Bronx Man Sentenced To 82 Months For Slashing Of USPS Mail Carrier

 

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, announced today that JOHN GARCIA was sentenced to a total term of 82 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett in connection with the July 16, 2025, assault of a U.S. Postal Service (“USPS”) mail carrier.  GARCIA was previously convicted in the Southern District of New York of five counts of Hobbs Act robbery on June 3, 2020.

“This Office will continue to protect federal employees and the communities they serve by ensuring that those who commit offenses such as those carried out by John Garcia face serious consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald.  “The defendant’s violent conduct endangered a public servant performing his duties and demonstrated a profound disregard for the law. Today’s sentence holds him accountable for a brutal and unprovoked assault on a federal mail carrier.”

According to public court filings, on July 16, 2025, GARCIA approached on on-duty USPS mail carrier in the Bronx (the “Victim”) from behind and attacked him. GARCIA had no prior connection with the Victim.  Rather, GARCIA violently attacked a stranger, leaving him with a serious injuries, and then fled.  GARCIA struck the Victim’s head and right ear, causing deep lacerations.  The Victim was taken to the hospital, where he received stitches to treat his injuries, which included (i) an approximately three-inch laceration to the side of his head, behind his right ear (Figure 1), (ii) an approximately one-centimeter laceration to the top of his right ear (Figure 1), and (iii) two approximately three-inch lacerations to the top of his head (Figure 2).

At the time of the assault, GARCIA was serving a three-year term of federal supervised release in connection with a prior conviction in the Southern District of New York of five counts of Hobbs Act robbery, for which GARCIA was sentenced to 48 months in prison.

GARCIA was arrested on August 5, 2025, and has been detained since that date.

In addition to prison, GARCIA, 50, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Mr. McDonald praised the outstanding investigative work and diligence of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

SANCTUARY INSANITY: ICE Arrests Illegal Alien Released by Sanctuary Politicians in California

 

This illegal alien’s criminal history includes convictions for drug trafficking and grand theft

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested an illegal alien who had previously been released by sanctuary politicians in California, despite prior convictions for drug trafficking, grand theft, and other heinous crimes.

On October 19, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Los Angeles arrested Juan Jose Leonardo De Leon, an illegal alien from Guatemala, in Los Angeles, California. His criminal history includes convictions for possession of a controlled substance, possession of controlled substance paraphernalia, possession of controlled substance for sale, and grand theft of stolen copper materials, and arrests for receiving known stolen property and grand theft auto.

ICE had lodged a detainer against De Leon following his arrest by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in January 2026 for the grand theft charge. However, sanctuary politicians in Los Angeles refused to honor the detainer and De Leon was released back onto the streets.

“Sanctuary politicians in California refused to honor ICE’s detainer and released this convicted drug trafficker and thief back onto the streets,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Thankfully, because of the hard work of the brave patriots of ICE, we’ve arrested this criminal and taken him off the streets. No matter how hard sanctuary politicians try to obstruct us and protect illegal aliens over American citizens, the Trump Administration will always enforce the rule of law, arrest and deport illegal aliens, and save American lives. That’s what it means to put America first.”

De Leon was lawfully admitted to the United States in February 2004. After his authorized period expired in April 2004, he illegally remained in the country.

Under Governor Gavin Newsom, California has become a hotbed of illegal alien crime. Some of the recent illegal alien crimes in the sanctuary state include: 

• In September, ICE lodged a detainer for Chamkaur Singh, an illegal alien from India, after his arrest for causing a semi-truck crash that killed two people in Ontario, California. He had been granted a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) by Gavin Newsom’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).  
• In July, ICE lodged a detainer for Gokhan Bagci, an illegal alien from Turkey, after his arrest for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl at a daycare in Sacramento, California.  
• In May, ICE lodged a detainer for Joaquin Escoto Vazquez, an illegal alien from Mexico, after his arrest for fatally stabbing two women and a baby in Modesto, California.  
• In May, ICE lodged a detainer for Manvir Singh, an illegal alien from India, after he was arrested for causing a semi-truck crash that killed two people near Lodi, California.  
• In May, ICE arrested Aman Kumar, an illegal alien from India, who had been released by sanctuary politicians in California after causing a hit-and-run accident that injured a 4-year-old boy in Fresno, California.  
• In May, ICE lodged a detainer for Wilfredo Jose Tortolero-Arriechi, an illegal alien from Venezuela, after he had been arrested for fatally stabbing a social worker in a hospital in San Francisco, California.  
• In April, ICE arrested David Antonio Aviles Perez, an illegal alien from El Salvador and MS-13 member, in San Diego, California, who has an international warrant for aggravated murder and had previously been arrested in California for assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance, and petty theft.  
• In February, Governor Newsom pardoned Somboon Phaymany, an illegal alien from Cambodia who had been convicted for attempted murder and assault with a firearm.  
• In January, ICE lodged a detainer for Enrique Bautista Vasquez, an illegal alien from Mexico, after he had been arrested for raping an autistic girl in Cathedral City, California.  
• In December 2025, ICE lodged a detainer for Brayan Alva-Rodriguez, an illegal alien from Guatemala, after he had been arrested for causing a drunk driving crash that killed an 8-year-old girl in San Diego, California.  
• In December 2025, ICE lodged a detainer for Hector Balderas-Aheelor, an illegal alien from Mexico who had been previously deported FOUR times, after he was arrested for causing a felony hit-and-run accident that killed an 11-year-old boy on Thanksgiving morning.  
• In November 2025, ICE lodged a detainer for Humberto Munoz-Gatica, an illegal alien from Mexico, after he was arrested for driving under the influence and hit-and-run following a fatal crash that killed a 71-year-old man in Orange County, California.  
• In October 2025, ICE lodged a detainer for Beto Cerillo-Bialva, an illegal alien from Mexico, after he was arrested for murder following a drunk-driving crash that killed six people in Napa County, California.  
• In June 2025, ICE arrested Cuong Chanh Phan, an illegal alien from Vietnam, who had been convicted of second-degree murder for his involvement in a mass shooting in 1994 that killed two teenagers and injured seven others at a graduation party in San Marino, California.  
• In June 2024, Partap Singh, an illegal alien from India, caused a multi-car pileup while driving an 18-wheeler recklessly in San Bernardino, California, after he had been given a CDL by Newsom’s DMV. The crash seriously injured 5-year-old Dalilah Coleman and several others.  

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

• In September, ICE lodged a detainer for Manjit Singh, an illegal alien from India, who was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide after causing a semi-truck crash that killed a woman in Brown County, Ohio. He had been granted a CDL by Newsom’s California  
• In July, ICE lodged a detainer for Axel Eduardo Chavez-Marroquin, an illegal alien from El Salvador, after he was arrested for murdering a veteran in Utah. He had twice been arrested in California for domestic violence – in Santa Ana in 2024, and then in Laguna Niguel in 2025 – but despite ICE lodging detainers against him both times, California sanctuary politicians released him from jail and back into the community.  
• In January, ICE lodged detainers for Gunpreet Singh and Jasveer Singh, criminal illegal aliens from India, after they had been arrested for smuggling more than 300 pounds of cocaine in a semi-truck in Putnam County, Indiana. Governor Newsom’s DMV had given both men CDLs.  
• In December 2025, ICE arrested Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto, an illegal alien from Honduras and MS-13 member who is wanted in his home country for a quadruple homicide, in Grand Island, Nebraska. He had been given a driver’s license by Newsom’s DMV.  
• In November 2025, Rajinder Kumar, an illegal alien from India who had been given a CDL by Newsom’s DMV, jackknifed his semi-truck and trailer on a highway in Deschutes County, Oregon, killing a newlywed couple. ICE arrested Kumar in April 2026.
• In August 2025, ICE lodged a detainer for Harjinder Singh, an illegal alien from India, after he made an illegal U-turn in his semi-truck and killed three people in St. Lucie County, Florida. Singh had obtained his CDL in Newsom’s California.  

Mayor Mamdani and Speaker Menin Appoint Chris Alexander to Lead NYC Commission on Racial Equity Beginning August 2027

 

Alexander was the first Executive Director of New York State’s Office of Cannabis Management and now leads the NAACP New York State Conference 

 

Linda Tigani, the current Chair and Executive Director of the Commission, will remain in her role through July 2027 

Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin appointed Chris Alexander to serve as Chair and Executive Director of the New York City Commission on Racial Equity (CORE), effective August 1, 2027. The position is jointly appointed by the Mayor and City Council Speaker. Linda Tigani, the current Chair and Executive Director of the Commission, whose three-year term ended on July 31, 2026, will remain in her role until July 31, 2027. 

 

Alexander spent years advocating to end cannabis prohibition, which disproportionately harmed Black and Latino New Yorkers. He then helped carry out that change in state government. As the inaugural Executive Director of the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, he led implementation of the state’s cannabis legalization law and established a regulatory framework rooted in equity and restorative justice. 

 

He began that work at the Drug Policy Alliance, where he was Policy Coordinator and advocated for criminal justice and policing reform. As Associate Counsel in the New York State Senate, he helped draft and negotiate the repeal of Section 50-a, which had kept police disciplinary records from public view, as well as the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act and bail reform. Across his career, he has drafted and advanced legislation to reform policing, reduce the populations of state prisons and local jails, end solitary confinement, enact parole reform and expand access to education in state prisons. 

 

Since 2024, he has been Executive Director of the NAACP New York State Conference, where he oversees statewide operations, advocacy and strategic priorities on civil rights, criminal justice, economic equity, housing and education. 

 

“Our administration and residents across our city owe Linda Tigani thanks for her work to advance racial equity across the five boroughs,” said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani. “As Linda’s tenure concludes next July, we look forward to welcoming Chris Alexander as CORE’s next leader. Chris has spent his career advancing racial equity inside and outside of government, from his leadership at the NAACP New York State Conference to his work on policing reform and drug policy. I am confident he will help us deliver for communities that have been historically underserved, while remaining undeterred in holding us accountable should we fall short.” 

 

“Racial equity must be at the forefront of our work in City government, and CORE’s guidance is paramount to fulfilling that goal,” said Speaker Menin. “My colleagues in the Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus and I believe today’s announcement will allow for a thoughtful and orderly leadership transition, ensuring that Linda Tigani can continue advancing key aspects of CORE’s mandates. Beginning August 2027, Christopher Alexander, who brings meaningful experience furthering equity as executive director of the NAACP New York State Conference, will lead CORE. We look forward to working with both Ms. Tigani and Mr. Alexander to maintain continuity in CORE’s mission and advance racial equity and justice across the five boroughs.”   

 

“I am honored to have been called to serve the City in this role, and I step into it with the deepest commitment to justice and equity,” said Chris Alexander, incoming Chair and Executive Director of the New York City Commission on Racial Equity. “CORE exists because New Yorkers organized and demanded that their city government commit itself to being more equitable, and then voted to hold it to that promise. Linda Tigani did the hard work of building this Commission from the ground up, and I am grateful for the foundation she laid. I look forward to working alongside the CORE Commissioners, the Mayor, the Council and communities across the five boroughs to make sure the City’s commitments become real changes in people’s lives.” 

 

“Chris Alexander’s wealth of experience and commitment to addressing systemic inequities make him a strong leader for the NYC Commission on Racial Equity (CORE),” said NYC Chief Equity Officer and NYC Mayor’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice Commissioner Afua Atta-Mensah. “Working with Chris will continue to allow us to fulfill the City’s racial equity mandates, advance meaningful policy change and ensure that communities across New York City have a meaningful voice in government decision-making.” 

 

About Chris Alexander 

Alexander is Executive Director of the NAACP New York State Conference. Before that, he was the inaugural Executive Director of the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, where he led implementation of the state’s cannabis legalization law. He previously served as Associate Counsel in the New York State Senate and Policy Coordinator at the Drug Policy Alliance, where he advocated for criminal justice and policing reform and an end to cannabis prohibition, and Legislative Correspondent in the U.S. House of Representatives. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and a Juris Doctor from CUNY School of Law. 

 

About CORE 

New York City voters established CORE in 2022 to hold City government accountable for advancing racial equity and give New Yorkers a greater voice in government decision-making.  

 

Established under the New York City Charter Section 3404, CORE identifies and proposes community equity priorities, reviews and comments on the citywide Racial Equity Plan and publicly tracks agency compliance. The commission also reviews agency complaints involving practices that may exacerbate racial inequities and makes recommendations to address them. CORE works closely with the City Council, responding to requests from the speaker and council committee on racial equity concerns.  

  

About the Citywide Racial Equity Plan 

Earlier this year, Mayor Mamdani and the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice (MOERJ) released New York City’s first citywide Racial Equity Plan, a government-wide framework to advance racial equity. The final plan followed a 30-day public comment period after the preliminary plan was released in April, during which MOERJ gathered feedback from New Yorkers across the five boroughs and worked with 45 City agencies to strengthen its goals, strategies and indicators. The plan sets eight citywide goals to reach by 2034, including reducing disparities in housing, education, unemployment, maternal health, transportation access, broadband adoption and reducing the jail population.  

Syrian Man Sentenced for Wide-Ranging Hacking Conspiracy Conducted on Behalf of the Bashar Al Assad Regime

 

Ahmad Umar Agha (also known as Th3Pr0) had spent more than a decade as a fugitive for targeting of Western media entities, businesses, NGOs, and U.S. and allied government entities

Today a federal district court in the Eastern District of Virginia sentenced Ahmad Umar Agha to 42 months in prison for his central role in an expansive hacking conspiracy organized and led by members of former Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s inner circle, including the commander of Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate, from as early as Aug. 24, 2011, to Jan. 31, 2024. 

To spread the former Syrian government’s propaganda, Agha hacked approximately 47 Western media entities, businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and U.S. and allied government entities. The hacking conspiracy penalized the free press for reporting on the former Syrian government’s atrocities during the Arab Spring and subsequent Syrian Civil War; used information warfare tactics to cause fear and confusion among Syrian government opponents; collected intelligence for the former Syrian government; and attempted to cause mutiny or refusal of duty by members of the military of the United States. In one instance, Agha’s actions caused a flash crash in the U.S. stock market, resulting in a temporary $136 billion loss in the value of stocks making up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

“Agha deployed his hacking skills in the service of Assad’s regime to silence reporting on the regime’s atrocities, intimidate its opponents, and incite U.S. servicemembers to refuse their orders,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “His attacks on our networks and institutions, including one that temporarily erased $136 billion from U.S. investors, constitute an assault on the free press and our national and economic security. Today’s sentence should serve as a reminder of the National Security Division’s long memory in pursuit of state-sponsored hackers such as Agha.”

“This case emphasizes the grave threat posed by cyber criminals and especially those serving regimes hostile to the United States,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Theophani K. Stamos for the Eastern District of Virginia. “The protection of our electronic infrastructure, financial markets, and the companies that serve the American people is of paramount importance. We will pursue and prosecute anyone who endangers the systems that reinforce our national security or undermines the institutions on which our people rely.”

“Today’s sentence sends a clear message that those who target American institutions, journalists, and government entities with malicious cyber activity will be held accountable, no matter how long they attempt to evade justice,” said Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the FBI Washington Field Office. “For years, Agha conducted intrusions designed to spread disinformation, steal data, and intimidate victims on behalf of the former Syrian regime, and then spent a decade as a fugitive. The FBI Washington Field Office, together with our partners across the Department of Justice and the FBI, remained steadfast in pursuing this case and ensuring that those who threaten U.S. institutions are brought to justice.”

According to court filings, Agha’s criminal scheme forced many of his victims to spend significant sums of money remediating these intrusions or restructuring their security. Notable examples of Agha’s successful hacks include:

• Company G, a company that provides online publishers with content, website ads, and links to other websites, suffered a loss of approximately $35,000 a day for approximately six months.   
• One global NGO was forced to deploy a new suite of network monitoring products – costing around $250,000 – in addition to retraining over 800 staff members and upgrading its security system. In total, the NGO suffered a total of $480,000 in losses. 
• Agha’s hack of the Twitter account of a widely respected news agency allowed him to make an April 23, 2013, Twitter post falsely claiming that President Obama was injured after two explosions at the White House. Agha’s actions caused a temporary $136 billion flash crash in the value of stocks making up the Dow. Agha later bragged about this hack in an interview with Business Insider, stating that it “was our goal of that hack attack” for the Dow to drop significantly, and “it was a big victory for us.” 
• Agha obtained access to the company hosting the U.S. Marine Corps’ recruitment website and redirected visitors from that site to a server displaying an image encouraging Marines to refuse their orders and fight alongside the Syrian Army, as shown below:

Image encouraging Marines to refuse their orders and fight alongside the Syrian Army.

• During the time the attack took place, approximately 3,500 potential visitors to the U.S. Marines recruitment website saw the above image instead of U.S. Marines-related recruitment material. 
• On two occasions, Agha attempted to obtain control over the White House’s social media page by stealing usernames and passwords for the email accounts of White House staff. In one instance, Agha succeeded and used his unauthorized access in an unsuccessful effort to trick other White House Staff into giving him access to the White House’s social media accounts.

Agha and his coconspirator, Firas Dardar, were indicted on May 17, 2018, after initially being charged by complaint on June 12, 2014. Dardar remains a fugitive. Dardar was also charged in a separate conspiracy in the Eastern District of Virginia on Sept. 29, 2015, relating to unauthorized access to, and damage of, computers and related extortionate activities; receiving the proceeds of extortion; money laundering; wire fraud; violations of the Syrian Sanctions Regulations; and unlawful interstate communications, alongside Peter Romar, a Syrian national then residing in Germany. Romar was extradited to the Eastern District of Virginia from Germany and pleaded guilty on Sept. 28, 2016.

The FBI’s Washington Field Office investigated the case, in coordination with the FBI’s Cyber Division.

NYPD COMMISSIONER TISCH, AG JAMES, NYC DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ANNOUNCE NYPD’S REMOVAL OF OVER 4,500 GUNS FROM NEW YORK CITY STREETS IN 2026

 

Builds on NYPD’s Work to Reduce Gun Violence and Deliver Fewest Shooting Incidents, Shooting

Victims, and Murders for the First Nine Months of the Year

Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and the five New York City District Attorneys today announced that the NYPD has removed over 4,500 guns from New York City streets since January 2026. In total, the NYPD has seized 4,503 guns so far this year, with 1,239 seized in Brooklyn, 1,095 seized in Manhattan, 1,055 seized in the Bronx, 868 seized in Queens, and 246 seized on Staten Island. The NYPD seized 270 ghost guns — unserialized and untraceable firearms that only exist to evade law enforcement and gun laws, often ending up in the hands of criminals.

The NYPD’s work to remove guns from city streets and dismantle the most dangerous gangs has contributed to the fewest shooting incidents, shooting victims, and murders in New York City for the first nine months of the year. To put that into historical context, in 2021, New York City experienced a 16-year high in gun violence. In 2026, just five years later, shooting incidents and shooting victims have both fallen nearly 60% citywide from that peak.

“Since the beginning of this year, the NYPD has taken over 4,500 guns off our streets and driven shootings and murders to historic lows,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “These remarkable results are the product of our precision-policing strategy: deploying our officers where violence is concentrated, dismantling the gangs responsible for driving it, and relentlessly pursuing the guns that fuel it. I thank the brave men and women of this department who put our strategy into action, and the tireless work of Attorney General Letitia James and New York City’s five district attorneys for their partnership in making our communities safer.”

Driving Down Gun Violence

These efforts have contributed to historic lows in gun violence. Earlier this month, the NYPD announced that the department broke the record for the fewest shooting incidents, shooting victims, and murders for the first nine months of the year and in the third quarter.

Shooting incidents fell by 11.6% (489 vs. 553), 64 fewer than the previous record set in 2025. Brooklyn and Queens recorded their fewest shooting incidents ever for the first nine months of the year with 159 and 61, respectively.

Shooting victims fell by 14.4% (594 vs. 694), 100 fewer shooting victims than the previous record set in 2018 and in 2025. Compared to just five years ago, 846 fewer New Yorkers were shot this year than over the same time period in 2021. Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens each recorded the fewest shooting victims ever for this point in the year, with 201 in Brooklyn, 78 in Manhattan, and 69 in Queens.

Murders fell by 19.8% (203 vs. 253), 12 fewer murders than the previous record of 215 set in 2017. This year, murders were down in four of the five boroughs with Brooklyn and Manhattan both recording their fewest murders with 57 and 24, respectively.

Violence Reduction Zones

This past summer, the NYPD implemented its Summer Violence Reduction Plan — deploying officers in the times and locations where violence and disorder are most concentrated and likely to occur. From May 4 through September 14, major crime declined 20.7% (1,894 vs. 2,388), shooting incidents declined 29.1% (56 vs. 79), shooting victims declined 26.7% (77 vs. 105), and robberies were down 29.1% (454 vs. 640) in the zones during deployment hours. Major crime was down in four of the five boroughs in the zones during deployment hours with Staten Island remaining flat. The greatest reduction was driven in the Bronx, down 30.5% (700 vs. 1,007).

Comptroller Levine Releases New Report Showing Scale of NYC’s Declining Public School Population

 

Report tracks citywide and district-level enrollment trends, demographic shifts, and growing student needs  

The Office of New York City Comptroller Mark Levine today released Tracking the K-12 Student Population in NYC, a report on enrollment, demographic, and district-level trends. This report provides policymakers, families and the public with an understanding of how New York City’s student population is changing, where those shifts are occurring, and how students’ needs are evolving.

“Declining school enrollment is not only a challenge for our education system –it raises fundamental questions about affordability, the ability of young families to build a future in New York, and the kind of city we want to be,” said City Comptroller Mark Levine. “The needs of our students are changing at the same time, as a growing number of students face economic hardship and require specialized support. We need to understand these trends to make our schools stronger, direct resources where they are needed most and give all kids the education they deserve.”

New York City public schools’ K-12 enrollment fell by 19% between the 2013-14 to 2025-26 school years, a decrease of 187,000 students. When including 3K and pre-K enrollment, which rose over that period, public school total enrollment dropped 148,000 students. In school year 2025-26, public schools experienced its largest post-pandemic enrollment drop, losing nearly 22,000 students in a single year. The School Construction Authority has projected enrollment could decrease by 128,000 students by 2034-35 school year.

The report shows that the overall decline in enrollment can’t be explained by students shifting to charter schools, private schools, or homeschooling. Families have appeared to leave the city as their children get older, with the steepest enrollment drop off occurring between the 5th and 6th grades as children transition from elementary to middle school. The report also shows those who remain enrolled in public schools are increasingly students with disabilities, English language learners, and those in temporary housing.

The report also found:

• A population with substantial needs. Approximately 73% of students live in poverty, while 14% live in temporary housing or experience homelessness. The number of public school students with disabilities and English-language learners has also increased.

• Citywide enrollment decrease. Public school enrollment has declined in every district, all of which have seen a decline in total student population (including charter and private school students in addition to public schools). The scale of these declines varies, however, with the sharpest drops in Upper Manhattan, the Lower East Side, parts of the Bronx, and Central Brooklyn.

• Shifting demographics. The share of Black students in public schools was 19% during the last school year, which was a 7-point decrease from 26% in the 2013-14 school year. This reflects the loss of more than 200,000 Black New Yorkers reported over the last two decades.

• Decreasing impact from charter schools. After significant increases in prior years, since 2021-22 year-over-year growth in charter school enrollment has generally remained less than 2% and hasn’t surpassed 4%. Charter elementary and middle school enrollment is concentrated in the South Bronx, Upper Manhattan, and Central Brooklyn. The portion of students enrolled in NYCPS is highest in Queens Districts 25 and 26, with the lowest occurring in Brooklyn Districts 14 and 17, Manhattan District 5 and the Bronx District 7.

You can read the report here: https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/tracking-the-k-12-student-population-in-nyc

Mayor Mamdani Installs Brooklyn’s First Residential Empire Bins, Bringing City Closer to Trash-Free Sidewalks

 

More than 700 containers will replace piles of trash bags across Brooklyn Community District 2 

  

Next six districts will receive Empire Bins in 2027, delivering on Mayor Mamdani’s commitment to citywide containerization by the end of 2031 

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) Commissioner Gregory Anderson today installed Brooklyn’s first residential Empire Bins, taking a major step toward cleaner streets and sidewalks. The stationary, on-street containers will replace massive piles of trash bags across Brooklyn Community District 2, where installation of more than 700 bins is now underway. Full containerization of the district is expected to be completed by the end of fall. 

  

“Every New Yorker deserves clean streets and sidewalks,” said Mayor Mamdani. “For too long, New Yorkers have had to walk past mountains of trash bags piled high on the curb that offer feasts for rats and stink up our streets. We’re changing that. By containerizing trash, we’re building a cleaner city while making it easier and safer for the hardworking men and women of DSNY to do their job.” 

  

Brooklyn Community District 2 encompasses Downtown Brooklyn, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Fulton Ferry, DUMBO, Vinegar Hill, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Brooklyn Navy Yard. 

  

“Today marks an important milestone in our efforts to get trash off the street and into sealed, rodent-resistant containers,” said DSNY Commissioner Gregory Anderson. “This is not another pilot. Putting screws in the ground here in Brooklyn marks the beginning of a dramatic transformation of New York City’s streetscape. District by district, we are getting trash bags off the street and delivering the cleaner neighborhoods all New Yorkers deserve.”  

  

Following the model that has been in place for more than a year in West Harlem, DSNY will install Empire Bins outside all buildings with more than 30 units, as well as buildings with 10 to 30 units that have opted into the program. 

  

Businesses and low-density residential buildings, including single-family homes, are already required to put their trash in smaller, wheeled containers known as “wheelie bins.” Medium-density buildings that opt out of the Empire Bin program will also be required to use wheelie bins.  

  

Property managers will access Empire Bins with a key card or smartphone app. Sanitation Workers will service the containers using North America’s first automated side-loading trucks.  

  

Last summer, DSNY deployed roughly 1,100 Empire Bins in Manhattan Community District 9, which includes Hamilton Heights, West Harlem and Morningside Heights. The containers performed well through a particularly cold and snowy winter.  

  

As DSNY installs Empire Bins in BK 2, the agency is planning for the 2027 expansion announced by Mayor Mamdani in April. The next six community districts to receive Empire Bins include: 

•   Bronx Community District 2: Hunts Point and Longwood  

•   Bronx Community District 5: University Heights, Mount Hope, Morris Heights and Fordham Heights  

•   Queens Community District 2: Sunnyside, Hunters Point and Woodside  

•   Manhattan Community District 2: West Village, SoHo, Little Italy, Greenwich Village and Nolita  

•   Brooklyn Community District 8: Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and Weeksville  

•    Staten Island Community District 1: North Shore  

  

DSNY expects the 2027 expansion to bring more than 6,500 Empire Bins to more than 3,500 buildings. 

  

The City’s goal is to complete containerization citywide by the end of 2031, delivering a New York City where trash bags are kept off the streets once and for all.  

  

Learn more about trash containerization at nyc.gov/usebins.