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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NYPD staffing levels have plunged by as much as 35% across key precincts in western Manhattan since 2019, according to new figures released by City Council Member Erik Bottcher, who is urging Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch to restore officer headcount to pre-pandemic levels.
In a letter sent April 17, Bottcher cited dramatic declines over the last six years: the 6th Precinct, which covers Greenwich Village, lost 52 officers — a 35% reduction.
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Imagine waiting years for your day in court—whether you’re a victim seeking justice, a tenant fighting eviction, or a business trying to resolve a contract dispute. Imagine being stuck in jail for months simply because the courts don’t have the capacity to hear your case.
For too many New Yorkers, this isn’t a hypothetical—it’s reality. And it’s putting public safety, fairness, and efficiency at risk.
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In a city as dynamic and resilient as New York, the safety of our residents must always remain our top priority. The opioid epidemic, fueled by the increasing prevalence of fentanyl, continues to take lives at an alarming rate. For too long, synthetic opioids have infiltrated our communities, turning nights out into nightmares and claiming lives in the shadows of our city’s brightest streets.
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A New York City councilmember wants to use artificial intelligence to strengthen enforcement of noise regulations that target rude drivers who lay on their horns or blast their bass.
There are currently just 11 noise cameras posted around New York City, and none are on Staten Island. The devices capture the screech of drag racing, the blast of illegal tailpipes and other noises that exceed 85 decibels.
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A new proposal to ease New York City’s housing crisis would make way for nearly 10,000 apartments in parts of Midtown Manhattan that do not currently allow new residential construction, a shift officials hope will reinvigorate an area that has come to represent economic challenge.
The plan, which city officials introduced at a Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday, seeks to change the zoning for 42 blocks of the neighborhood.
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Local leaders are stepping up to try and save a beloved Chelsea arts hub that’s going up for sale.
Philanthropist Gloria Naftali and her late husband Raymond opened the West Chelsea Arts Building in 1993 to provide cheap studio space to artists and galleries.
It’s been home to some of the art world’s biggest names like Ross Bleckner, Louise Fishman, Glen Ligon, Gary Simmons, and Hiroshi Sugimoto.
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