Monday, September 8, 2025

MAYOR ADAMS UNVEILS “GROUND ZERO 360” ART INSTALLATION IN CITY HALL ROTUNDA

Traveling Exhibitions Honors Victims of September 11^th Attacks on New York City

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today unveiled the “Ground Zero 360” art installation, which honors victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City, in the City Hall Rotunda. The exhibition — which has visited over 60 cities during the last 14 years — uses photography, artifacts, and artwork to tell the stories of the 9/11 victims and their families. It showcases themes of courage, loss, and resilience during and following the attacks and provides a space for remembrance and unity.

“More than two decades ago, we promised that we would never forget, and this collection of photographs, paintings, and artifacts is one the countless ways we remember. These images of dust, darkness, sorrow, and exhaustion call us back to the sacrifices and struggles made by so many New Yorkers on that day and in the years that followed,” said Mayor Adams. “While we rebuilt our city and our lives together, we will always remember those who gave their all for this city. Thank you to ‘Ground Zero 360’ for sharing these images and artifacts with all the world and keeping the flame of memory burning bright.”

Ground Zero 360 — which comes ahead of the 24^th anniversary of the September 11^th attacks — honors the resilience, unity, and sacrifice of New York City after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The exhibition ensures the heroism of so many New Yorkers is never forgotten and reinforces the city’s ongoing commitment to remembrance.

“On 9/11, we witnessed unimaginable loss and extraordinary courage,” said Paul McCormick, CEO, Ground Zero 360. “Ground Zero 360 honors the lives taken, the sacrifice of first responders, and the unity that defined New York in its darkest hour.”

DHS Scores Major Victory at Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled the Trump Administration can continue operations in Los Angeles to remove dangerous criminal illegal aliens from the streets

The Department of Homeland Security landed a major legal victory Monday morning when the Supreme Court issued a stay in the case of Perdomo v. Noem. The ruling allows DHS to continue carrying out immigration operations in the Los Angeles area.

“This is a win for the safety of Californians and the rule of law,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “DHS law enforcement will not be slowed down and will continue to arrest and remove the murderers, rapists, gang members, and other criminal illegal aliens that Karen Bass continues to give safe harbor.”

The court ruled 6-3 in favor of the Trump Administration. With its decision, the court stayed a ruling by federal judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong in July blocking DHS from conducting immigration sweeps in Southern California.

To the mainstream media’s chagrin, there are no “indiscriminate stops” being made. The Supreme Court simply applied longstanding precedent regarding what qualifies as “reasonable suspicion” under the Fourth Amendment. What makes someone a target of ICE is if they are illegally in the U.S. DHS enforces federal immigration law without fear, favor, or prejudice.

In his opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s discussed the federal government’s duty to enforce immigration laws on the books and the fact that the Judicial Branch does NOT make those laws:

“The fact remains that, under the laws passed by Congress and the President, [illegal aliens] are acting illegally by remaining in the United States – at least unless Congress and the President choose some other legislative approach to legalize some or all of those individuals now illegally present in the country. And by illegally immigrating into and remaining in the country, they are not only violating the immigration laws, but also jumping in front of those noncitizens who follow the rules and wait in line to immigrate into the United States through the legal immigration process.”

“[I]t is also important to stress the proper role of the Judiciary. The Judiciary does not set immigration policy or decide enforcement priorities. It should come as no surprise that some Administrations may be more laissez-faire in enforcing immigration law, and other Administrations more strict. Article III judges may have views on which policy approach is better or fairer. But judges are not appointed to make those policy calls.”

DEA Surge Targets Sinaloa Cartel Networks Worldwide

Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced the results of a week-long operational surge aimed at dismantling the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the world’s most violent and powerful drug cartels, responsible for flooding the United States with fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin.

In February, the Trump Administration designated the Sinaloa Cartel, along with seven other groups, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The Sinaloa Cartel remains one of the most significant threats to public safety, public health and our national security. DEA is committed to breaking their command, control, and distribution networks.

From August 25 through August 29, 2025, DEA agents across 23 domestic field divisions and seven foreign regions carried out coordinated enforcement actions that resulted in:

Arrests: 617

Drug Seizures:
- 480 kilograms of fentanyl powder,
- 714,707 counterfeit pills,
- 2,209 kilograms of methamphetamine,
- 7,469 kilograms of cocaine, and
- 16.55 kilograms of heroin
Currency Seizures: $11,111,483
Assets seized: $1,697,313
Firearms: 420

There are tens of thousands of Sinaloa members, associates, and facilitators operating worldwide, in at least 40 countries who are responsible for the production, manufacturing, distribution, and operations related to trafficking dangerous and deadly synthetic drugs.

This coordinated action was a combination of DEA’s increased focus on enforcement, intelligence, and domestic and international collaboration, utilizing every resource in DEA’s arsenal to degrade the Sinaloa Cartel’s command and control.

This surge reflects DEA’s unwavering commitment to confronting the fentanyl crisis and dismantling the cartels responsible for it. DEA continues to take decisive actions to protect American families and communities.

As part of a larger whole-of-government approach to dismantling the Sinaloa Cartel and protecting U.S. communities, DEA is committed to working with the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) and other federal partners to ensure current and future operations advance broader U.S. efforts to combat designated terrorist organizations and transnational organized crime.

Joint Statement from Speaker Adrienne Adams, Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala, Criminal Justice Chair Sandy Nurse, and Immigration Chair Alexa Avilés on New York State Supreme Court’s Final Ruling Blocking Trump’s ICE Office on Rikers

Today, New York State Supreme Court Justice Mary Rosado issued a final decision declaring Mayor Adams’ administration’s Executive Order 50 illegal, blocking the reopening of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office on Rikers Island. Judge Rosado previously issued a preliminary injunction and Interim Temporary Restraining Order prohibiting the execution and negotiation of any Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) related to the executive order. In response to the final decision, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala, Criminal Justice Committee Chair Sandy Nurse, and Immigration Committee Chair Alexa Avilés issued the following joint statement.

“Today’s final court decision rejecting Mayor Adams’ corrupt bargain with Trump to open an ICE office on Rikers Island as illegal is a major win. It strengthens public safety in our city and the Constitutional rights of all New Yorkers. Trump’s political agenda of using ICE to disappear residents without due process and separate families harms our communities and undermines our collective safety. We’re pleased that the court recognized Mayor Adams and Randy Mastro’s attempt to do Trump’s bidding and betray their obligation to New Yorkers as unlawful. This decision protects the civil rights of all New Yorkers from being violated and makes our city safer.”

Eight MS-13 Gang Members Plead Guilty to Multi-Year Racketeering Conspiracy Involving Murders and Witness Tampering

Eight members of the violent transnational criminal organization Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, pleaded guilty today to charges stemming from a multi-year racketeering conspiracy that included multiple murders and acts of witness tampering. The defendants—identified as Walter Antonio Chicas-Garcia, 28, aka “Mejia,” Wilson Jose Ventura-Mejia, 29, aka “Discreto,” Miguel Angel Aguilar-Ochoa, 40, aka “Darki,” and Marlon Miranda-Moran, 26, aka “Chinki,”—are all citizens of El Salvador and were unlawfully residing in Houston, Texas at the time of the offenses.

According to their plea agreements, Chicas-Garcia, Ventura-Mejia, and Aguilar-Ochoa will each be sentenced to 50 years of imprisonment while Miranda-Moran will be sentenced to 35 years of imprisonment.

“These defendants carried out brutal murders in the name of MS-13, killing victims with machetes, baseball bats, and their bare hands, and then sending photos of the victims’ bodies to MS-13 leaders in El Salvador,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The defendants committed these unthinkable acts to maintain their status in a gang that spread fear in local neighborhoods and targeted those brave enough to cooperate with law enforcement. Today’s guilty pleas send a powerful message that the Justice Department will aggressively pursue and hold accountable MS-13 members who use violence and murder to terrorize our communities.”

On August 11, four additional MS-13 members—Defendants Luis Ernesto Carbajal-Peraza, 33, aka “Destino,” Edgardo Martinez-Rodriguez, 35, aka “Largo,” Carlos Alexi Garcia-Gongora, 27, aka “Garcia,” and Wilman Rivas-Guido, 29, aka “Inquieto” —also pleaded guilty to the same racketeering conspiracy. All four are citizens of El Salvador and were residing in the Houston area. The parties stipulated to a sentencing range of 40 to 45 years of imprisonment for Carbajal-Peraza, and 45 to 50 years for Martinez-Rodriguez, Garcia-Gongora, and Rivas-Guido.

According to court documents and statements made in court, MS-13 is a violent international street gang involved in a variety of violent criminal activities across the United States, including Texas, Virginia, Maryland, New York, and California. MS-13 also has a large international presence in El Salvador and Honduras. To protect MS-13’s power, reputation, and territory, members and associates must use intimidation and violence, including murder and assault with deadly weapons, such as machetes.

As part of their plea agreement, the defendants admitted to being members of MS-13 and participating in a criminal enterprise responsible for multiple murders, extortion, drug trafficking, robbery, and obstruction of justice in and around the Houston, Texas area from 2017 through 2018. High-ranking MS-13 leaders based in El Salvador ordered and approved of the murders, sometimes listening by phone as MS-13 members carried out the murders. MS-13 members participated in the murders to increase or maintain their own position within MS-13’s ranks. MS-13 targeted the murder victims because they were believed to be members of rival gangs, cooperating with law enforcement, or working against MS-13’s interests. MS-13 members committed the murders using machetes, a baseball bat, and strangling. After the murder, MS-13 members sent photos of the victims’ bodies to high-ranking MS-13 members in El Salvador, sometimes further mutilating or dismembering the victim’s body before sending the photos.

According to their plea agreements, Chicas-Garcia, Ventura-Mejia, and Aguilar-Ochoa will each be sentenced to 50 years in federal prison while Miranda-Moran will receive a 35-year-term of imprisonment. Martinez-Rodriguez, Garcia-Gongora, and Rivas-Guido have agreed to a term from 45-50 years, while Carbajal-Peraza is expected to receive 40-45 years of imprisonment.

Sentencing hearings for all eight defendants are scheduled to take place later this year. A federal district court judge will consider the sentencing stipulations and impose any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Galveston Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, the United States Marshal Service, and the Texas Office of the Attorney General led or contributed to the lengthy and complex investigation of this case.

Trial Attorney César S. Rivera-Giraud from the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Keri Fuller, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Britni Verdeja for the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s OCDETF and Project Safe Neighborhoods.

Attorney General James Defends New York’s Shield Law Against Texas Attack

AG James Says New York Will Not Enforce Texas’s Abortion Bans

New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that she is intervening to block the Texas attorney general's attempts to use New York courts to enforce Texas’s abortion bans. The Texas attorney general is suing a New York county clerk after his office was blocked from filing papers to collect a $113,000 judgment against a New York doctor who provided safe, legal telehealth abortion care. His lawsuit challenges New York’s shield law, which protects providers and patients by preventing state and local officials from helping out-of-state prosecutions for abortion or gender-affirming care. Today, Attorney General James formally intervened in the lawsuit to defend the constitutionality of the shield law and ensure out-of-state extremists cannot use New York’s courts to advance their anti-abortion agenda.

“I am stepping in to defend the integrity of our laws and our courts against this blatant overreach,” said Attorney General James. “Texas has no authority in New York, and no power to impose its cruel abortion ban here. Our shield law exists to protect New Yorkers from out-of-state extremists, and New York will always stand strong as a safe haven for health care and freedom of choice. I will fight every last attempt to roll back our rights and turn back the clock on reproductive freedom.”

Passed in 2023 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, New York's shield law protects reproductive and gender-affirming care providers who offer health care that is fully legal in New York. The law prohibits public officials from enforcing out-of-state subpoenas, judgments, arrests, or extraditions in cases targeting providers, and extends these protections to reproductive health care providers offering telehealth care in New York.

In December 2024, the Texas attorney general sued a New York doctor in Texas court for providing abortion telehealth care from her clinic in Ulster County. After a Texas judge issued a $113,000 judgment against the doctor, the attorney general attempted to bring his case to New York courts, asking the Ulster County Supreme Court to enforce the judgment and help collect the money awarded in Texas. The county clerk rejected the filing under New York’s shield law, which bars courts and officials from using state resources to enforce out-of-state punishments against protected health care providers. In response, the Texas attorney general sued the clerk and challenged New York’s shield law, claiming the law violates the Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause.

Now, Attorney General James is stepping in to defend the shield law. Today, she formally notified Ulster County Supreme Court Judge David Gandin that she is intervening in Texas’s lawsuit, invoking her authority to defend New York laws that are challenged in court. In a filing later this month, Attorney General James will argue that Texas cannot commandeer New York’s courts to enforce its punitive abortion laws, and that New York has the legal right and responsibility to safeguard its residents, its providers, and its courts from out-of-state overreach.

This case is part of a growing effort by anti-abortion politicians to extend their bans across state lines and punish providers and medical professionals who continue to offer abortion and reproductive health care. Attorney General James is standing up to protect New York’s sovereignty and to ensure that one state’s politics cannot dictate the health care choices of people in another.

For more information on New York’s shield law, visit the Office of the Attorney General’s website.

Money in Your Pockets: Governor Hochul Announces MTA Customer Savings Surpasses $100 Million With Commuter Railroad Cityticket Expansion

Passengers on train platform of Long Island Railroad

MTA Sold 37.2 Million CityTickets Since March 2022 Following Expansion to All Off-Peak Trains and Further Expansion to Peak Trains in Late Summer 2023

CityTicket Provides NYC Residents Greater Access to Affordable Commuter Rail Travel Between the Outerboroughs and Manhattan

Milestone Reached as Railroads Experience Record Year of Ridership and Performance

Governor Hochul today announced that Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) customers have saved more than $100 million since March 2022 by using CityTicket to travel within New York City on the Long Island Rail Road or Metro-North Railroad. The savings are measured against the cost of regular one-way peak and off-peak tickets. This milestone comes after Governor Hochul and the MTA expanded the CityTicket program from a weekend-only option to being available on all peak and off-peak trains in recent years.

“The results are in and it is clear: expanding CityTicket has been a huge affordability win for New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said. “For years, residents of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens had high-quality rail service right at their doorsteps, but the fare was just too high. Not anymore. By making LIRR and Metro-North service more affordable for city riders, we have welcomed millions of new customers, getting New Yorkers out of their cars and onto fast, reliable rail service in and out of Manhattan.”

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “Thirty million customers can’t be wrong – the City Ticket is a smash success, saving New York City residents $100 million, plus a faster commute. It’s another proof point that low cost, reliable transit is one of our most important solutions to the affordability crisis, especially for folks outside Manhattan.”

The savings analysis is based on ticket sales from March 2022 through August 2025. Tickets are $5 off peak hours and $7 during peak hours anywhere within New York City on either LIRR or Metro-North, significantly less than the cost of point-to-point tickets prior to the start of the program. For the Long Island Rail Road, 30.4 million CityTickets were sold, totaling a cost savings of $83.2 million. For Metro-North Railroad, 6.8 million CityTickets were sold, totaling a cost savings of $17.6 million – achieving a combined $100.8 million in savings for customers.

CityTicket was originally introduced in October 2003 for weekend travel. On Feb. 25, 2022, the MTA expanded the CityTicket to all off-peak trains, including those on weekdays, providing more riders with an affordable option. On Jan. 10, 2023, Governor Hochul announced that the MTA would further expand the ticket’s validity to include peak travel, with further details provided subsequently by the MTA.

Between March 2022 and August 2023, the MTA collectively sold 7.5 million CityTickets. When the program was expanded to include peak trains in August of 2023, 29.7 million CityTickets were sold between September 2022 and August 2025.

At a time of surging railroad ridership across the MTA network, CityTicket expansion has seen ridership grow at city stations faster than systemwide baselines. From 2021 to 2025, monthly average ridership across the LIRR has grown 179%, while ridership grew by 183% at Rosedale, 215% at Queens Village, and 224% at Jamaica. Over 766,000 monthly riders now travel to and from Jamaica Station on the LIRR, which includes connection to the JFK AirTrain and the 168 St Bus Terminal, with connections to 10 New York City Transit and five NICE bus routes.

Bronx riders are also benefitting from more affordable Metro-North service. While overall monthly average railroad ridership grew 126% from 2021 to 2025, ridership was up 163% at Tremont and 152% at Spuyten Duyvil.

Today’s announcement comes as the railroads continue to deliver strong performance and reliability, while breaking post pandemic ridership records. The ridership highs across both railroads reflect the increasing customer satisfaction rates and record-breaking on-time performance statistics.

For this year so far, 96.4% of LIRR trains reached their destination on time, the best rate in its history, even surpassing pandemic years. Customer satisfaction with the LIRR reached 81% in the spring of 2025, up five percentage points from the fall of 2024, when it reached 76%, which was itself a six-point increase from spring 2024’s rate of 70%.

On Metro-North, 98.0% of trains have reached their destination on time this year. Metro-North continues to be the MTA’s highest-rated service with 89% of customers reporting being very satisfied or satisfied with Metro-North overall, an increase from 85% in Fall 2024. Satisfaction increased across all lines, up four points to 90% on the Hudson Line, four points to 89% on the Harlem Line, and five points to 89% on the New Haven Line.