Free Republic

Massapequa Park, LI residents are enjoying some positive vibes, especially when it comes to living there. The US News & World Report’s new 2025-2026 list of the best places to live in America ranked Massapequa Park at the top of the list for the Empire State, although the Nassau County village is still leagues away from the country’s No. 1 spot, which is a plane ride away. The close-knit village on the South Shore of Long Island enjoys a strong public school system, nearby beach access and a convenient commute to New York City for those heading to the office....

Andrew Cuomo has picked up another key hard hat endorsement Tuesday in the race for New York City mayor, winning the backing of the Laborers’ International Union. The New York affiliate of the Laborers Union represents 40,000 members in New York State, which further cements the former governor’s support within the construction trades. The union backed Cuomo’s rival in the June Democratic primary, former city Comptroller Scott Stringer, in the 2021 mayor’s race. “New York City is the cultural, economic, and social engine of the world—and leading it requires vision, grit, and proven experience,” said Donato Bianco, Jr., LIUNA vice...

The legislation would expand the criteria for town and cities to show they’re experiencing a housing emergency. Under current rules, localities can only opt into rent regulation if they conduct a survey to prove their housing vacancy rate is below 5 percent. A pair of state lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday that would make it easier for localities outside New York City to adopt rent stabilization, expanding the criteria for town and cities to show they’re experiencing a housing emergency. Under current rules, local governments can only opt into rent regulation if they conduct a survey to prove their housing...

This consumer investigation takes a look at New York towing laws. There are perhaps few things more frustrating than walking outside to find that your car has been towed. But News10NBC anchor Nikki Rudd was more than frustrated when she got the bill for almost $5,000 for a 33-mile tow. Is that legal? That’s the question News10NBC consumer investigator set out to answer: It was just after midnight on December 21, 2024. Nikki was driving home to Livingston County after having anchored the 11:00 p.m. news. “It was a snowy night. Everyone was going slow and in a single lane,”...

During an interview with Univision 41 New York on Friday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) responded to a question on gang members in schools and law enforcement being blocked from removing them from sanctuary jurisdictions who won’t let law enforcement into schools by stating that “they have to be removed. We cannot have gang members operating freely in our schools, whether they’re from a gang from another country or they’re a street gang here. We have to protect our children and our teachers in a school environment. That’s a basic necessity.” After Univision 41 New York journalist Mariela Salgado...

Husband noticed a brand new fancy digital sign on a state highway with a photo of Jimmy Carter, and a caption "Character!" Really? Is this what our taxpayer dollars are going to? They are going to make a big boo hoo event over Carter's passing in BLUE states, obviously.

Health insurance rates in New York are set to rise significantly in 2025, with individual plans increasing by an average of 12.7% and small-group plans by 8.4%, according to state records. These increases, though lower than the nearly 17% and 19% hikes insurers initially sought, will affect about 1 million New Yorkers enrolled in these plans. State officials cited the rising costs of medical care, including hospital stays and drug prices, as the primary drivers behind the rate hikes. The approved rates aim to limit insurers’ profit margins to 1% to mitigate inflationary pressures on consumers. The rate increases for...

A peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Information Warfare (JIW) confirms a “Loss of Control” breach has occurred in the NYSVoter Database. A peer-reviewed paper of their results in a respected journal is a hard-won and “significant milestone,” according to Marly Hornik, Executive Director of the NY Citizens Audit. The audit of the voter rolls was led by Marly Hornik and Andrew Paquette, Ph.D., Director of Research, who submitted the paper to JIW. Paquette “co-founded the International Game Architecture and Design Academy (now BUAS) in the Netherlands after a career in the feature film and video game industries. He received...

Is killing cops good or bad? In Rochester, New York, there seems to be some disagreement on that issue. On Monday, Rochester buried a murdered cop. Three days later, on Thursday, Rochester celebrated a guy who murdered a cop. Two cops, actually. Maybe that’s just balance – providing both sides of the issue. Or maybe it’s an explanation of why Rochester has become a cesspool of violence, with one of the highest homicide rates in the nation. Anthony Mazurkiewicz was a grandfather with 29 years on the job when he and another officer were ambushed in their vehicle, savagely attacked...

With the repeal of Roe v. Wade, more and more Democrats have begun to view the Supreme Court as illegitimate. Many liberal New Yorkers hope President Biden and the Senate can somehow expand the Court or radically reimagine it in other ways. Such a plan is years from being realized, though, and the 6-3 conservative majority is going nowhere anytime soon. For now, furious activists would be better off directing their energy elsewhere. The good news is that a rare opportunity to shape a different high court emerged on Monday with the news that New York’s most powerful judge is...

NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. (WHEC) - Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday that there is a new COVID-19 public awareness campaign to educate New Yorkers who test positive for COVID-19. She also announced that $10 million was awarded in the first round of the Abortion Provider Support Fund.

Following a slew of violent attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) is inexplicably amping up the rhetoric against pro-lifers, calling them “neanderthals.” Hochul on Monday signed legislation to boost abortion “rights” and “empower” abortion providers in the Empire State. “This is the United States of America, where freedom and liberty are supposed to mean something,” the Democrat said. “It’s the rock upon which we were founded. It is supposed to mean something. Except in the eyes of some neanderthals who say, women are not entitled to those rights.” Earlier this month, a pro-life pregnancy center...

Five years ago, the Excelsior Scholarship became the first in the nation to cover four years of tuition without being tethered to academic performance. Still, many students who could qualify don't apply. Even though college enrollment has slid since the start of the Covid pandemic, many students still want to get a degree, and for some, free tuition programs are the only way to make higher education a reality. In 2017, the state of New York's Excelsior Scholarship made headlines when it became the first in the nation to cover four years of tuition without being tethered to academic performance....

N.Y. money manager with dealership investments charged in $1.8B Ponzi-like fraud JONATHAN STEMPEL, Reuters NEW YORK -- The head of a New York money manager that holds a controlling stake in the nation's 11th-largest auto dealership group was criminally charged along with two associates on Thursday with running what authorities called a $1.8 billion Ponzi-like fraud where thousands of victims were falsely promised steady returns on their investments. David Gentile, CEO of GPB Capital Holdings LLC, was accused of using new money to repay earlier investors, and together with his co-defendants siphoning millions of dollars to pay themselves and fund...

On Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a temporary emergency measure in New York’s battle against the new coronavirus pandemic. The state would borrow unused ventilators from upstate, which has seen far fewer cases of the virus per capita than downstate, and lend them to overwhelmed hospitals in the New York City region, where the life support devices are in short supply. “I’m not going to let people die because we didn’t redistribute ventilators,” the governor said. As Cuomo has repeatedly noted, the virus is expected to travel across the state like a wave. Today, New York City is short of...

New York was facing a $6 billion budget deficit even before the COVID-19 pandemic swept in to deliver a potential $10 billion blow to the state’s coffers. But Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters on Tuesday he was proud that he and the state’s lawmakers were still able to craft a “robust budget,” despite the circumstances. “This is a particularly difficult budget because there is no money and there is much fear and there is much stress,” Cuomo said. “When we did the state of the state, we had a lot of policy ideas, a lot of reforms for this state...

With almost eight million people riding MTA subways, buses and commuter trains every weekday--often in overcrowded conditions--the transit system has the potential to spread the coronavirus should a serious outbreak occur in New York. So what is the agency doing to prepare for the virus and help to protect public health? NY1 Transit Reporter Dan Rivoli has the details: The MTA's safety chief begins each day trying to learn the latest about the spread of the coronavirus. "Every morning--about 8:30--we bring together all of the safety and health and emergency management individuals from not only the headquarters here but all...

NEW YORK CITY – People are fleeing New York much faster than any other state in the nation, figures released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau show. More than 76,000 people packed up and shipped out of New York during 2019, heading to states such as Florida, Georgia and Texas — which were among the fastest-growing areas. After New York, the states that saw most people leaving were Illinois, with 51,250 departees; West Virginia, with 12,144; and Louisiana, with 10,896.

Undocumented immigrants officially have the “green light” in New York – they can now apply for a state driver’s license thanks to the Green Light Law. On Monday, the line at the Yonkers DMV wrapped around the block with hundreds of people waiting -- many to obtain their license. People started lining up before 8 a.m. As of 11:30 a.m. many were on line for more than three hours. However, the wait did not end once they entered the DMV, because once inside the building they had to wait another three and a half hours to apply for the driver...

ALBANY – In 2020, state officials will examine whether to turn to New York residents and businesses for more tax revenues. With the state facing a gaping hole in its finances, and if history is an already well-known guide to New Yorkers, that’s hardly a bold prediction. But how? That’s the $6.1 billion question. The new state budget is due in March, and Democrats who control the state Capitol are already talking about potentially major tax hikes on wealthy individuals and corporations. Considering past red-ink periods in the annals of state budget-making, however, low and middle class taxpayers could get...