The Morning: Changes in N.Y.C.

Plus, Trump's pick for attorney general, Russian missiles and bathing in oil.

View in browser|nytimes.com November 22, 2024 Good morning. We're covering an affordability crisis in New York City — as well as Trump's pick for attorney general, Russian missiles and bathing in oil. In New York City.  DeSean McClinton-Holland for The New York Times Urban tweaks By Emma G. Fitzsimmons I cover New York City's government. New York City faces an affordability crisis. Rents have soared. The century-old subway needs to be modernized, and buses are painfully slow. Piles of trash bags often line the sidewalks. The person tasked with fixing these problems, Mayor Eric Adams, faces a major corruption scandal. His criminal case has obscured better news — that officials are advancing several ambitious proposals that hope to improve life in the city. The Democrats who run New York are crafting new policies because voters are concerned about their quality of life. The cost of living has become a campaign issue in Adams's re-election next year, and his rivals are highlighting affordability. Here are the proposals and how they could make things better for New Yorkers: The proposals Better transit: The streets of Manhattan are choked with traffic and double-parked delivery trucks. The nation's first congestion pricing plan will charge vehicles entering Manhattan south of Central Park to reduce traffic and raise money for the struggling transit system. Drivers pay to enter the tolling zone using electronic passes on their windshields or photos of their license plates. By Scott Reinhard The plan has been decades in the making. It still requires federal approval, and the Biden administration is poised to sign off before leaving office. Donald Trump and suburban lawmakers have vowed to kill it, arguing that it could hurt the city's economic recovery from the pandemic. But New York's governor, Kathy Hochul, recently lowered the toll to $9 to help rally public support. Lower rental costs: Right now, if you rent an apartment in New York City, you have to pay thousands of dollars to a broker to secure a lease. A proposal in the City Council would shift that fee from renters to landlords. A progressive young lawmaker proposed the bill, which just passed despite opposition from the real estate industry. Critics argued that landlords would pass along the cost by raising rents. The law will probably take effect next summer. Cleaner sidewalks: Foul-smelling heaps of trash bags appear on city sidewalks on pickup day. They take up a lot of space, and they often tear and ooze into the street. Now the Adams administration is creating new rules for trash as part of the mayor's war on rats. Starting this month, residential buildings with nine units or fewer must put garbage in cans. Eventually, the city will remove parking spots in dense neighborhoods to make way for large on-street containers. Other major cities, like Barcelona and Buenos Aires, already do this. By Larry Buchanan Some homeowners and building staffers oppose the new trash rules, complaining about the look of the bins and the requirement that garbage be kept indoors until closer to the pickup time. The political stakes The new proposals show how changes in local policy can have a major impact on the lives of the city's eight million residents. Here's one example: I'm raising two little kids in Manhattan. The last mayor, Bill de Blasio, started a free preschool program for 3- and 4-year-olds — one that helped my family afford to stay in the city. (My son is in a city-funded preschool that he loves, saving us more than $30,000 per year.) The current proposals similarly aim to make it easier to live in the city. Supporters of the broker fee bill have argued that it will allow artists to keep living in New York so it doesn't end up as a home only for the wealthy. Yesterday, the City Council moved forward with a proposal that would build more affordable housing in neighborhoods and remove rules that require new buildings to create parking spaces. That has been contentious, and lobbying from neighborhood groups has weakened the plan. They don't want high-rise apartments in less dense neighborhoods, and they want new homes to provide parking. Although New Yorkers may disagree on tactics, most want to make the city more livable. More than half of voters here say the city is moving in the wrong direction. Even my 4-year-old wants to see some changes in our neighborhood. I was walking him home from preschool when we came across a mound of black trash bags lying in the crosswalk. As we veered around them, he scoffed and noted that they were not where they belonged. Related: Why is it so hard to build more housing in New York City? The different fates of two affordable housing developments help explain the city's housing shortage. THE LATEST NEWS Matt Gaetz Matt Gaetz Kenny Holston/The New York Times Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration to lead the Justice Department. After meeting with Republican senators, Gaetz believed he lacked enough support to be confirmed. Trump picked Pam Bondi, Florida's former attorney general, to replace Gaetz. Bondi, who defended Trump during his first impeachment, leads a right-wing think tank. Gaetz withdrew after CNN told him it planned to report that he had a second sexual encounter with a 17-year-old girl in 2017, and after The Times reported that federal investigators had found payments Gaetz made to women he had allegedly hired for sex. Trump, who had privately conceded that Gaetz might not be confirmed but had made calls on his behalf, praised Gaetz in a Truth Social post. Trump said that Gaetz withdrew to avoid becoming a distraction for the administration and that he "has a wonderful future." Gaetz resigned from the House ahead of the release of an ethics report about him. Pete Hegseth Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick to lead the Defense Department, denied that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017 after a police report released this week detailed their encounter. "The matter was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared," he said. Several Republican senators have stood by Hegseth, noting that no charges were filed. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee lamented "the media's focus on personal attacks." Hegseth, as an Army lieutenant in 2005, criticized soldiers who committed war crimes. By 2018, embittered by military dysfunction, he was defending them as a Trump supporter on Fox News. More on the Trump Administration In a recount, Senator Bob Casey, a three-term Pennsylvania Democrat, conceded to Dave McCormick, a Republican. The Republicans have 53 Senate seats next year. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right Georgia Republican, will lead a House panel focused on cutting government waste, in concert with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, was a registered lobbyist until early this year. Her clients included a tobacco company, a mining project and a cancer research foundation. The House passed legislation that would let the government revoke the tax-exempt status of nonprofit groups it accuses of supporting terrorism. Democrats warned that Trump could exploit it to target his political enemies. Trump claims that his "landslide" victory gives him "an unprecedented and powerful mandate" to transform the country. In fact, he's set to win the popular vote by a small margin. Middle East Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Yoav Gallant. Amir Cohen/Reuters The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and its former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, as part of its investigation into war crimes in Gaza. The court also issued a warrant for the arrest of Muhammad Deif, Hamas's military chief, for crimes against humanity. Israel says it killed Deif. The warrants are not enforceable in Israel and the U.S., but they could make it difficult for Netanyahu to travel to most other countries. International Ukrainian soldiers in eastern Ukraine. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times Vladimir Putin said Russia struck Ukraine with a new type of missile, one capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The Brazilian police accused former President Jair Bolsonaro of plotting a coup. China's hacking of communications inside the U.S. was more widespread than previously reported. Hackers listened to phone calls and read texts by exploiting aging equipment. U.S. officials warned American defense companies that Russia might try to sabotage them. They recommended increasing security for employees and watching for signs of surveillance. Other Big Stories Several major automakers want Trump to keep the Biden administration's electric vehicle requirements. The companies have already spent billions to shift to E.V.s. White supremacist demonstrations are becoming more frequent across the U.S. Police officers in Trenton, N.J., systematically violate citizens' rights and needlessly escalate peaceful interactions into violence, a Justice Department report found. M.I.T. announced that it would eliminate tuition costs next fall for all undergraduate students whose families earn less than $200,000 per year. Opinions Biden should end the tradition of pardoning turkeys on Thanksgiving. They've committed no crime to deserve a pardon, Peter Singer writes. Here are columns by Paul Krugman on how anti-immigrant sentiment affects the tech sector and Michelle Goldberg on Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a moderate Washington Democrat. The Thanksgiving Sale. Subscribe to Cooking now, offer won't last. Less mess, less stress. Cooking provides easy recipes plus videos, community tips and more. Save on your first year of Cooking. MORNING READS Bathing in oil in Naftalan, Azerbaijan. Emile Ducke for The New York Times Dispatch: In Azerbaijan, host of COP29, people aren't just proud of their oil — they soak in it. Explore your roots: Take a family heritage trip. Omen: Sea-dwelling oarfish are thought to be harbingers of disaster. Three have washed up in California in recent months. Researchers are excited to study them. Lives Lived: Diane Coleman was a fierce disability-rights advocate born with muscular spinal atrophy who took on the right-to-die movement. She died at 71. SPORTS N.F.L.: The Cleveland Browns beat the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-19, in a driving snowstorm. N.H.L.: The Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin will miss four to six weeks with a fractured fibula. It will slow his pace toward the league's all-time goals record, held by Wayne Gretzky. College football: Michigan flipped Bryce Underwood, a top recruit. He was previously committed to L.S.U. ARTS AND IDEAS Paul Tazewell Tracy Nguyen for The New York Times Paul Tazewell was 16 and in Ohio when he first designed costumes for a show about Oz. It was a high school production, and much of the work happened in his family's dining room. So he was ready when he got the call to design costumes for "Wicked," the movie. Read more about him and the costumes. More on culture In new collections, the Palestinian poets Mosab Abu Toha and Najwan Darwish write about the war in Gaza. Late night hosts joked about Matt Gaetz. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Linda Xiao for The New York Times Sprinkle crema and queso fresco over this festive cornbread stuffing. Improve mobility with six exercises. Floss with water. Roll pastry with this pin. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was legalizing. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. 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