Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Shekar Krishnan

Shekar Krishnan

  • Max Politics Podcast: City Council Member Shekar Krishnan on Priorities for NYC Parks

    Council Member Krishnan outlines his parks agenda (photo: Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit)


    December 9, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: City Council Member Shekar Krishnan on Priorities for NYC Parks

    City Council Member Shekar Krishnan, a Queens Democrat, joined the show to discuss his work as chair of the Council's parks committee, his vision for the future of NYC parks and public open spaces, and more.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter @TweetBenMax. You can listen to the show

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  • Majority of City Council Declares Opposition to Reauthorizing NYC Tax Lien Sale

    City Hall (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    New York City’s controversial tax lien sale program, which helps the city collect unpaid property debt, expired at the end of February and a majority of City Council members now say they will refuse to reauthorize it.

    The city government uses the tax lien sale program, created in 1996, to sell unpaid debts on property taxes and sewer and water bills to private entities, which pay the city about 75 cents on the dollar. Those private lien servicing companies then tack

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  • Advocates, Council Members Call on City Government to Better Support Asian Communities

    A rally to "#StopAsianHate" (photo: Gerardo Romo/City Council)


    Asian-American social-service providers want to be more involved in city policy-making around mental health and language access as the city grapples with an ongoing surge in anti-Asian hate crimes.

    At a press conference outside City Hall, a coalition of advocates and service-providers urged city officials to better enforce translation requirements for government programs. Beyond that, they want to see more support for the community-based organizations that provide a lifeline of services and step in when those

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  • In First Budget, Adams Fails to Fulfill Pledge of 1% for Parks

    Erica Sherman/Brooklyn BP's Office

    Mayor Eric Adams as BK BP (photo: Erica Sherman/Brooklyn BP's Office)


    When he was running for the position and since becoming Mayor, Eric Adams publicly committed to increasing the budget for the Department of Parks and Recreation to 1% of the total city operating budget, which would mean nearly $1 billion annually. But as he presented his first budget plan this past week, an $98.5 billion spending plan for the next fiscal year,

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  • How Our Parks Can Save Our City

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    Cunningham Park, Queens (photo: @NYCParks)


    New York City’s parks literally saved lives during the pandemic. In my community of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, our open spaces allowed us to escape the physical, mental, and social constraints of quarantine into fresh air. Today, our parks, pools, playgrounds, and plazas are places of reconnecting and healing for a community pushing forward from its days as the epicenter of a global crisis.

    Across our city, parks and public spaces will be essential to meeting the multiple challenges we face, from health care

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  • Diverse Field of Candidates Vies to Replace Trailblazing Council Member in Queens

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    Council Member Danny Dromm (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)


    A crowded Democratic primary race is unfolding in Queens to select the successor for term-limited City Council Member Daniel Dromm, a trailblazing LGBTQ leader and powerful chair of the Council finance committee who has held the seat for nearly 12 years but is term-limited out of office. The primary

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