New York City

The Rescue of the New York Public Library

The Rescue of the New York Public Library The Rescue of the New York Public Library

Activists—and The Nation—thwarted NYPL trustees’ harebrained plans and restored democracy to this vital public institution.

Jul 26, 2021 / Scott Sherman

All That’s Utopian Melts Into Asphalt

All That’s Utopian Melts Into Asphalt All That’s Utopian Melts Into Asphalt

Utopia Parkway, which slices through the most diverse borough in New York, began as a dream of cooperative housing for poor Jewish immigrants.

Jul 16, 2021 / Feature / Molly Crabapple

balloons floating in sky

Untethered, or The Year of Living Virtually Untethered, or The Year of Living Virtually

Reflections on ruptured time.

Jul 14, 2021 / Patricia J. Williams

How a Harlem Skyrise Got Hijacked—and Forgotten

How a Harlem Skyrise Got Hijacked—and Forgotten How a Harlem Skyrise Got Hijacked—and Forgotten

The fate of June Jordan’s visionary reimagining of Harlem, like the “progressive” design for IS 201, shows that when it comes to Utopias, the key question is always: “Whose?”

Jul 14, 2021 / Feature / Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts

Climate Finance Day rally

Why Shouldn’t the People Own the Banks? Why Shouldn’t the People Own the Banks?

A municipally chartered public bank would not be beholden to the often predatory commercial banking sector.

Jul 9, 2021 / Michelle Chen

Campaign poster for Kristin Richardson Jordan

Harlem Is Sending a Black Lesbian Democratic Socialist to the City Council Harlem Is Sending a Black Lesbian Democratic Socialist to the City Council

A radical poet and educator’s come-from-behind victory over a machine politician complicates the narrative that New York Black moderates rejected a left agenda.

Jul 8, 2021 / Joan Walsh

Eric Adams

Eric Adams Won as a Centrist, but Bold Progressives Took the Other 2 Citywide Contests Eric Adams Won as a Centrist, but Bold Progressives Took the Other 2 Citywide Contests

Important victories for progressives Jumaane Williams and Brad Lander, along with key council candidates, are a reminder that New York voters can produce multiple mandates.

Jul 7, 2021 / John Nichols

Eric Adams

New York’s Election Mess Is Not the Fault of Ranked-Choice Voting New York’s Election Mess Is Not the Fault of Ranked-Choice Voting

The chaotic count of mayoral election votes has “nothing to do with ranked-choice voting and everything to do with mistakes the Board of Elections has made.”

Jul 1, 2021 / John Nichols

How the Dianne Morales Campaign Fell Apart

How the Dianne Morales Campaign Fell Apart How the Dianne Morales Campaign Fell Apart

At the last minute, the political newcomer’s once-promising bid for New York City mayor became a cautionary tale.

Jun 25, 2021 / Column / Aída Chávez

India Walton

A Socialist Claims a Historic Victory in Buffalo A Socialist Claims a Historic Victory in Buffalo

“A well-meaning group of rebels and revolutionaries” just put a democratic socialist on track for the top job in a major American city.

Jun 23, 2021 / John Nichols

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