FAQ NYC

Mamdani momentum is monumental, but Cuomo remains a steep cliff to climb with time running short. Co-hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss that and much more, including Kathy Hochul's premature “budget deal” proclamation, Eric Adams' “best budget ever” proposal, and Donald Trump's brutal federal spending plan that neither New York leader seems to be taking into account. Plus, Maya Kaufman of Politico New York breaks down the landslide loss for longtime 1199 boss George Gresham in that union's election, and what that could mean for New York politics and the future of organized labor.

With not even 60 days to the Democratic primary, the field is running out of time to catch up with Andrew Cuomo while the governor — as the mayoral candidate's team still refers to him —tries to run out the clock while keeping the public and the press at arm's length. Co-hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel discuss all that and much more, plus Harry talks with Dana Rachlin of We Build the Block and the Brownsville Safety Alliance about a very different approach to public safety — one that centers community instead of the criminal justice system and why she's she's still optimistic about that difficult, daily work.

While Eric Adams, no longer facing the prospect of a prison sentence, is rocking too-tight tees and trying to find the right tone to convince New Yorkers to give him a second term, new First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro is taking a very public, aggressive approach. FAQ NYC co-hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss that and much more, including the Trump administration bearing down on New York, Katie's experience covering Pope Francis's visit to the city a decade ago, and much more.

As the former governor racks up more big endorsements for his mayoral run while putting out reportedly AI-assisted policy plans and mostly avoiding the press, co-host Christina Greer asks if the frontrunner in the polls wants a marriage with New York City or just a wedding. It remains to be seen, though, how his lead holds up as the election heats up and the “dwarves” — as one Cuomo aide has described them — running against him combine their matching funds to try and convince Democrats not to rank him at all in June's primary. Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss that, Katie's Inner Circle performance, Hizzoner sporting an “In God We Trust” t-shirt as he tries to reset his struggling reelection campaign, and much more.

“I'm running to bring a safer, more affordable and better run city,” says city Comptroller Brad Lander, offering himself as the candidate with both a vision and “a track record of making government work for people.” In the latest installment of the pod's series of sitdown interviews with the Democratic mayoral contenders, Lander talked about how he'd accomplish his “number one commitment I am making in this campaign to end street homelessness for people with serious mental illness,” his ambitious plan to get 500,000 new homes built in the next 10 years including “the next generation of Mitchell-Llama” for working class New Yorkers, and much more.

“We are so tired of the trauma, we are so tired of the drama, we are tired of the scandal,” said City Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams. “When I saw four deputy mayors resign at the same time and it appeared to be because our mayor decided to cozy up to the chaotic Donald Trump — I saw the brains walk out of the computer and I saw the crumbling of the infrastructure of New York City and I could not sit back and do nothing about it.” Speaker Adams also discussed why she's “more optimistic than last year this time” negotiating a budget with Mayor Eric Adams (no relation) while running against him, the difference between growing up in Hollis, Queens compared to Andrew Cuomo's upbringing in affluent Holliswood, Queens, her plan to provide a guaranteed minimum income to more than 21,000 homeless children and young adults, and much more with hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel.

What's the difference between a parking lot, a park and a casino? Just a few words scribbled on some paper if Mets owner Steve Cohen gets his way, and it looks like he might now with a well compensated assist from State Senator John Liu that's also a kick in the shins of his legislative colleague and mayoral candidate Jessica Ramos. Co-host Katie Honan explains it all, and then Christina Greer and Harry Siegel go deep on the mayor's race, political science and why no one should be allowed to review a book if they haven't written one.

After eight Black elected officials from Southeast Queens put out a joint statement saying they were endorsing Andrew Cuomo for mayor, three of them said that, actually, they're not doing that (and, in one case, won't be ranking Cuomo at all). Guest Jeff Coltin of Politico New York, who broke that story over the weekend, talks with hosts Christina Greer and Katie Honan about how the powerful and controversial ex-governor is making things weird for elected officials and voters alike — and why the Democratic ranked choice primary might present particular challenges for him amid a wave of "Cuomo killed grandma" attacks from his campaign rivals.

Vital City founder Liz Glazer talks about her group's ambitious new memo on What To Do (and Not To Do) About Subway Safety — and why the answer isn't gun detection technology, surging officers into the system or more fare-evasion enforcement. Plus, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel gab about the mayoral fund-raising numbers and the state of the race — including Adrienne Adams not yet qualifying for matching funds, Eric Adams' invisible campaign and tired St. Patrick's Day "joke,", and what's wrong with Andrew Cuomo's effort to run an Albany-style campaign in New York City.

Ramos also delved into her position as “a labor Democrat… in a lane of my own,” her “plan to call for a mental health emergency on day one of my mayoralty,” the city's “new Gilded Age” and the battle for a casino license here (“Andrew Carnegie, who wasn't as rich as Steve Cohen is today, by the way he built 2,500 public libraries”), and much more In the latest episode of the pod's series of sitdown interviews with the Democratic mayoral candidates.

In 1951, Frankie King of James Madison High was a Brooklyn legend, the youngest basketball player ever to make first-team all city before he withdrew from public life while remaining in and of the city — writing pornography for the mob to pay the rent, ambitious novels in his own voice and then a million-book-selling “cozy cat” series under the pen name Alice Nestleton. Writer Jay Neugeboren and his son, illustrator Eli Neugeboren, join LIT NYC host Harry Siegel to talk about their graphic novel, the graphic novel “Whatever Happened to Frankie King.,” how his family story connects with their own and much more in the latest episode of LIT NYC.

While Andrew Cuomo tops the early polls, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is officially running for mayor and Mayor Eric Adams seems to be going through the motions. As New Yorkers try to make sense of the dizzying election shaping up here amid an unprecedented second Trump presidency that seems to be taking direct aim at the city and in its institutions, hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss all that and much more, including the “pro-Queens energy” that Katie saw at Speaker Adams' “energetic and positive launch” this weekend and the conspicuous absence of endorsements for Mayor Adams.

"Democrats in general tend to show up to gun fights with bar graphs," Queens Assemblymember and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said as he sat down with the FAQ NYC crewto make his case. That boils down, he explained, to driving down the cost of living for New Yorkers and "less lecturing, more listening." In a wide-ranging interview — the latest in the pod's series with the Democratic candidates — the Democratic Socialist with surging support discussed why "absolutely there's space to have my campaign staff unionized," why he's aiming his fire at the "disgraced former governor and the disgraced current mayor" in the race, how hawking mix CDs helped prepare him for politics, and much more.

There's a direct line from the Transit Police beating Michael Stewart to death in front of horrified art students to Eric Adams being elected mayor — one that intersects with Madonna, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Spike Lee and Tucker Carlson. Journalist Elon Green, the author of The Man Nobody Killed: Life, Death, and Art in Michael Stewart's New York, the first book-length account of a crime that captivated the city and that no one was held responsible for as Mayor Ed Koch flatly called police brutality “a phony issue” rejoins the podcast to discusses all that, and much more, with Rachel Holiday Smith and Harry Siegel.

Sally Goldernberg, senior New York editor for Politico, talks with hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel about Andrew Cuomo (finally) entering the mayor's race this weekend with a sometimes grim, nearly 18-minute video announcement about how only he can save a city in crisis, followed by a closed-off and carefully choreographed campaign event.  They dig into why running in the city, which the former governor hadn't lived in for decades, presents different challenges than running statewide — starting with a ranked-choice primary that could boil the election down to Everyone Else vs. Andrew as he runs for the first time in a place where voters expect to see their candidates not only on their screens but in their neighborhoods, and much more.

Looking at the "different flavors of career politicians" running in the Democratic mayoral primary, "I didn't see anyone who could be independent of the machine that runs this city," said former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson. So he entered the race himself "to try and bring my party back to the center." In a wide-ranging sit-down interview with FAQ NYC hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel — the latest in the pod's series of interviews with the candidates — Tilson explained why "it needs to be against the law for anyone to sleep in our public spaces," laid out his plans for a more efficient and accountable government, and argued that "our school system has a structural, systemic problem."

It felt like a year's worth of news happened in the week two weeks since the FAQ NYC hosts last convened, with another few years worth about to drop. They dig into the confusion and concern at City Hall and through the government, the increasingly angry mayor, the still far-from-settled field in the mayoral race, and much more

It felt like a year's worth of news happened in the week two weeks since the FAQ NYC hosts last convened, with another few years worth about to drop. They dig into the confusion and concern at City Hall and through the government, the increasingly angry mayor, the still far-from-settled field in the mayoral race, and much more

"You simply can't trust Eric Adams nor those that are closest to him," former assemblymember and Mayoral candidate Michael Blake said as he sat down with FAQ NYC hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel on Tuesday. "And when you have four deputy mayors who have quit on him after Eric Adams quit on New Yorkers on MLK Day, it's a clear indication that it's time for us to quit on him and move on. And so where do we go from here? I'm laying out a very different vision of what can be for New York City." In a wide-ranging interview — part of a series with each of the mayoral candidates — Blake dug into his idea of a guaranteed livable income, his plans to significantly increase public-school spending and slash the NYPD's overtime bill, his case for why he's the right candidate to meet this moment in New York City, and much more.

The author joins Harry Siegel and guest host Brian Berger of Straus News for a deep dive into his latest book, the excellent and almost undefinable Brooklyn Crime Novel. Lethem digs into his reasons on re-reexamining the Brooklyn he wrote about 20 years earlier in The Fortress of Solitude, but doing so this time with the tools of a journalist including long interviews conducted amid the dislocation and isolation of the COVID lockdown, and much more:

When Katie Honan called in to discuss the latest New York City news Monday morning with co-hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel, she did so while posted outside of the David Dinkins Municipal Building where Mayor Eric Adams had convened his top commissioners and officials. Katie hopped off the call mid-way through the episode to get back to reporting, and then broke then news that Hizzoner had told his team to trust him and refrain from criticizing Trump or interfering with ICE. Hours later, the memo dropped with Trump's Justice Department suspending the mayor's criminal trial on corruption charges that had been scheduled to begin in May. Here's an instant-vintage glimpse back at what the state of the city seemed like on Monday morning.

“I've always represented a community that knew we could hold two things together at the same time: that we want to hold officers accountable when they step over the line but also that we need them as part of our public safety ecosystem,” state Senator and mayoral candidate Zellnor Myrie said in a wide-ranging interview. “I've never been a defund-the-police Democrat, because my community has never been a defund-the-police community. We have always asked for police officers, but my mom doesn't want her son getting pepper sprayed. She wants to feel safe, and that is what this plan is about.”

When Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy put out the news Sunday night that Mayor Eric Adams wasn't feeling well and was clearing his public schedule, it came just a week after City Hall's late-night news that he'd cancelled his Martin Luther King Jr. Days plans and was driving to D.C. to attend Donald Trump's inauguration. Sally Goldenberg, the senior New York Editor at Politico, joins hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel to talk about the embattled mayor's surprising news and much more, including why Andrew Cuomo remains the non-candidate to beat, why socialist Zohran Mamdani's early surge isn't likely to continue without significant pushback, and much more from another jam-packed week in New York City.

“I think this election is about who can put the city back together, and I don't think people are going to buy the woe-is-me Eric Adams story,” Stringer said in a sitdown interview. “Maybe Trump will buy it, but I don't think voters are going to buy it.” In a wide-ranging conversation —the first in a series with all of the declared candidates — the former comptroller who lost to Adams in the 2021 primary explained what he's been doing since then as “a New Yorker without portfolio,” laid out his view of a city in crisis (“we have a crime issue, and it's real”), and pitched himself as the right person to connect with voters and to turn things around

A new poll shows the former governor with 32% support among likely voters. It's not just name recognition, though, or the mayor vying for a second term wouldn't be at just 6%, tied with Socialist Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, and behind State Senator Jessica Ramos at 7%, Comptroller Brad Lander at 10% and former Comptroller Scott Stringer leading the declared challengers at 12% — putting all of them way behind "Unsure" at 18%. The FAQ NYC hosts discuss all this, and much more, about the awfully uncertain and unstable election that's not even six months away, as it gets late early here.

On the first weekday of NYC's new congestion-pricing era that's already being threatened by the incoming Trump administration, Jose Martinez, THE CITY's senior reporter covering transportation, offers some perspective on what this means for the trains and streets inside the zone and throughout the five boroughs: "Politicians use the words historical a lot, but I do think that when they flipped the switch on this thing Saturday night, yeah, that was a bit of history here in New York. It's something that has just been brewing for years — now it's here."

Nicole Gelinas, the author of Movement: New York's Long War to Take Back Its Streets from the Car, explains why she opens her epic account with the mayors who fought against the street-car system that once transported New Yorkers a billion times a year. From there, Gelinas talks with editors Harry Siegel of THE CITY and Ben Max of New York Law School about the promise of congestion pricing, the challenges to getting big things fixed let alone built here, the ghost of Robert Moses, and much more

The mayor's right-hand woman was in cuffs, while Adams was taking part in a ridiculous perp walk that played out more like a glamor shot for a murderer. Hizzoner's friend and ally in the NYPD, who Adams has gone to bat for again and again over charges of abusing his authority, resigned after being accused of using overtime to coerce a subordinate into sex. Even as there were two more terrible train murders on Sunday, Adams laid low. As the hits keep coming for an historically unpopular mayor who's trying to duck the local press and ride out the end of the year while New Yorkers are otherwise occupied, hosts Chrissy, Katie and Harry discuss all that and much more.

Author and veteran columnist Amy Sohn talks with Harry Siegel about her book, The Man Who Hated Women: Sex, Censorship, and Civil Liberties in the Gilded Age, and explains why the “zombie” Comstock Law still on the federal books kept coming up during 2024's presidential election. Sohn details how the lives of two “sex radicals,” Ida Craddock and Sarah Chase, were upended as they crossed paths with Anthony Comstock, the mutton-chopped celebrity behind the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice and self-described “friend of women” who boasted about driving his enemies to suicide. It's a story about how the government's original anti-sex law — suppressing information about birth control as a form of obscenity — created mechanisms used to this day to suppress unpopular thoughts.

The mayor says he's the same as he's ever was even as his closest allies have left under fire and he's executing what Trump's incoming border czar says is “a complete 180” on immigration.  In the last regular episode of 2024, hosts Chrissy and Harry discuss the mayor's maneuvering — "I don't know if the mayor is purging his old crew, or if his old crew is purging themselves before they have to perjure themselves." They also dig into the unprecedented number of car crashes following police pursuits on Eric Adams' watch, the Democratic challengers lining up early to take on Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2026, Brad Lander's sit-down with the New York Editorial Board, and more.

Just after Katie Honan and Harry Siegel recorded on Monday morning, a jury acquitted Daniel Penny of negligent homicide, the NYPD found the man they believe shot down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and the City Council sued the mayor for declaring a state of emergency rather than implement the solitary confinement ban they passed into law. Ahead of all that, the hosts dug into how Trumpworld is reportedly laughing at a“Thirsty” Eric Adams, the limits of the mayor's new “cancel me” appeal and his new talk about scaling back New York's “sanctuary city” law even if lawmakers won't go along, and much more, and much more.

Eric Adams seems to think so, and that Trump's victory proves the left has lost its way. FAQ hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss the mayor's solid political instincts and his dubious press strategy, why he's still talking about Andrew Yang, and much more.

Why was Mayor Eric Adams swearing in Jessica Tisch as his fourth police commissioner in not even three years on Monday? FAQ hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss the historic turnover from an historically unpopular mayor, Rep. Ritchie Torrees' prospective challenge of Gov. Kathy Hochul, and much more. Plus, Katie digs into the Brooklyn diocese and the church that (sort of) tied together Sabrina Carpenter and Eric Adams.

She's joined for this one by author Joel Kotkin, the Roger Hobbs Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University and director of its Center for Demographics and Policy as well as senior research fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas in Austin. He's been asking the same question for decades, highlighting Americans' demonstrated preference for suburban life and the waning of “urban supremacy.” The two dig into New York City at the latest of its many historic crossroads, at a moment when the high cost and scarcity of housing mask troubling signs of decline and a need for grassroots renewal.

Eric Adams and Kathy Hochul have been tight to this point but the two centrist Democratic executives seem to be taking different approaches to dealing publicly and perhaps also privately with Donald Trump, who the mayor just hung out with at the UFC title fight at Madison Square Garden. FAQ NYC hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel talk about that and much more, including the evidently widening space between the electorate and the people they've elected in New York.

It wasn't a secret that Trump could be president again, or that his plans — starting with a mass deportation push — would have a huge impact on our New York City. So what are there so few specifics about what City Hall and others plan to do in response? FAQ NYC hosts Christina Greer, Harry Siegel and Katie Honan discuss that, park fires, Weiner's return talk and much more from another jam-packed week in New York City .

Guest Ben Max joins hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel to start sifting through what Donald Trump's win and Republican gains in the city mean for New Yorkers, Mayor Eric Adams and next year's elections here as there's red all across the deep blue city. . They also discuss the stages of mourning, a grandma's advice, the difference between a socialist and a dentist and much more.

In the calm just before the election-day storm, hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss the screaming match at the Marathon, reportedly over a photo op, between the police commissioner and his newly appointed chief of staff still doing double duty as the department's (reporter loathing) press secretary.. They also talk about subway surfing and the NYPD's ongoing efforts to use drones to try and stop that, handing out beers to marathon runners, and much more.

Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss Trump's last days rally in his old Manhattan stomping grounds, and the mayor's defense of the president and the president's public praise of the mayor that's  sure to re-circulate in 20025 ads from the Democrats running to replace him. They also discuss the NYPD's usual suspects who still seem to be the public face of the department rather than the interim commissioner who vowed the police would be speaking with one voice now, the rapper who turned down the key to the city, and much more.

Sasha Ahuja, the campaign director of New Yorkers for Equal Rights, makes the case for voting "yes" on Proposition 1 — and explains what the update to the state constitution would and would not do. Then hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss whether it's too soon to count out Eric Adams as a mayoral candidate, and the coming ticker tape parade for the Liberty after they brought New York its first basketball championship since 1976 and Brooklyn its first sports championship since 1955.

In the midst of a great season for New York sports, Eric Adams is racing to rebuild his organization on the fly while investigators are closing in on him and his inner circle. Is there some reason to trust the process now that most of the top officials recently raided by the FBI have been pushed out, while more public service minded officials are being placed in top positions? Hosts Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss that, the exhaustion of raking all this muck, why New Yorkers have been so sour on the mayor for so long, and much more.

The Adams administration departures are happening at a pace the podcast can't match. Hosts Christina Greer and Katie Honan dig into Monday morning's news about Phil Banks' exit—but recorded too soon to cover the resignation of Winnie Greco and the firing of Rana Abbasova. Chrissy and Katie did also discuss who would want to board the Titanic right now, how city politics became “a non-stop soap opera,” the “interesting spot” Gov. Kathy Hochul finds herself in as Adams cleans house at her firm request, and much more.

Co-hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss the high court's ruling in June that public servants are free to accept gratuities in exchange for their public actions, which the mayor's attorneys brought up Monday in a motion to dismiss the charges against him. Plus, the pod digs into a new poll conducted just before the mayor was charged that shows New Yorkers overwhelmingly disapprove of his job performance, whether the city can still function while Mayor Adams fights the charges against him, and how his case and the city's future could both be determined by what happens in the presidential election this November.

For the first time, New York City's sitting mayor is now a criminal defendant — one who says the 57-page case against him is a pack of “lies” and that the federal government and the city's permanent powers are trying to bring him down for doing right by New Yorkers. In an “emergency” episode marking this historical moment, Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel dig into the case against the mayor, his public defense, where the city looks to be going from here, how the example of Donald Trump looms over all of this, and much more.

Venture capitalist and political strategist Bradley Tusk joins hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel to discuss his new book, Vote With Your Phone: Why Mobile Voting Is Our Final Shot at Saving Democracy, proposing a tech solution to the seemingly intractable problem of low-turnout local elections leading to ever-more radical politics. And Tusk, who's a supporter of the podcast, digs into the mess Eric Adams has made for himself, and how the mayor could still dig his away out of it. That starts, he says, with not getting indicted — and then defining himself as a mayor who's produced for New Yorkers while boxing in his challengers to compete for the progressive share of the primary vote in a citywide contest that includes many more moderate Democrats.

The hits keep coming as Eric Adams' chief counsel walked away, effective immediately, on Saturday night, an associate director of a mayor's office got fired after he allegedly told a business member to pay off the former police commissioner's brother, two former FDNY chiefs just got charged with corruption, another Democrat launched a run again the mayor and a Republican announced his plan to run if Adams can'f finish his term. Hosts Christina Greer and Harry Siegel talk about all that, and how the mayor on Monday tried to turn the page and reassert his narrative about grinding away and getting stuff done on the issues New Yorkers care about, explaining that "I want to write my own story—and this story is how great we have done.”

The FBI raided the homes of Eric Adams' closest allies last week in what look to be two new federal investigations of the mayor and his inner circle altogether, making four . This isn't normal and it isn't good, but the mayor — comparing himself to the biblical character Job — says he's done nothing wrong, stands by his police commissioner who just his phones seized, and is going to stay focused and keep grinding on behalf of New Yorkers. Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel discuss all of the "gossip and hearsay" inside and outside of City Hall, and much more — including the cautious responses so far from the Democrats aiming to challenge Adams in next year's primary, which looks to be the first competitive one against a sitting mayor since David Dinkins upset Ed Koch in 1989, and the question of "why would Eric Adams say anything," when "shutting up is free."

Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel dig into the mayor's insistence on seeing through the nomination of a chief lawyer for the city even after lawmakers made it clear they wouldn't approve his nominee. They also discuss what a second Trump administration would mean for New York, the possibility of a strong challenge to Gov. Kathy Hochul from within the Democratic party, what's wrong with journalists who "discover" news after reading about it in other people's reporting, and much more.

Hosts Christina Greer and Katie Honan discuss Mayor Eric Adams' low profile at the DNC in Chicago, the so-called Central Park Five's powerful appearance there, and why it's good that Beryoncé didn't show up after all. They also dig into the city's surge in COVID cases, the latest death of a detainee at Rikers and, speaking of Central Park, RFK Jr.'s bizarre shaggy bear story.

Hosts Katie and Harry discuss the federal investigations into Mayor Eric Adams, at least of one which appears to headed to either charges or its end soon, and why those matter even if "ordinary" New Yorkers mostly don't care. They also dig into the NYC subplots of this week's Democratic Convention in the Second City, George Santos' guilty plea, stranded air travelers, weekend beach closures, what to expect from protesters in the Fall, and more.

In the debut episode of Lit NYC, the FAQ NYC Podcast Network's off-cycle show covering books, art, music and more, you'll be hearing from Ross Perlin, author of the brilliant Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues, and co-director of the Endangered Languages Alliance. He sat down at the Alliance's office in Manhattan to talk with Haidee Chu, Queens reporter for The City and a native Cantonese speaker, and monolingual Harry Siegel, to discuss his work mapping the languages spoken here in what may be the most linguistically diverse city in the history of the world, why our melting pot is also a threat to some of those languages, and much more.