The Weekly Watchdog

It’s Week 5 of the Weekly Watchdog. Is this the first week since we started where it feels like things in New York City have maybe calmed down a bit? There are no new candidates for Mayor and no major bombshell corruption stories, and we even got some good news on New York City’s post-pandemic recovery.

Here’s the latest on New York’s good government policy. Let’s start with the good news:

News Worth Clicking

New York’s Back, Baby! After Pandemic Exodus, New York City’s Population Is Growing Again The New York Times By Winnie Hu & Alex Lemonides	Are we back? It kind of feels like we’re back. Or at least on our way. For the first time since 2020, New York City’s population grew, according to US Census data released on Thursday, ending the exodus spurred by the pandemic. The population rose by over 80,000 people in one year, largely due to immigrants. The City’s population of 8.48 million people is still substantially below its early 2020 peak of 8.8 million, but signs point to a continued recovery.
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop Report: Congestion pricing creating faster commutes for drivers entering the city NY1 By Spectrum News Staff	And the good news keeps on rolling, literally! The data on congestion pricing’s first few months continues to show positive benefits for New York City. Commute times are down dramatically for drivers entering the City according to the non-profit Regional Plan Association. With this, on top of other data released (this week we also learned there’s less honking too!), congestion pricing has been a win so far.
Calling All Discontented Strivers Divided Electorate Tells Tale of Two Cities Ahead of Mayoral Election The CITY By Mia Hollie	A new poll examining the mayoral election and voters’ attitudes on certain issues divided different city voting audiences into categories, coming up with some creative names (hence our headline) along the way (Where’s the Goo-Goo category?! Good Government Reformers, duh, but maybe there’s not enough of us yet). Anyway, the poll found that, number one, we’re likely getting a new mayor, and number two, voters remain divided on key issues like public safety. Read on and see where you fit in.
The Pendulum Swings Back NYPD Commissioner Touts Tougher Discipline for Officers Who Commit Misconduct The CITY By Yoav Gonen	Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch continued implementing policy reforms since taking the top job at the NYPD in November, announcing tougher disciplinary measures for repeated misconduct by police officers. This development is a notable departure from policy by the two previous commissioners under Mayor Adams. Those commissioners, Keechant Sewell and Eddie Caban, dismissed the large majority of all disciplinary cases.
Not-So-Good-Gov How Eric Adams Has Backed a Secretive NYPD Unit Ridden With Abuses ProPublica By Eric Umansky	Some of those misconduct cases referenced above came from the NYPD’s Community Response Team, a unit that formed after Mayor Adams took office in 2022. The unit has come under a lot of criticism in its three-year existence from both inside and outside the department, and ProPublica takes a deep dive into its history in this investigative piece. One of its leaders, Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry, just became the City’s new Deputy Mayor for Public Safety. More on his and other City Hall leadership changes below.
ICYMI Mayor Adams names 4 new deputies after previous aides resigned following DOJ bombshell Gothamist By Brittany Kriegstein	In case you missed it, City Hall has some new personnel serving in key roles after four deputy mayors resigned about a month ago now in the midst of a tumultuous few days when the DOJ dropped charges against Mayor Adams. Gothamist has the recap of who’s who in City government.