioners.”

 

“Tom DiNapoli is cut from the same cloth as Levine and Lander,” Hernandez continued. “He’s endorsed by the same Working Families Party pushing politics into our pension fund. New Yorkers deserve moral clarity. When I’m Comptroller, New York keeps its word.”

NYS Office of the Comptroller DiNapoli: Local Sales Tax Collections Up 7.6%

 

Local government sales tax collections totaled $19.6 billion from January to September 2026, an increase of 7.6% ($1.4 billion) compared to the same period last year, according to the quarterly sales tax report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

The year-over-year growth in collections was stronger than the same period in 2025 (4.3%) and more than four times higher than the increase in 2024 (1.7%).

“All regions of the state had year-over-year sales tax collection increases,” DiNapoli said. “But higher costs are forcing many families to stretch their household budgets, which could in turn reduce consumer spending. Given this risk, local governments should temper their expectations for sales tax revenue growth.”

Findings from DiNapoli’s report on sales tax collections from January to September 2026 include:

• Each of the 10 regions in the state had a year-over-year increase in collections, with increases ranging from a low of 5.6% (North Country) to high of 8.5% (New York City). The Central New York region had the next highest increase at 8.2%.
• Year over year, New York City’s sales tax collections totaled $8.8 billion, an increase of 8.5% ($693 million), while aggregate collections for the counties and cities in the rest of the state grew by 6.7% ($597 million) and other local sales tax collections increased 7.9% ($93 million).
• All but one county outside of New York City experienced increases in collections, with eight counties seeing double-digit growth.
• Wayne County saw the highest growth at 16.3%, followed by the counties of Montgomery (15.3%), Seneca (13.4%), Genesee (11.8%) and Wyoming (11.2%).
• Sullivan County was the only county to see a year-over-year decrease in collections at -1.9%, and St. Lawrence County had almost no growth (0.3%).
• Sixteen of the 18 cities outside of New York City that impose their own sales tax experienced growth in collections. Ogdensburg had the largest increase at 28.6%, followed by Oneida (20.6%), Johnstown (19%) and Oswego (14.1%). The two cities that had decreases in collections were Gloversville and Salamanca at -3.4% and -1.8%, respectively.

Report

Local Sales Tax Collections from January to September 2026

Data

Regional Table with Detailed Sales Tax Collections by County and City

NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE PUSHES FOR TRANSPARENCY BILL ON CRIME IN CITY SHELTERS

 

Last night, over 80,000 New Yorkers slept in city shelters. Today, the New York City Council held a hearing on Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams' legislation to improve reporting on crimes occurring in shelters as part of the work to make them more safe and accessible to people in need. 

“It is my hope that with more accurate reporting, efforts to upgrade security in shelters and enhance people’s safety and well-being will be more well-informed and overall more effective,” said Public Advocate Williams at the hearing. “As the administration seeks to revamp the shelter system, following the cold snap of last winter, we must ensure that New Yorkers experiencing homelessness not only have access to shelter, but to spaces that are safe and truly livable.”

The Public Advocate’s bill, Intro 387, would require the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) to produce to an annual report detailing “critical incidents” occurring in shelters, including assault, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, weapons possession, arson, and theft. The annual report will also detail efforts to upgrade security and any agreements made between DHS and the New York City Police Department or other entities to enhance security.

Specifically, the reporting would include:

• the number of critical incidents occurring in shelters, disaggregated by type 

• efforts to improve security measures in shelters

• any agreements, made between the department and the NYPD or any other law enforcement entities on enhancing security in shelters 

• the type of security personnel present in shelters

The Public Advocate also supported a bill from Council Member Gale Brewer, Intro 99, which require DHS to report on the number and percentage of families and children who are placed within the same or in an adjoining zip code as their last address. This reporting seeks to address disruption and displacement of families moving through the city's shelter system.

Read the Public Advocate’s statement below, and watch video of the hearing here.

 

STATEMENT OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS TO THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON GENERAL WELFARE

OCTOBER 28, 2026

Good morning,

My name is Jumaane D. Williams and I am the Public Advocate for the City of New York. I want to thank Chair Hudson and the members of the Committee on General Welfare for holding this hearing today.

As of October 2026, a total of 83,000 individuals reside within our city’s shelter system, including 51,000 families with children. Countless others brave the harsh elements outside, deterred by unsafe conditions in these shelters. My bill, Int 387, would require the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) to produce an annual report detailing “critical incidents” occurring in shelters, including assault, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, weapons possession, arson, and theft. It is my hope that with more accurate reporting, efforts to upgrade security in shelters and enhance people’s safety and well-being will be more well-informed and overall more effective as the bill will also require that details be shared about agreements made between DHS, the New York City Police Department (NYPD), and other entities responsible for safety and security.

Under current reporting, DHS officials have classified ‘Priority 1’ incidents as the most serious, incidents involving assaults, arrests, medical crises, overdoses and deaths. In one women’s shelter, Priority 1 incidents have increased drastically, rising from 123 in 2019 to 208 in 2024. In FY25, the rate of Priority 1’s at this facility were over double the citywide average for single-adult shelters. While the rate and severity of incidents may vary across shelters, trends of violence hold true across the system especially at larger shelter sites. Bellevue, the city’s largest shelter for single-adult men, which closed earlier this year for redevelopment, was also characterized by violence.

I also want to uplift the other piece of legislation being heard today, for which I am a proud co-sponsor. Council Member Brewer’s Int. 99 would require DHS to report on the placement of families with children into shelters, specifically the rate of families and children who are placed within the same or in an adjoining zip code as their last address prior to shelter placement. Displacement from one’s home is already a source of significant stress and emotional upheaval for families but placement in neighborhoods nearby would avoid disrupting children’s school life and routines, adding an additional layer of uncertainty and unrest. This data will better help us understand what happens when families enter the system and how we can better mitigate disruption in the lives of our youngest New Yorkers. 

As the administration seeks to revamp the shelter system, following the cold snap of last winter, we must ensure that New Yorkers experiencing homelessness not only have access to shelter, but to spaces that are safe and truly livable. These bills are one step towards ensuring safety and security within shelters but I look forward to continuing this work with the agencies and this administration. Thank you.

SANCTUARY INSANITY: DHS Slams New York Sanctuary Politicians for Releasing Illegal Alien from Jail After Assaulting a Police Officer

This illegal alien was RELEASED into the country by the Biden Administration 

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement condemning sanctuary politicians in New York for denying a detainer lodged by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) against an illegal alien arrested for aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon.

On October 7, ICE lodged a detainer with Queens Central Booking for Alpha Bah, an illegal alien from Guinea, after he had been arrested the same day for the charges of aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, obstruct governmental administration, and intent to obtain transportation without paying.

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) did not honor the detainer and chose to RELEASE Bah from jail without notifying ICE. He remains at large.

Bah had previously been arrested by the NYPD twice before. He was arrested on June 15, 2026, and charged with intent to obtain transportation without paying. ICE lodged a detainer with Manhattan Central Booking, but the NYPD refused to honor the detainer and released him. More than a year earlier, Bah was arrested on January 5, 2025, and charged with criminal trespass. He was released before ICE could lodge a detainer.

“This illegal alien from Guinea was arrested for assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon. Despite these violent charges, New York City sanctuary politicians refused to honor ICE’s detainer and RELEASED him back onto the streets, and he remains at large,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “This is the vision of sanctuary politicians in a nutshell: the open-border policies of the Biden Administration let this criminal into our country, and then sanctuary politicians in New York released him after arresting him without notifying ICE. DHS is calling on Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani to knock it off with these evil sanctuary policies before another American gets hurt, or worse.”

Bah illegally entered the United States through Arizona in November 2023 and was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol. He was then RELEASED into the country by the Biden Administration.

The latest ICE data reveals that from January 20, 2025, to October 8, 2026, 16,070 detainers were not honored by the state of New York. There are 52,503 total criminal charges and convictions associated with these detainers, including:

• Homicides: 131
• Kidnappings: 132
• Sexual offenses: 1,017
• DUIs: 1,561
• Burglaries: 1,631
• Robberies: 1,776
• Weapons offenses: 2,198
• Dangerous drugs: 4,324
• Assaults: 9,502

New York City’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an Executive Order turning New York City into a shield for violent criminal illegal aliens to reoffend and create more innocent victims.

In December 2025, then-Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons sent a letter to New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with the attorneys general of California and Illinois, putting her on notice for the state’s failure to honor ICE detainers. In response, New York Governor Kathy Hochul punished local law enforcement who did cooperate with ICE by proposing legislation that would bar local police departments from partnering and cooperating with ICE law enforcement, which she signed into law in May 2026. The law took effect on August 25, 2026.

Under Governor Hochul, New York has become a hotbed of illegal alien crime. Some of the recent illegal alien crimes in the sanctuary state include:

• In October, ICE arrested Rudi and Mirabela Lacatusu, an illegal alien couple from Romania, after they were charged with grand larceny for carrying out more than a dozen jewelry thefts across four states. Nassau County Police turned them over to ICE custody.
• In October, two illegal aliens from the Dominican Republic, Dangelo Rafael Jean Caraballo and Sneider Mejia Bautista, repeatedly stabbed an off-duty NYPD detective in an attempted robbery. Both suspects had previously been arrested in New York for crimes including reckless endangerment, reckless driving, possession of burglar’s tools, grand larceny, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, among other crimes, but both had been released before ICE could lodge detainers.
• In June, ICE lodged a detainer for Aureliano Antonio Melendez Reyes, an illegal alien from El Salvador, after he was arrested for raping a 16-year-old girl in Huntington, New York.
• In April, the New York City Department of Corrections refused to honor an ICE detainer for Roman Ceron Amatitla, an illegal alien from Mexico, who was charged with murder and arson in Queens County, New York.
• In March, ICE arrested Bryan David Tasiguano Leon, an illegal alien from Ecuador and Latin Kings gang member, who had been released by New York sanctuary politicians despite being charged with assault.
• In March, ICE lodged a detainer for Bairon Posada-Hernandez, a four-time deported illegal alien from Honduras, after he was arrested for shoving two bystanders, including an 83-year-old Air Force veteran, onto subway tracks in New York City. The Air Force veteran, Richard Williams, later died of his injuries.
• In January, ICE arrested Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, an illegal alien from Venezuela, who was working as a New York City Council employee despite having a criminal history that includes an arrest for assault.
• In January, ICE arrested Gerardo Miguel-Mora, an illegal alien from Mexico, after he had been released by New York sanctuary politicians despite having a criminal history that includes arrests for strangulation, rape, sexual assault, burglary, grand larceny, and drug possession. 
• In April 2025, ICE lodged a detainer for Felix Jeronimo-Rojas, an illegal alien from Mexico, after he was arrested for raping and robbing a corpse on a New York City subway. Jeronimo-Rojas was sentenced in June 2026 to five years in prison.

In addition to the crimes committed by illegal aliens in New York, the state’s sanctuary policies have had disastrous consequences in other states as well. These include:

• In September, ICE arrested Simranpal Singh, an illegal alien from India, in Pennsylvania who had been issued a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) by Hochul’s New York. 
• In March, ICE arrested Sukhdev Singh, an illegal alien from India, after he caused a crash while driving a semi-truck that left a U.S. citizen hospitalized in critical condition in Indianapolis, Indiana. Singh had been given a CDL by Hochul’s New York.
• In October 2025, ICE arrested Anmol Anmol, an illegal alien from India, in Oklahoma. Hochul’s New York had given Anmol a CDL that listed him as “No Name Given Anmol.”
• In August 2023, New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers arrested Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal alien from Venezuela and Tren de Aragua gang member, for recklessly driving a motorcycle with a 2-year-old child who was not wearing a helmet. He was released due to New York’s sanctuary policies, and six months later, Ibarra went on to murder nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia in February 2024.

Mayor Mamdani Unveils Major Safety Overhaul of Third Avenue in Sunset Park

 

Redesign will transform 2.1 miles of one of Brooklyn’s most dangerous streets, with protected bike lanes, shorter crossings and safer intersections 

  

Project will address a corridor where 17 people have been killed over the past decade, including nurse Jiayi Zheng 

Rendering of one section of the Third Avenue redesign from 36th Street to 54th Street.

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn today unveiled plans to redesign 2.1 miles of Third Avenue in Brooklyn, making it safer to cross, reducing speeding and reckless driving and creating protected space for cyclists.  

  

The redesign will overhaul one of Brooklyn’s most dangerous streets, where 17 people have died over the past decade. Those deaths include nurse Jiayi Zheng, who was killed in a hit-and-run in August.  

  

“We know what keeps New Yorkers safe on our streets: calmer intersections, shorter crossings, protected bike lanes and ambitious redesigns that put people first,” said Mayor Mamdani. “17 people have lost their lives along this corridor in a decade. That cannot continue. Starting next year, we will transform Third Avenue to protect pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. And across this city, we will redesign our most dangerous streets over the next three years. Preventable traffic deaths are not inevitable, and we will not accept them as the price of getting around our city.”  

  

“Too many New Yorkers have lost their lives simply trying to navigate Brooklyn’s Third Avenue. After years of delays, this administration will complete a comprehensive redesign of one of Brooklyn’s most dangerous streets,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn. “This administration is being proactive with street safety. As we announced in our new Vision Zero action plan, we will ensure all of the city’s most dangerous streets will receive safety improvements over the next three years because we cannot wait for the next tragedy to strike.” 

  

Starting in 2027, NYC DOT will redesign 2.1 miles of Third Avenue, from 62nd Street to 20th Street, with new pedestrian islands, redesigned intersections and barrier-protected bike lanes in both directions along the center median. Similar redesigns have been shown to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries among all road users by 30%. 

  

Third Avenue is currently 150 feet wide and, along much of the corridor, has six moving lanes, two parking lanes and a 52-foot-wide center median. Pedestrians must cross the equivalent of half of a football field just to get from one side of the avenue to the other.  

  

The proposed redesign will use the new pedestrian islands and sidewalk and median extensions to cut the distance people must travel across moving traffic by up to half.   

  

NYC DOT will also install a two-way, parking-protected bike lane on 60th Street between Second and Fourth avenues. The project will improve safety near two schools and connect Fourth Avenue’s protected bike lanes and the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway on Second Avenue. 

  

The redesign will be delivered in phases: 

•   2027: Work will begin on Third Avenue between 62nd and 43rd streets and on 60th Street between Second Avenue and Fourth Avenue.  

•   2028: NYC DOT will redesign Third Avenue between 43rd and 20th streets.  

  

The City will explore future phases extending the redesign to Third Avenue between 62nd and 65th streets and north of Prospect Avenue to Carroll Street in Gowanus. NYC DOT will also redesign Third Avenue’s medians to establish safer, more orderly vehicle parking with metered spaces. 

  

The redesign builds on Mayor Mamdani’s release last month of Vision Zero Reimagined, a 10-year blueprint for street safety. The comprehensive, citywide plan commits to complete safety treatments on all untreated Vision Zero priority corridors — the city’s most dangerous streets — over the next three years, alongside more than 100 additional policies to prevent traffic deaths and serious injuries and unlock the full potential of New York City’s streets. 

    

BLAKEMAN SLAMS CONTRADICTORY POLLS AS VOTER SUPPRESSION TACTICS; MCLAUGHLIN CALLS SIENA POLL A “GIFT TO KATHY HOCHUL”

 

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman today blasted the Siena and Marist polls released Wednesday, pointing to significant inconsistencies in their findings and questioning whether the surveys accurately reflect the state of the governor’s race.

The Siena poll shows Governor Kathy Hochul leading Blakeman among independent voters by 11 points, 51% to 40%. Yet the Marist poll, conducted just days apart, shows Blakeman winning independents by 10 points, 49% to 39% — a staggering 21-point discrepancy in the candidates’ margins. The conflicting findings come as recent Pollfinity results show Hochul leading Blakeman by just one point, 48% to 47%. Previous polls conducted by Quinnipiac and Emerson have also found Blakeman leading among independent voters, further challenging the narrative that Hochul is cruising toward reelection. The polls also use dramatically different voter demographics. Marist’s likely-voter sample is approximately 62% white, compared with Siena’s 73%, raising additional questions about turnout assumptions and how the electorate is being modeled.

Blakeman issued the following statement: “Today’s polls are nothing more than voter suppression tactics designed to discourage Republicans and manipulate the outcome of this election. Kathy Hochul is desperate to convince New Yorkers this race is over because she knows her failed leadership is on the ballot. Our polling and internal surveys across the state show a neck-and-neck race. New Yorkers are fed up with Hochul’s crushing taxes, skyrocketing utility bills, and disastrous policies that have made our state unaffordable. I will lower taxes, cut utility bills, and put more money back in your pockets. New Yorkers deserve a governor who fights for them, not one who relies on misleading polls to declare victory before a single vote is counted.”

Nationally-renowned pollster John McLaughlin stated, “Siena’s poll is a gift to Kathy Hochul at a time when she desperately needs one. After being ranked the worst governor in America, she’s facing a backlash over higher taxes and skyrocketing utility bills. With Hochul facing sky-high unfavorable ratings, Bruce Blakeman is within striking distance. New Yorkers are seeing through the partisan noise, rejecting the narrative that this race is over, and are poised to turn out in force on Election Day.”

The Blakeman campaign called for greater transparency regarding polling methodology, independent-voter samples and likely-voter turnout models.

“The only poll that matters is on Election Day, November 3,” Blakeman concluded.

1415 Ogden Avenue Wraps Up Construction in Highbridge, The Bronx

 

Construction is wrapping up on Ogden Theatre Apartments, an affordable housing development at 1415 Ogden Avenue in Highbridge, The Bronx. Designed by Aufgang Architects and developed in a joint partnership between Unique People Services and NCV Capital Partners, along with with several governmental bodies including HUD, NYC’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene (DOHMH), the $66 million project yields 85 units. The property is located by the corner of Ogden Avenue and West 171st Street and was once the site of a former movie theater, bowling alley, and church.

Work is finished on the red and black brick façade and the grid of recessed bird-friendly-windows, while the ground floor is waiting to be cleared of the metal fencing and plastic sidewalk barriers.

Fifty-one of the homes are designated as supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals, while the remaining 34 units will be reserved for those qualifying for Section 8 benefits at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). The property will also feature approximately 2,000 square feet of ground-floor space dedicated to social services such as case management and employment assistance.

Amenities will include indoor and outdoor recreational spaces, a laundry room, and bicycle parking. The property was built to meet Passive House and Enterprise Green Community Standards, and features a rooftop solar array to supplement power drawn from the local grid.

Funding for the Ogden Theatre Apartments includes Low Income Housing Tax Credits, HPD’s Supportive Housing Loan Program, and contributions from private equity partners like Chase Bank and M&T Bank, with syndication managed by Red Stone Equity Partners.

The nearest subway from the ground-up development is the 4 train at the elevated 170th Street station to the southeast.

Ogden Theatre Apartments is expected to complete construction next spring, as noted on the info board.