Free Republic

The Palestinian protesters at Columbia smashed into Hamilton Hall and are barricading the doors

A new Marist poll shows New Yorkers have a bleak view of their state, with residents saying the economy is going down the tubes, the cost of living is unaffordable, and nearly four in 10 say they plan to move out in the next five years. A majority of New Yorkers, 51%, said they think the state's economy is getting worse, up from 29% in 2013. The poll found 30% of respondents say their financial picture will get worse, up from 17% in 2013. In one important metric, 81% of New Yorkers said the cost of living in the state...

President Trump on Monday afternoon spoke to the press after the first day of the Stormy Daniels ‘hush money’ trial in Manhattan. Jury selection was underway on Monday morning for Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s lawfare case against Trump related to ‘hush payments’ made to porn star Stormy Daniels. After refusing to recuse himself, Judge Juan Merchan on Monday threatened to put President Trump in jail if he doesn’t show up for trial. Merchan read Trump his right to be in court during the trial. The judge told Trump a warrant would be issued for his arrest if he failed to...

The MTA’s latest congestion pricing scheme: Charge runners for crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. The transit agency is waging war against the organizers of the New York City Marathon, demanding $750,000 to make up for toll revenue lost during the iconic race. And if New York Road Runners doesn’t pay up, the agency is threatening to restrict use of the bridge, potentially reducing the number of runners who can compete in the wildly popular event each November, the New York Times reported Wednesday, citing internal memos. During hardball negotiations, the MTA initially said runners — who start the marathon on Staten...

Two alleged squatters are suing the owners of a $1 million duplex in Queens. They took it over, allegedly. because it has been empty since January. And now they won’t leave. The New York Post noted that in the five boroughs, squatters have legal protections if they occupy a property for 30 days. So where are these squatters getting the money for a lawyer? Is a lawyer doing this pro bono? In early March, their real estate broker noticed locks had been changed after she found renters for the residence. The broker, Ejona Bardhi, saw a man in the house....

Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis reportedly cited the incident involving members of the New York City Fire Department booing state Attorney General Letitia James and chanting in favor of former President Trump last month in suggesting that a racist culture persists at the FDNY.

For good reason, much attention was devoted to the Supreme Court's oral arguments on Monday, over government pressure on social media companies to suppress speech that officialdom doesn't like. The same day, though, justices heard arguments in another important case involving free speech principles violated when New York officials leaned on financial institutions to deny services to the National Rifle Association. Importantly, both cases involved "jawboning," the use by government of threats to improperly coerce compliance. When Communication Becomes CoercionAs Reason's Jacob Sullum ably summarizes, arguments in Murthy v. Missouri involve "dueling interpretations of the Biden administration's interactions with social...

A New York commission that will recommend whether to give reparations for slavery and discrimination to black residents hasn’t even met yet - but it’s already sparked a rift among black New Yorkers over who should be eligible for payouts. **SNIP** Bertha Lewis, head of the Brooklyn-based Black Institute, told The Post that reparations must be considered for all black residents, because they have suffered from decades of systemic racism resulting from slavery - even if they are not direct descendants of slaves. “That’s a false narrative,” Lewis said. “I don’t give a f**k what California did.” “You can’t just...

Some nationwide real estate investors, like Cardone Capital’s Grant Cardone, have started telling their teams to pack their bags and leave New York after the verdict in former President Trump’s fraud trial. "We thought this year was the opportunity to come into Chicago, California and New York City. I've been waiting for 40 years now to invest in that marketplace. I was completely confident this was the year to come," Cardone told Steve Doocy on "FOX & Friends" on Wednesday. "And when that ruling happened, it was like, pencils down. Don't touch it. Don't go there." The business leader gained...

Ever since the start of Donald Trump's civil trial in New York, the state's Attorney General Letitia James has often taken to social media to taunt, trash talk and spike the ball like some kid watching a sporting event. James hasn't even been trying to hide it, and yesterday she posted the amount of Trump's fine:NY AG James@NewYorkStateAG · Follow $464,576,230.62 3:33 PM · Feb 23, 2024Today James had an update and you can almost hear businesses scrambling to get the hell out of New York lest they run afoul of the progressive Stalinist legal machine in that state....

Legal experts analyzed what they called "breathtaking" civil penalties against former President Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, former Trump Organization Comptroller Jeffrey McConney and ex-CFO Allen Weisselberg – warning other corporations based in the Empire State may realize they could suddenly be put out of business by the state on a political whim. New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump liable for more than $350 million in damages in the fraud suit brought against him and his company by New York State Democratic District Attorney Letitia James. Trump Sr., the Trump Revocable Trust and Trump Organization...