Hochul and Blakeman spar over ICE, carriage horses get a 2028 end date. New York Explained for October 14, 2026.

New York Explained October 14, 2026
The Front Page
City Hall opened "Debt Demolisher," a 90-day window through Jan. 10, 2027 to settle unpaid Environmental Control Board fines with interest waived, paying 75% of the fine if you lost a hearing; the city expects $25 million it would not otherwise collect [19].
Comptroller Mark Levine and Bronx officials demanded Target bar ICE from the Marble Hill parking lot where agents staged before last week's shooting of Oscar Belgal; Target says it has no cooperative agreement with any immigration agency [43].
Council members whose districts landed on the Affordable Housing Fast Track list say they lose their vote on qualifying projects starting in January, and Council Member Frank Morano says he is talking to lawyers about a lawsuit [57].
The rent freeze court fight turned personal: Corporation Counsel Steven Banks threatened to put landlords' lawyer Randy Mastro, Eric Adams' former first deputy mayor, on the stand, and Judge Brendan Lantry said he has no plans to hear testimony [12].
Cornell suspended all Interfraternity Council parties through the 2026-27 school year and brought in State Police to investigate sexual assault reports, a day before its Faculty Senate takes up a no-confidence resolution [102].
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This Week

Free things to do

The only governor's debate

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Bruce Blakeman met once on NY1, three weeks before Election Day, with Hochul up 53% to 42% in the latest Marist poll.

The only governor's debate
Photo: gothamist

The hour opened with a long exchange on last week's ICE shooting in Marble Hill: Blakeman blamed the state's sanctuary law, and Hochul faulted him for not condemning agents who fired into a car with a 5-year-old in the back [10]. Hochul named Trump at least 10 times; Blakeman pledged to halve utility bills by allowing fracking, banned in New York since 2014 [10]. Blakeman said "in retrospect" Eisenhower, not Trump, was the best president of his lifetime [6]. City & State's read: no major gaffe, which is all the frontrunner needed [6].

“So he basically says in the state of New York he'd be fine if ICE agents shoot into cars, shoot guns into vehicles, not knowing who's inside, and could have killed a five-year-old child,”
Kathy Hochul, governor · [10]
“It's out of control, and it's because of you, Kathy,”
Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County executive, on utility costs · [10]
By the numbers
  • 5%of voters undecided in the Marist poll; only 2% of decided voters open to switching [13]
  • $19 millionin Hochul's campaign fund, against less than $178,000 for Blakeman [22]
  • nearly $1.4 milliongiven by James Dolan and MSG-linked entities to a pro-Blakeman super PAC in July [11]
WatchEarly voting runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 1; Election Day is Nov. 3 [10].
FromGothamistCity & State New York - All Contentbuffalonews.com - RSS Results of type article

Central Park's carriage horses get an end date

The City Council votes Oct. 22 on Romanch's Law, which would end horse carriage rides on June 1, 2028, and Mayor Mamdani backs it.

Central Park's carriage horses get an end date
Photo: amnewyork

Speaker Julie Menin scheduled the vote after rewriting the bill to require a worker transition plan, and the mayor's office reviewed and approved the language [132]. Existing licenses would expire May 31, 2028 with no renewals, and the city would have to "consider" compensating owners for medallions and horses [140][132]. The Transport Workers Union, which represents drivers, says the bill guarantees nothing [125].

“The tragic and preventable death of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan made clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable,”
Julie Menin, Council speaker · [125]
“The bill offers no real economic relief for the families who worked their whole lives in this industry,”
John Samuelsen, TWU president · [125]
By the numbers
  • April 1, 2027deadline for the city's job-transition plan [140]
  • at least $10,000civil penalty for operating after the ban [140]
  • 1858the year the carriage union says the business began in the park [156]
The thread
  1. Jun 2026Romanch Mahajan, 18, was thrown from a carriage when a horse bolted in Central Park and died [140]
  2. TodayMenin sets an Oct. 22 vote and Mamdani says "The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City" [125]
WatchThe full Council vote on Thursday, Oct. 22 [140].
FromNYC Transit amNewYorkNews NBC New YorkGothamistabc7NY RSS Feed

The Port Authority Bus Terminal rebuild starts squeezing commuters

Starting Thursday, buses leaving the Lincoln Tunnel loop onto West 39th Street to reach the terminal while crews tear out the old ramps.

The Port Authority Bus Terminal rebuild starts squeezing commuters
Photo: gothamist

The Port Authority begins the next phase of its rebuild of the 75-year-old Midtown terminal by removing the ramps that carry buses from the tunnel into the building [82]. Buses will be routed along West 39th Street to a 10th Avenue ramp, car traffic on 39th will be limited to people who live or work there, and the agency warns of weekday rush-hour delays for the foreseeable future [82]. A temporary terminal comes first; the new building comes after [82].

“I'm kind of bummed that I'll probably be retired when it's done.”
Williams Barnes, 57, commuter · [82]
“So I'm going to be late and I don't even know if I have a job now.”
Joseph Guevara, tile installer from New Jersey · [82]
By the numbers
  • $11 billiontotal cost of the rebuild [82]
  • 200,000daily bus riders using the terminal [82]
  • 2030target for moving into a temporary facility; 2035 for the new terminal [82]
WatchThursday's first rush hour on the 39th Street detour [82].
FromGothamist
  • Citywide: Mamdani said he has "no plans" to fire Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, rejecting NYC-DSA and 17 socialist lawmakers who demanded her ouster over the response to Marble Hill protests [29].
  • Manhattan (East Village): DOT finished the Avenue B redesign, making the open street northbound-only from East 7th to East 10th with a two-way bike lane alongside Tompkins Square Park [85].
  • Citywide: Starting Monday, 22 city-funded food pantries will hand out dog and cat food, paid for with about $500,000 in city money [111].
  • Brooklyn (Greenpoint): The 40-story The Greenpoint ran on a roaring generator for a month after a Sept. 6 electrical fire; tenants paying up to $12,000 have filed 191 complaints since and one sued in housing court [62].
  • Manhattan (SoHo): South Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster will take 28,500 square feet of REI's former space in the Puck Building, with Torrisi expanding into the rest [88].
  • Brooklyn (Cobble Hill): The city broke ground on a $17.8 million conversion of the Degraw Street firehouse, empty since 2003, into a music school for the Noel Pointer Foundation [121].
  • Queens (Forest Hills): "Spider-Man Way" now marks Ingram Street and Ascan Avenue, steps from Peter Parker's comic-book address at 20 Ingram Street [148].
  • Queens (Long Island City): Volunteers and NYC Parks planted 30 trees along Center Boulevard near Hunter's Point South Park, a district ranked 57th of 59 for green space per capita [113].
  • Citywide: The taxi drivers' union, Uber and medallion owner MarbleGate asked Albany to redirect the 50-cent yellow-cab surcharge, about $24 million a year, into a drivers' health fund after four cabbies died this summer [91].
  • Citywide: New York Public Radio CEO Christy Tanner left after eight months with no reason given; a three-person office runs the parent of WNYC and Gothamist for now [90].
  • Upstate: Hochul declared a disaster emergency over 110 measles cases, more than twice last year, letting EMTs and pharmacists give the MMR shot [112].
  • Manhattan (Midtown): Alexis Lafrenière scored twice as the Rangers beat Tampa Bay 4-1 for their fifth straight home win, with Dylan Garand making 25 saves [164].
  • Buffalo: Josh Allen ran for 121 yards and won his 100th career game, 37-34 in overtime over the Rams [173][171].
  • Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade: The 36th edition steps off Saturday, Oct. 17 at 11 a.m. along Avenue B between 7th and 11th Streets, free [116].
  • Pelham Bay Restaurant Week: Through Oct. 18 in the Bronx; Shangeri-La at 2893 Buhre Ave. does three courses for $29.95, and no reservations are required [118].
  • How to vet a public school: Chalkbeat and City Reporter education reporters walk families through school data Thursday, Oct. 15, 6 p.m., at Brooklyn Public Library's Central Branch; free with RSVP [103].
  • Good to know: NYC Ferry's one-way fare rises from $4.50 to $5 on Oct. 19, and the 10-trip pass goes from $29 to $30 [1].
Only in New York
Photo: hell gate

Kelly Clarkson walked into Art of Play on Atlantic Avenue, asked to buy Molly, a hand-cranked mechanical goldfinch, and left posting that the clerk treated her "like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman" [127]. The store says Molly is permanently attached to the wall and stars in its magic shows, and that it offered her a $2,000 German singing bird instead [124]. The owners now report threatening phone calls, and Molly's new price tag reads $15 million [124].