1/2/26
Good morning, New Yorker.
The city opens the new year under fresh leadership and familiar strain. The afterglow of inauguration week still lingers, but governing realities have already reasserted themselves, affordability, public safety, and infrastructure pressing as immediately as ever. Zohran Mamdani’s first days in office signal a shift in City Hall, and with it, a recalibration of expectations. The calendar may have turned, but the city offers no pause.
Weather Brief
Clear skies and temperatures near 24°F will make for brisk commutes and slower walks. Layering is essential. Travel conditions are mostly smooth, though the cold will be felt sharply before sunrise and after sunset.
What to Watch Today
Mayor Zohran Mamdani begins his first full working week in office, with internal meetings and early executive directives expected.
The NYPD continues its investigation into the city’s first homicide of the year after a rideshare driver was found fatally shot in his vehicle.
MTA leadership is scheduled to brief on post-holiday ridership trends and forthcoming service adjustments.
Protests are planned outside several hospitals today following the expiration of federal health coverage subsidies at midnight.
The Lead
Zohran Mamdani was sworn in earlier this week as New York City’s 112th mayor, opening his administration with an explicit promise to wield government power “expansively and audaciously” on behalf of the city’s working class. Speaking to a crowd gathered in the cold outside City Hall, Mamdani rejected the idea that large-scale public action belongs to the past, vowing that City Hall would no longer hesitate to intervene in housing, transit, and cost-of-living pressures shaping daily life for millions of New Yorkers.
Power & Accountability
The city’s health department released updated guidance following the expiration of federal subsidies, leaving tens of thousands of low-income residents at risk of losing affordable coverage.
The NYPD confirmed the discovery of abandoned police uniforms near Green-Wood Cemetery and has opened a review into potential internal security lapses.
New Jersey’s toll and gas tax increases took effect today, impacting cross-Hudson commuters and regional freight operators.
Around the City
One person was killed in a hit-and-run in Corona, Queens; another was injured. NYPD is reviewing surveillance footage.
An affordable housing lottery opened in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, offering units starting at $812 per month.
Subway service near Yankee Stadium was briefly halted after a 72-year-old man was pushed into a moving train; he remains in critical condition.
The Thread
The city stands at a new threshold in its governance while unresolved urgencies in affordability, public safety, and infrastructure persist. The residual energy of inauguration week has already converged with longstanding questions of access, protection, and who gets to feel safe or secure in New York. Trust remains in flux, from City Hall to the subway platforms, as institutions face the dual challenge of adapting to new leadership while delivering in real time.