The race became about who belongs in New York—and who can afford to stay in it.

A group of Mamdani supporters, including tenant organizers, launching the “People’s Majority alliance,” ahead of Election Day in Sunset Park. (via the People’s Majority)

Housing, housing, housing. Poll after poll showed that it was the top issue on New York City voters’ minds when they went to the polls Tuesday.

Mayoral-elect Zohran Mamdani made the cost of living—and the cost of housing, which is New York City households’ biggest expense—the unshakable center of his campaign.

Mamdani, who will be the city’s first Muslim mayor and its youngest mayor in nearly a century, catapulted to the front of the race with his signature promise to freeze the rent for the city’s 2 million rent stabilized tenants, and tackle the cost of living crisis with free buses and universal childcare.

The race became about who belongs in New York—and who can afford to stay in it.

“Our greatness will be anything but abstract,” Mamdani said in his Election night victory speech in Brooklyn. “It will be felt by every rent-stabilized tenant who wakes up on the first of every month knowing the amount they’re going to pay hasn’t soared since the month before. It will be felt by each grandparent who can afford to stay in the home they have worked for.”

Voters who spoke to City Limits at the polls this week said that housing was top of mind. 

“There’s always a price increase every year. It’s not fair for the people who are already low-income, for families who are low-income, and they’re just doing their best to make enough for rent and then they also have utility bills and basic necessities that they need to care for,” said Karina Abreu Brito, 29, who was casting her ballot in Mott Haven. “I feel like that’s the most important thing right now, especially since we’re supposedly getting a colder winter.”

Four housing-related ballot measures, which mayoral-elect Mamdani supported (after much consternation), also passed Tuesday, potentially helping the new mayor facilitate his plans to build 200,000 affordable apartments over the next 10 years.

With additional reporting by Keke Grant-Floyd.

Here’s what else happened in housing this week—

ICYMI, from City Limits:

Here’s a closer look at how those housing-related ballot measures performed at the polls, and what they’ll do going forward.

Tenants, housing advocates and landlords react to Mamdani’s win, and the prospect of a rent freeze.

Speaking of a rent freeze: Mayor Eric Adams could make it harder for Mamdani to achieve if he stacks the Rent Guidelines Board with new members on his way out of office.

Coalition for the Homeless estimates that 40 percent of the city’s shelters for adults lack Wi-Fi. “Every step we need to take to get out of the shelter system involves using the internet to access resources, apply for jobs, and submit rental applications,” write Troy Walker and Reynaldo Medina.

ICYMI, from other local newsrooms:

The boiler that exploded and caused a partial building collapse at NYCHA’s Mitchel Houses last month was among dozens in public housing still under use despite expired permits, The City reports.

Eric Adams’ one-term stint as New York City mayor was consumed by scandal, but his housing agenda is expected to leave “a lasting legacy,” Gothamist writes.

Five pressing housing issues for the mayor elect, via the New York Times.

A group of rent stabilized tenants in a building owned by Pinnacle Group—which recently declared bankruptcy, sending dozens of properties to the auction block—want potential buyers to focus on long-overdue repairs, Next City reports.

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Partick@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post The Election’s Number One Issue, and What Else Happened This Week in Housing appeared first on City Limits.

Former NFL star Antonio Brown has been arrested on an attempted murder charge stemming from a shooting after a celebrity boxing event in Miami, police confirmed Thursday.

Brown, 37, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals in Dubai, said Miami police spokesman Mike Vega. He was flown to Essex County, New Jersey, where he is being held pending extradition to Miami, Vega said.

It was unclear why Brown was taken to New Jersey first or how long he had been in Dubai, although he has posted several times on social media over the past few months from there.

According to an arrest warrant detailing the May 16 shooting, Brown is accused of grabbing a handgun from a security staffer after the boxing match and firing two shots at a man he had gotten into a fistfight with earlier. The victim, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, told investigators one of the bullets grazed his neck.

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OMAHA, Neb. — A Hobey Baker Award finalist is out for the “foreseeable future.”

A World Junior Championship candidate will be gone for months.

Two of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s best defensemen are sidelined longterm with no promise that they’ll make it back by the end of the season.

Longterm injuries to prominent players are shaping the first month of the college hockey season, and the pre-Christmas standings could largely be determined by which teams are best equipped to navigate those injuries.

UND is confronting it with the loss of Josh Zakreski, who had surgery Tuesday.

Penn State will be without Aiden Fink, a Hobey finalist last season, until the second semester, Nittany Lions coach Guy Gadowsky said.

St. Cloud State top-pair defenseman Tanner Henricks will be out for three months. He suffered an injury while falling after taking a hit from his own brother, Western Michigan forward Ty Henricks. Tanner was on Team USA’s radar for the World Junior Championship.

Defending NCAA champ Western Michigan played last weekend without two of its top defensemen, NHL Draft picks Joona Väisänen and Zack Sharp. While Sharp’s return is around the corner, Väisänen is expected to be out longterm. Väisänen, a Pittsburgh Penguins pick, is one of the country’s best defensemen.

Speaking of teams missing two top defensemen, Colorado College has been playing without Philippe Blais-Savoie and Max Burkholder. Blais-Savoie is probably two or three weeks from returning, but Burkholder’s absence is expected to be longterm.

Michigan also announced this week that freshman Henry Mews, sixth in scoring among NCAA defensemen, is out for the season.

Other teams are dealing with shorter-term injuries to star players. Boston University is without first-round pick Cole Eiserman. Boston College is without Andre Gasseau and Oskar Jellvik.

Then, there’s the case of the University of Minnesota.

While most teams carry a minimum of 15 forwards, the Gophers carried 14 for a fourth-straight season. For the third season in a row, the 14th forward was a Division-III transfer.

It worked the last three seasons. The Gophers won two Big Ten titles and reached an NCAA Frozen Four in 2023. But it backfired this season.

Due to injuries to forwards Teddy Townsend, Tanner Ludtke, August Falloon, the Gophers have had to move defenseman Axel Begley up front and give their Division-III transfer a regular shift. An injury to Cal Thomas on the back end thinned out the Gophers there, too.

They are now 2-7-1 entering this weekend’s series against Notre Dame. The Gophers are struggling to generate offense. In the past five seasons, the Gophers have been held under 20 shots in a game just five times. This season, it happened five times in October alone.

Others dealing with issues have had their challenges, too.

Only three teams in Hockey East are sub-.500. Two are Boston University (3-5-1) and Boston College (2-4-1). Western Michigan, without Väisänen and Sharp, gave up 10 goals in a weekend series for the first time since December 2022. And Colorado College got swept at home by Omaha.

While it’s impossible to replace top-of-the-lineup players in college hockey, the first half of the season could be dictated by which teams recruited the best depth.

Players who were slotted in as the 13th to 15th forwards and seventh to ninth defensemen are now being called upon to play important roles.

Josephson shows he’s ready

Not many players took as much grief for leaving the Canadian Hockey League for college hockey as UND’s Ollie Josephson.

Josephson’s own general manager in Red Deer told The Pipeline Show that it “isn’t a good move for Ollie” and said “he’s certainly not going to be a top player on their team.”

UND coach Dane Jackson and general manager Bryn Chyzyk disagreed. They were thrilled to pick up a commitment in August from the former Red Deer captain.

Josephson, a fourth-round pick of the Seattle Kraken, has proven he’s more than ready to play college hockey. He had four points last weekend against a top-10 team and was named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s rookie of the week.

Josephson was used in nearly every situation for UND last weekend — 5-on-5, power play, penalty kill, 6-on-5 and 3-on-3. Few freshmen in the country are playing in all situations like Josephson.

Omaha’s odd jersey problem

Last weekend, Omaha wore its home white jerseys for a road series at Colorado College.

Why? Because the Mavericks still do not have road jerseys ready.

Omaha coach Mike Gabinet acknowledged at this week’s press conference that Omaha’s jerseys were believed to be lost in Long Beach, Calif., when shipping containers fell into the sea.

Gabinet said the road jerseys are currently being lettered and numbered, and he’s hopeful they’ll be ready for Omaha’s road series next weekend at Minnesota Duluth.

Brandon Holt’s SportsCenter moment

Former Grand Forks Central defenseman Brandon Holt ended up on ESPN’s SportsCenter last weekend with the No. 2 play of the day.

Holt, a senior defenseman at Maine, scored an overtime winner against Boston University, then fell through the door in the boards while celebrating.

Holt has nine points in his last five games for the Black Bears. Only two defensemen in the country have more points than Holt.

Quick hits

UND has alternated between driving and flying to Omaha over the years. Because the Fighting Hawks rode a bus this year, they left Wednesday, a day earlier than normal. They practiced in Ralph Engelstad Arena on Wednesday morning, then hit the road. They made a 40-minute stop in Sioux Falls to stretch their legs at the mall.

On Thursday, UND practiced at Baxter Arena from 4-5 p.m., ending with the weekly shootout competition. The goaltenders won it for the first time this season.

Zakreski is the lone UND player who did not make the trip.

UND commit and former East Grand Forks Senior High forward Brock Schultz was traded from the Waterloo Black Hawks to the Sioux Falls Stampede this week.

UND commit Ethan MacKenzie is now the second-leading defenseman scorer in the Western Hockey League, only behind future first-round pick Ryan Lin. MacKenzie, who will come to UND next fall, has 20 points in 19 games.

UND forward recruit Eli McKamey was Team Canada’s Player of the Game in their opener at the World Under-17 Challenge. McKamey missed most of last season due to injury.

By DAVID A. LIEB, MICHAEL CASEY and SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration asked a federal appeals court Friday to block a judge’s order that it distribute November’s full monthly SNAP benefits amid a U.S. government shutdown, even as at least some states said they were moving quickly to get the money to people.

U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. had given Trump’s administration until Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But Trump’s administration asked the appeals court to suspend any court orders requiring it to spend more money than is available in a contingency fund.

The court filing came even as Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ spokesperson Britt Cudaback said on Friday that some SNAP recipients in the state already had received their full November payments overnight on Thursday.

“We’ve received confirmation that payments went through, including members reporting they can now see their balances,” she said.

The court wrangling prolonged weeks of uncertainty for the food program that serves about 1 in 8 Americans, mostly with lower incomes.

Thursday’s federal court order came in a lawsuit from cities and nonprofits challenging the Trump administration’s decision to cover only 65% of the maximum monthly benefit, a decision that could have left some recipients getting nothing for this month. McConnell was one of two judges who ruled last week that the administration could not skip November’s benefits entirely because of the federal shutdown.

The judges in both cases ordered the government to use one emergency reserve fund containing more than $4.6 billion to pay for SNAP for November but gave it leeway to tap other money to make the full payments, which cost between $8.5 billion and $9 billion each month.

On Monday, the administration said it would not use additional money, saying it was up to Congress to appropriate the funds for the program and that the other money was needed to shore up other child hunger programs.

In its court filing Friday, Trump’s administration contended that Thursday’s directive to fund full SNAP benefits runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution.

“This unprecedented injunction makes a mockery of the separation of powers. Courts hold neither the power to appropriate nor the power to spend,” the U.S. Department of Justice wrote in its request to the court.

Some states said they stood ready to distribute the money as quickly as possible.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said it directed a vendor servicing its SNAP electronic benefit cards to issue full SNAP benefits soon after the federal funding is received. Benefits are provided to individuals on different days of the months. Those who normally receive benefits on the third, fifth or seventh of the month should receive their full SNAP allotment within 48 hours of funds becoming available, the department said, and others should receive their full benefits on their regularly scheduled dates.

___

Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri, and Bauer from Madison, Wisconsin.