Graphic images warning of the dangers of keeping a firearm at home could soon appear in gun shops across New York City, similar to the cautionary imagery printed on cigarette packages in other countries.
The New York City Council is poised to pass the legislation on Wednesday.
A recent Gothamist analysis shows this year’s dip in shootings follows a broader downward trend since the pandemic.
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On Wednesday night, a man held at Rikers Island died—the fifth death in city custody in the last two weeks, and the 12th this year alone.
These are not isolated incidents; they are symptoms of a system in collapse. For decades, New York City has been trapped in a cycle of failure at Rikers. The sprawling, decaying jail complex isn’t just a humanitarian disaster—it’s a direct threat to public safety.
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It’s the end of the road for two West Side casino bids. Councilmember Erik Bottcher cast decisive “no” votes on Wednesday, after the Community Advisory Committees weighed the high-stakes proposals for Caesars Palace Times Square and The Avenir.
In an email statement timed with the first vote, Bottcher said his decision followed “countless conversations with constituents in coffee shops, living rooms and on street corners, extensive public engagement and careful deliberation.” While he acknowledged the economic potential of the projects, Bottcher argued that casinos carry a “particularly high bar” for community support that has not been met.
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The City Council Committee on Land Use approved a massive rezoning plan to build over 9,500 homes in Midtown South on Wednesday, clearing the way for a full Council vote amid increasing public support.
The Midtown South Mixed-Use (MSMX) plan would redesignate 42 blocks between West 23rd and 40th Streets and Fifth and Eighth Avenues for housing development, allowing the city to repurpose office spaces.
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With its stretches of subway grating flanked by a windowless Con Edison substation and a busy bike lane, Seventh Avenue between West 18th and 19th Streets has long been in need of beautification. While the restaurants and residential buildings of surrounding blocks beckon, this barren, concrete anomaly can’t claim so much as a single shrub, plant, or bush with which to entice.
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This LGBTQ+ Pride month, a native of the Adirondacks who now serves on the New York City Council is highlighting a key meaning of Pride—the importance of community—using his powerful personal story to do so.
Erik Bottcher, who grew up in Wilmington, New York and graduated from Lake Placid High School, was a guest on this weekend’s episode of NBC5 In Depth.
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While many in the queer community watch stunned in disbelief as anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation designed to dismantle transgender healthcare sweeps across America, a gay councilmember in the heart of queer New York City is refusing to stand still.
Erik Bottcher, representing the historic neighborhoods where Stonewall’s legacy lives on, isn’t just posting rainbow flags or offering sympathetic tweets (the queer equivalent of ‘thoughts and prayers’)—he’s wielding legislative power.
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Forged in brick and broken glass at the Stonewall uprising in 1969, New York City is the birthplace of the queer liberation movement. The fight for our right to even exist was challenged that day – a right that has not yet been won. Today, a hostile Trump administration has unleashed a torrent of anti-trans vitriol, a tsunami whose waves have not crested before crashing upon New York.
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It’s snake eyes for Related Companies and Wynn Resorts.
Shortly after City Council Member Erik Bottcher said he could not support the bid by the Related Cos. to try to obtain a casino license for its proposed $12-billion Hudson Yards project, the real estate developer said it was dropping the bid.
Its gaming partner in the bid, Wynn Resorts, had announced its withdrawal from the project earlier, on May 19.
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The New York City Council is considering banning pedicabs right around Broadway theater exits and entrances.
A new bill would prevent pedicabs to operate within 50 feet of a theater.
People have long complained for years about pedicabs blasting music loudly, which disrupts performances, and about harassing theatergoers.
The bill was introduced by Councilmembers Keith Powers and Erik Bottcher.
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