Should NY schools with declining enrollment face budget cuts?

Plus: Wild nights at SoHo bistro Raoul's [View this email in a browser.]( Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( ['Profoundly disappointed': Hundreds of NY schools could get less state money in new budget]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☔ Rain, mostly early, with highs in the lower 50s. It's Thursday in New York, where school districts with declining enrollment would get less state funding under Gov. Kathy Hochul's latest budget proposal. Hochul's plan gets rid of a long-standing policy that guaranteed districts at least as much aid as they received the year before — and it's [pitting teachers and lawmakers from both parties against her](. Here's what else is happening: - The MTA's fancy new "open gangway" subway cars won't be able to run on the express A line as originally intended because the train's design makes a crucial safety procedure "impossible," [according to an internal MTA memo obtained by Gothamist](. - The new cars, which have accordion-style connectors that allow riders to walk the train's entire length, [were heralded back in 2020]( as "the new standard for all new NYC Transit subway cars going forward." - For more of Gothamist's transportation coverage, exclusive analysis and answers to your burning commuter questions, [subscribe to our free On The Way newsletter]( delivered every Thursday. - More than 200 NYCHA tenants in Red Hook were [without gas last night]( after a main was struck earlier in the day. - Mayor Eric Adams yesterday delivered his third State of the City address, which touched on public safety, housing and quality-of-life issues but offered [few surprises or splashy ideas](. - He did [pitch a new government agency]( to regulate the the tens of thousands of trucks, vans, e-bikes and mopeds making online deliveries across the city. - NJ Transit said it plans to [raise bus and train fares by 15%]( starting July 1 — the transit agency's first proposed fare hike in nine years. - Philippe Petit, the high-wire artist who walked on a cable between the Twin Towers back in 1974, is returning to the city for [a high-wire walk inside the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine]( on Feb. 1. - "Taylor Swift can’t be the next John Lennon – she and all New Yorkers must be protected," [pleads the New York Post editorial board](. (This is about her stalker.) - A man suspected of robbing Brooklyn Bishop Lamor Whitehead during a live-streamed sermon back in 2022 was [fatally shot by federal marshals]( during a standoff in New Jersey yesterday, according to law enforcement officials. - The Durst Organization and two Durst family members are suing the "No Labels" political group, arguing that by [trying to field a third-party presidential "unity ticket,"]( the group is "pursuing a divisive course that is the antithesis of its original mission to bridge the political divide." - Riding the subway is only $2.90, which [arguably makes it a good date activity](. - Today in [Leave "Frozen" Reptiles Alone]( Alligators that appear fatally trapped in frozen lakes are [actually just brumating]( and shouldn't be woken up. - Everyone's talking about Drew Barrymore's [small TV](. - Have some time for a game? [Play]( our mini local news crossword. - Sign up for reminders when we publish new games [here](. “[All of this activity and innovation comes with some downsides, and I think there's very little dispute that New Yorkers feel a sense of chaos on our streets.]( - Meera Joshi, the deputy mayor for operations, on mayor adams' pitch to [REGULATE THE BOOMING DELIVERY INDUSTRY]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [A glimpse of wild nights at SoHo bistro Raoul's with Robert de Niro, Francis Ford Coppola]( Pepe Diniz, a globe-trotting photographer who worked as a server at Raoul's in the '70s and '80s, has self-published a book of pictures from his days at the restaurant. [A new Gandhi statue rises in Queens where another was destroyed]( Hindu community leaders and elected officials gathered at the Shri Tulsi Mandir in South Richmond Hill this week to unveil a new statue of Mahatma Gandhi that replaces one destroyed by vandals two years earlier. [We Rely On Your Support]( [1 in 3 New Yorkers live near mega-warehouses. That can cause serious health issues.]( Online shopping boomed during the pandemic's early years, and facilities for companies like Amazon, FedEx and UPS, among others, have sprouted up across the five boroughs to meet the demand. [A serial litterer once again casts porn, Bible pages and mail onto a Greenpoint street]( Someone is routinely discarding pages of vintage porn, Bibles and erotic novels on the sidewalks of Huron Street, a year after another culprit was caught dumping porn and old Reader’s Digests on nearby Noble Street. [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.