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      Report on Antisemitism at CUNY Calls for Changes Across the System

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      The report, commissioned by New York’s governor, found that the city’s university system was ill-equipped to handle rising antisemitism. But it also said the problem was not widespread.An independent review ordered by Gov. Kathy Hochul has found that the City University of New York needs to “significantly” overhaul and update its policies in order to handle the levels of antisemitism and discrimination that exist on its campuses.CUNY campuses have been a center of pro-Palestinian activism for years, which Jewish students and elected officials have said sometimes manifests as antisemitism. Since the Hamas attack on Israel last October, there have been dozens of arrests of pro-Palestinian demonstrators on CUNY campuses, including at an encampment at City College in April that was shut down by the city police.The review, which was commissioned by Ms. Hochul last October after a surge in hate and bias incidents and was released on Tuesday, documented inconsistencies and a lack of oversight in how CUNY’s 25 campuses handled complaints of antisemitism and other bias among students and staff members.But the review, which included interviews with more than 200 people over 10 months, also found that it was a “small, vocal minority of individuals” responsible for antisemitic incidents, and not a widespread problem.The report’s author, Jonathan Lippman, a former chief judge of New York, offered more than a dozen recommendations to improve the campus climate, including the creation of a new CUNY center devoted to efforts to combat hate.CUNY said that it had already begun to put some of the recommendations into effect, including approving the anti-hate center, which will be called the Center for Inclusive Excellence and Belonging. Ms. Hochul said on Tuesday that she was directing CUNY to enact all of them.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      New York Resident Dies of Eastern Equine Encephalitis Infection

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      Gov. Kathy Hochul declared the mosquito-borne illness a public health threat after the first confirmed case in the state in nearly a decade resulted in a death.The first person to be diagnosed with Eastern equine encephalitis in New York in nearly a decade has died, prompting Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare the rare, mosquito-borne viral illness an imminent public health threat on Monday.Ms. Hochul announced the death, in Ulster County, in a news release outlining the steps that state officials are taking to reduce New Yorkers’ risk of exposure to the disease, also known as E.E.E.The death in New York appears to be the second linked to E.E.E. this year in the United States. The first involved a 41-year-old New Hampshire man who died in August. Human cases of the disease have also been reported this year in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Ten human cases of E.E.E. had been reported nationwide as of Sept. 17, before the New York case was confirmed, according to the C.D.C.New York officials have not provided details about the Ulster County resident, who was confirmed as having the illness on Sept. 20. The infection was the first human case of E.E.E. in New York since 2015.To combat the disease’s spread, Ms. Hochul said, the state’s parks agency will make mosquito repellent available to visitors at its offices, visitor centers and campgrounds; post signs at parks and historic sites to raise awareness about E.E.E.; and consult with local health departments about limiting park hours and camping availability during times of peak mosquito activity.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      M.T.A.’s Financial Needs Grow With Congestion Pricing in Purgatory

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      Transit leaders proposed a plan on Wednesday to spend more than $65 billion to upgrade New York City’s subway and bus system. Whether they will be able to fully fund it is unclear.Transit leaders on Wednesday released an ambitious five-year plan to upgrade New York City’s subway and bus network, unveiling a $65 billion wish list of projects that includes buying new subway cars, fixing century-old tunnels and installing new elevators.But the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs the city’s mass transit network, only has about half of the money it needs to pay for those repairs. It was the first spending plan released by the authority since Gov. Kathy Hochul halted a congestion pricing program in June that had been set to begin later that month, and the largely unfunded plan puts the authority in an even more precarious financial position.The congestion pricing program, which would have tolled most drivers entering the busiest parts of Manhattan, had been projected to raise $15 billion for the authority. Ms. Hochul has pledged to make up the shortfall but it is not clear how she plans to do so.The authority had been enjoying a rare period of prosperity before Ms. Hochul’s decision to suspend congestion pricing. For the first time in decades, it had as much money as it needed, even while transit agencies around the country had struggled to recoup pandemic-related losses. But now that the authority’s projected windfall has evaporated, at least temporarily, it is back in the familiar position of needing to compete with other state interests to fill its coffers.The authority’s goals and upgrades were detailed in its latest capital plan, which covers the period from 2025 through 2029. Released every five years, it is the transit system’s most granular analysis of future maintenance needs and potential expansion projects.About half of the $65 billion has already been funded through bonds, federal grants and direct appropriations from the city and state, leaving the rest in limbo. Because the authority is controlled by the state, the remaining funds would most likely have to come from Albany.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      At DNC, Hochul Says Trump Lacks ‘New York Values’

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      Two years ago, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York took outsize blame for a lackluster election night in her state that helped cost Democrats control of the U.S. House of Representatives.This week, she arrived at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago determined to prove her political acumen and demonstrate that she could help the party win back the House and the presidency in November.Over breakfast with fellow New Yorkers, she highlighted her efforts to rebuild the state’s Democratic Party. In a meeting with a women’s group, she emphasized the impact of policies enacted by the Biden administration. And in a capstone speech on the convention floor, Ms. Hochul made a forceful case that Vice President Kamala Harris was best positioned to lead the Democratic Party and the nation into the future.“We have kids to feed. Roads to build. Jobs to create. Real problems to solve,” Ms. Hochul said. “And we need leaders who can get it done.”She continued: “Trump talked big about bringing back manufacturing jobs. But you know who actually did it? President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.”The roughly five-minute speech was one of the most high-profile moments of Ms. Hochul’s career. A political journeywoman, she assumed the governorship three years ago after the resignation of Andrew M. Cuomo, and won a full term in 2022 by a narrower-than-expected margin.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      F.B.I. Searches $3.5 Million Home of Former Aide to Gov. Hochul

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      The early-morning raid took place on Long Island’s North Shore at the house of Ms. Hochul’s former deputy chief of staff, Linda Sun.Before dawn on Tuesday, F.B.I. agents swept into a small cul-de-sac on Long Island’s North Shore to search a five-bedroom house where a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Kathy Hochul lives with her husband.The basis for the search at the $3.5 million home of Linda Sun, the former deputy chief of staff, and the crimes under investigation remain unclear. Neither Ms. Sun, 40, nor her husband, Chris Hu, 41, have been accused of wrongdoing. Neither could be reached for comment and they did not respond to voice mail and text messages.A spokesman for the F.B.I. confirmed that agents from the bureau’s New York office had “conducted court-authorized law enforcement activity” at the expansive red brick house in a gated community in Manhasset, but would not comment further. The U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn obtained the warrant for the search, according to people with knowledge of the matter; a spokesman for that office also declined to comment.No arrests were made at the family’s home, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The property was owned by Ms. Sun and Mr. Hu until they transferred it to a trust early this year.Ms. Sun, who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and government from Barnard College and a Master of Arts from Teachers College at Columbia University, has worked in state government for nearly 14 years, holding a variety of positions, according to her LinkedIn profile.She began her state career in the legislative branch as chief of staff to an assemblywoman, Grace Meng, who is now a congresswoman, and then worked in various positions in the administrations of both Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Ms. Hochul, according to the profile.Ms. Sun’s roles included business development; Asian American affairs; and diversity, equity and inclusion. She left the executive chamber after roughly 15 months, moving on to a position in the Labor Department in November 2022. Five months later, she left the state to serve as campaign manager for Austin Cheng, a Democrat who made an unsuccessful bid for Congress on Long Island.Avi Small, the press secretary for Ms. Hochul, declined to comment.Mr. Hu operates a liquor store in Flushing, Queens, Leivine Wine & Spirits, and has incorporated several other businesses over the last decade, including a company he created in 2020 during the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic called Medical Supplies USA LLC. He also created Golden Capital Group LLC in 2016 and LCA Holdings LLC in 2023, although the nature of those business could not be immediately determined.It is unclear when the F.B.I. agents first arrived at the gated community where Ms. Sun and Mr. Hu live, which is called Stone Hill, but a security guard there said that agents were there twice.Reporting was contributed by More

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      Biden Tells Governors That He Is Staying in the Race

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      President Biden told a group of Democratic governors on Wednesday that he was staying in the 2024 campaign, as the group peppered the president with questions about the path forward after Mr. Biden’s disastrous debate performance last week.After the meeting, a handful of governors spoke with reporters outside the White House, with one, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, declaring, “President Joe Biden is in it to win it, and all of us said we pledged our support to him.”Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, said: “He has had our backs through Covid, through all of the recovery, all of the things that have happened. The governors have his back, and we’re working together just to make very, very clear on that.”But he added, “A path to victory in November is the No. 1 priority, and that’s the No. 1 priority of the president.”Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland echoed the sentiment.In a statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said, “I heard three words from the president — he’s all in. And so am I.”And Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan posted her support on the social media site X.The meeting closed with Vice President Kamala Harris describing the threats to democracy that a victory by former President Donald J. Trump could pose, tossing at least one expletive into her remarks, according to a person briefed on what took place.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      N.Y. Lawmakers End Session Without Replacing Congestion Pricing Revenue

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      State Senate Democrats rebuked Gov. Kathy Hochul over her decision to halt a long-developed plan to charge drivers tolls to enter Manhattan’s core.Gov. Kathy Hochul defended her decision to halt congestion pricing hours after State Senate Democrats said they would leave Albany without plugging the funding gap left in its absence.In her first public appearance since announcing she would backtrack from the plan, Ms. Hochul reiterated that the time was not right to increase the burden on New York City’s economy.“We thought that inflation would be lower,” she said at a news conference Friday night. “We thought that people would feel more secure about going on the subways. Yes, yes, we’re coming back, but we can’t afford a setback.”At the news conference, Ms. Hochul was pressed for details about when she had changed her mind about congestion pricing and whom she had spoken to beforehand.While she declined to provide details about the timing of her decision, she described conversations she said she had had with ordinary New Yorkers in diners, naming three diners on the East Side of Manhattan.Her decision leaves a billion-dollar hole in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s budget, imperiling planned projects and raising grave questions about the future of public transit in the nation’s largest city.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More