Free Republic

A Democratic Governors Association-backed Super PAC is pouring more than $4 million into boosting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s re-election bid as she desperately tries to fend off Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman in the tight race. Greater Empire State — which began releasing anti-Blakeman attack ads Saturday — reported receiving $4.34 million in donations between late July and Oct. 2 to hype Hochul, according to its latest state campaign filings. A big chunk of the money came from former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg; the Greater New York Hospital Association Management Corp.; and Leadership for New York, a super PAC run by Jay...

Dems the breaks. Rep. Tom Suozzi will snub a Long Island campaign event with Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday because of a scheduling clash — as other down-ballot New York Democrats distance themselves from the unpopular Empire State leader. Suozzi’s campaign told The Post that the five-term Long Island congressman was “fully booked,” and couldn’t make the “Nassau County Young Democrats’ Bus Tour and Canvass Launch.” “Congressman Suozzi’s schedule is set weeks in advance and he is fully booked all weekend,” a spokesperson for the Nassau County pol said Friday. The cold-shoulder comes after two other Democratic candidates in high-profile...

A bar ethics complaint has been filed against New York Attorney General Letitia James for allegedly making prejudicial statements about the “Cornell 7” in the days before being appointed special prosecutor to look into criminal charges for the Ivy’s Chi Phi frat members, The Post has learned. Two days before she was appointed special prosecutor to reopen an investigation into a 2024 alleged gang rape at Cornell University’s Chi Phi house, James posted on social media: “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable.” “To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand...

GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Blakeman vowed Tuesday to end New York’s sanctuary state policies on his first day in office — as Rep. Mike Lawler unleashed a profanity-laced attack on Gov. Kathy Hochul. The Republicans gathered in Chappaqua alongside the family of Sheridan Gorman — the 18-year-old Loyola University student gunned down by an illegal migrant — to demand law enforcement cooperation with ICE after two previously deported men were arrested in separate Hudson Valley cases. “The insanity is over, we’re putting New Yorkers first,” Blakeman declared. “On January 1st, as governor, I will sign an executive order, New York...

Debra Messing has had enough with the state of New York. The "Will & Grace" actress snubbed Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul and instead threw her support behind Republican Bruce Blakeman in the New York governor’s race. The endorsement marked a striking political shift for Messing, who has campaigned for Democratic candidates in the past. She previously backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Cynthia Nixon's 2018 bid for New York governor. Messing has also publicly clashed with President Donald Trump, a supporter of Blakeman. Her past political allegiances appeared to take a back seat as Messing enthusiastically praised Blakeman’s campaign...

The flyers went up in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood last month, plastered onto lampposts, bollards, building walls and traffic control boxes. “Beware: Talmudists are trained to cheat,” said one of the flyers posted in opposition to a housing redevelopment project. “Locals vs. Rothschilds,” another said. While those flyers echoed age-old antisemitic tropes, others deployed Israel-related or anti-Zionist rhetoric, decrying “dirty zionist money” and comparing the redevelopment project to the Nakba. “Stop Zionist occupation of Manhattan. NYCHA residents must keep their homes,” one said, referring to the New York City Housing Authority, at the entrance to an apartment building.

Conservatives slammed Gov. Kathy Hochul for wearing a headscarf during a visit to an Islamic center in New York City over the weekend. The Democratic governor wore a charcoal gray suit and a black scarf mirroring those many Muslim women don to symbolize modesty and their religious faith, according to a clip of the appearance at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York in Queens. Hochul addressed the congregants during the weekly Friday Jummah prayer service, giving a shout out to “his excellency” Tareq Albanai — the United Nation’s permanent representative for Kuwait — thanking him for welcoming her to...

Drive from Buffalo into Genesee County and you will pass fields that have grown corn and soybeans for generations. Soon, thousands of those acres will be covered by steel and glass. New York state is forcing industrial-scale solar plants onto rural communities that never asked for them, and the people who live there are discovering just how little their voice counts when a governor decides differently. The Mandate Behind The Mess.. New York is tearing up rural communities, wiping out wildlife sanctuaries, and burying prime agricultural soil under solar installation in the name of green energy. The root of this...

New York Democrats have driven one of the state’s major donors into the arms of Republicans... billionaire James Dolan, owner of the NBA champion New York Knicks, has spearheaded an effort to pour millions of dollars into Republican Bruce Blakeman’s gubernatorial campaign. In 2022, Dolan backed Blakeman’s opponent, Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul. Now, in conjunction with his company and with family members, Dolan has given so much money to pro-Blakeman committees and super PACs that he stands as New York state’s single largest GOP donor. New York Conservative Party Chair Jerry Kassar offered one explanation for the billionaire’s apparent shift....

Empire State lawmakers have moved to criminalize digital blueprints used to 3D-print firearm parts and the printers that can read them as part of a gun-control package that also targeted popular Glock pistols. Governor Kathy Hochul (D.) signed the measure into law on Wednesday as part of the state’s budget bill. It sets up a ban on the sale of 3D printers that aren’t equipped with yet-to-be-developed software or hardware that blocks the printing of firearms frames or receivers, unless the buyer has state and federal firearms industry licenses. It bans the distribution or sale of digital gun design files...

Gov. Kathy Hochul leads her Republican opponent Bruce Blakeman by just 4 percentage points, according to a bombshell new poll. Just 47% of those surveyed said they’d back the Democratic incumbent, compared to 43% who supported the Nassau County executive, with 10% of registered voters undecided, the poll, conducted by a pro-Blakeman super PAC found. Only 38% of respondents said they viewed Hochul favorably — and 58% unfavorably — in a survey of 2,000 registered voters conducted by pollster Red Oak Strategic for the “Strong and Safe” super PAC. Meanwhile, only 39% of voters approved of Hochul’s job performance compared...

President Donald Trump on Wednesday blasted New York's new pause on AI data center development, arguing the state is turning away one of the biggest economic opportunities of the AI boom. "One of the biggest Driving Forces in the Future for Jobs, are Data Centers," Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling the facilities "Money Machines" and "Cash Cows" that generate jobs and tax revenue. He urged New York to reverse course "IMMEDIATELY," arguing companies would instead build projects in states such as Texas, Arizona, Alabama, and Florida.

The MTA’s top lawyer is abruptly stepping down at the end of July with no successor immediately named — just months after The Post revealed the agency’s legal costs ballooned under her tenure. “After fourteen remarkable years with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, I have decided that the time has come for me to begin a new chapter,” the email begins, noting that her last day with the agency will be July 31.MTA General Counsel Paige Graves quietly announced her resignation, according to a June 30 email obtained by The Post. MTAGraves’ departure caps a turbulent season for the transit authority’s...

A Midtown high-rise was evacuated Tuesday morning after massive beams inside the under-construction building started buckling — sending some floors caving in and bricks raining down under the crushing strain. The 38-story commercial building at 235 East 42nd Street was cleared around 8:11 a.m. after construction workers spotted two faulty support beams bending and starting to give way on the 21st and 22nd floors, according to the NYPD and FDNY. Fire officials said floors between the 21st and 26th floors were sagging from the pressure. It’s unclear what caused the columns to buckle. All construction workers made it out of...

NEW YORK (AP) — A Manhattan high-rise that was under construction when columns buckled and bricks tumbled into the street below during the Tuesday morning rush hour remained unstable and was still moving, forcing nearby buildings to evacuate, officials said.The 1970s-era office building was being converted to luxury apartments, and is the former global headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. It’s located in a busy corridor about a block from the landmark Chrysler Building and between Grand Central Terminal and the United Nations headquarters. A nearby school with about 400 children was among the evacuated buildings, New York City Mayor Zohran...

More than a month-and-a-half after their contract expired on May 16, 40,000 New York City subway and bus workers remain on the job with wages frozen as the cost of living continues to spike. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100, which claims to be “at war” with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) over the agency’s draconian wage offer and demands for healthcare givebacks, is seemingly content to drag out the process for months or even years. Meanwhile, the eyes of the world are on New York. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is by some measures the largest sporting event...

Investigators believe that the veteran NYPD cop wounded during a chaotic confrontation with a gun-toting teen Sunday was struck by friendly fire, law-enforcement sources told The Post. Detective Robert Karroll was hit in the back by a slug — and only saved from potentially deadly injuries by his bulletproof vest — around 4:15 a.m. when a deranged 18-year-old ran up on an unmarked police car in Crown Heights, authorities have said. Karroll, a married dad of three who was just 10 days from retirement at the time, was in the vehicle along with three other officers — all of whom...

ABC’s “The View” declined a request from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to bring two democratic socialist congressional candidates onto the daytime talk show as the Disney-owned network grows increasingly wary of a high-stakes FCC investigation into its political guest bookings, according to a report. Representatives for Mamdani pitched “The View” on hosting the mayor alongside Democratic congressional candidates Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, but the show indicated it couldn’t accommodate the two House hopefuls while proceeding cautiously amid the FCC’s ongoing equal-time inquiry, according to Semafor. The reported booking dispute comes as relations between “The View” and...

Today's socialists aren't reviving Marx—they're replacing faith with politics and promising comfort instead of freedom. In the roughly two weeks since the New York primary elections, conservatives—and other normies—have been understandably upset about the prospects of a socialist surge in American politics. Three candidates endorsed by New York City’s socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani won their congressional primaries easily, while Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-aligned candidates around the state did quite well. In short, June 23 was a good day for socialists throughout the country, leaving many observers wondering if this will be a new date that lives in infamy, the...

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's speech for our nation's 250th birthday has gotten a lot of well-deserved criticism. It was pretty awful on the whole. But there was one particular part on Friday that got a lot of attention, in which he lambasted America, attacked Elon Musk, and demonized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). JUST IN: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani used America’s 250th anniversary to sharply criticize the country, accusing the U.S. of allowing children to go hungry while billionaires and “oligarchs” gain more power.He said America’s wealth was built by working people with “calloused, dirt-streaked hands" while accusing...