Free Republic

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a new budget that taxes the rich, forgoes a property tax hike, and depends on the generosity of Gov. Kathy Hochul to fill a budget gap Mamdani called historic. Mamdani's gap reprieve came in the 11th hour. The mayor was unrepentant in his determination to tax the rich and create a city that is more hospitable to working New Yorkers. The lingering question is whether it will drive businesses out and hurt the tax base. Mamdani said his preliminary budget proposal released 12 weeks ago, "reflected a straightforward reality. New York City was...

A federal judge gave a green light Tuesday to New York's so-called Green Light Law, rejecting the Trump administration's bid to stop the state from giving people driver's licenses without having them prove they are in the country legally. U.S. District Judge Anne M. Nardacci in Albany ruled that the Republican administration — which challenged the law under President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration — had failed to support its claims that the state law usurps federal law or that it unlawfully regulates or unlawfully discriminates against the federal government. The Justice Department sued the state over the law...