“New York City is facing a growing pet affordability crisis, one that is threatening to get worse,” writes Will Zweigart, director of the nonprofit Flatbush Cats. “Mayor Mamdani has an opportunity to make affordable vet care for all New Yorkers part of his affordability platform.”

A cat adoption event at City Hall in 2022. (Violet Mendelsund/Mayoral Photo Office)

Like many New Yorkers, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is currently undergoing allergy shots to bring a new feline family member into their new home. However, more than the exciting prospect of having animal lovers in Gracie Mansion, what New Yorkers actually need are staunch advocates to deal with an underlooked but critical aspect of the affordability crisis: New Yorkers can’t afford their pets.  

New York City is facing a growing pet affordability crisis, one that is threatening to get worse. Already, millions of New Yorkers can’t afford basic veterinary care, driven by a broader housing and cost-of-living crisis which the mayor made the centerpiece of his campaign. Taken together, it’s no surprise that 50 percent of New Yorkers can’t afford a pet. 

Shelters are overwhelmed by animals looking for homes, and the crush is not easing. New York spends far less on pet care than other cities: about $2.89 per resident, compared to $13.70 in Miami, and $14.78 in Dallas. The good news is, we know how to tackle this issue.

Mayor Mamdani has an opportunity to make affordable vet care for all New Yorkers part of his affordability platform. We can do this with proven, cost-saving policy solutions.

First, we must strengthen the city’s animal welfare infrastructure by appointing new leadership to the Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare. Think of this person as a “Pet Czar.” Next, we need to make basic vet care affordable for more New Yorkers by using additional funding and capital projects for new clinics. Finally, we must expand community support and prevention with pet food pilot programs across the boroughs.

I didn’t set out to run a nonprofit. I was a neighbor trying to help a few cats on my block by trapping, fostering, and paying out of pocket for basic veterinary care. What I quickly realized was that the hardest part wasn’t convincing people to care. It was that care wasn’t accessible. Appointments were hard to get, prices were out of reach, and by the time help became available, small problems had multiplied into crises.

Over and over, I saw how good intentions collided with a system that intervenes too late and costs too much. Flatbush Cats grew out of that reality: not as a rescue reacting to emergencies, but as an effort to prevent them by expanding access to affordable, timely veterinary care.

Flatbush Vet, a program of Flatbush Cats, provides low-cost veterinary care every day and free monthly vaccine clinics for those who need them most. The clinic demonstrates what the city has failed to invest in: prevention that costs less than crisis response. This affordable care model is not theoretical. It is operating now, and it can be scaled across the city.

There are many, many serious crises that Mayor Mamdani will have to tackle in his term, and we understand the difficulty in prioritizing affordable pet and veterinary care at a time when people are struggling to make ends meet. However, pets are family. And the wealthiest city in the world should be able to afford care for beloved members of the family, whether they are fur covered, or not. 

Mayor Mamdani has an opportunity to not just rescue one pet—he can build a better system for millions of four legged New Yorkers and their families. 

Will Zweigart is the executive director of Flatbush Cats.

The post Opinion: The Mayor Wants to Adopt a Cat. Half of New Yorkers Can’t Afford One. appeared first on City Limits.

Mamdani emitió una orden ejecutiva que añade otra capa a la lista de leyes santuario de la ciudad de Nueva York, que limitan la colaboración de la policía y organismos municipales con las autoridades federales de inmigración.

El alcalde Mamdani anuncia medidas para defender las leyes de ciudad santuario de Nueva York el 6 de febrero de 2026. Crédito: Ed Reed/Oficina de Fotografía de la Alcaldía.

El pasado 6 de febrero, el alcalde Zohran Mamdani emitió una orden ejecutiva que añade otra capa a la lista de leyes santuario de la ciudad de Nueva York, que limitan la colaboración de la policía y organismos municipales con las autoridades federales de inmigración, como el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas, o ICE por sus siglas en inglés.

Los defensores de los inmigrantes y grupos de defensa aplaudieron la medida. “Si bien estas órdenes ejecutivas afirman en su mayoría las políticas santuario existentes de la ciudad y promueven las mejores prácticas para proteger a nuestras comunidades, el alcalde Mamdani está tomando una postura firme y utilizando su autoridad ejecutiva para reafirmar la identidad de Nueva York como un hogar acogedor para los inmigrantes”, dijo Jodi Ziesemer, directora de la unidad de protección de inmigrantes de New York Legal Assistance Group.

Entre los puntos clave se incluye la creación de un Comité de Respuesta Interinstitucional (Interagency Response Committee) presidido por el primer vicealcalde, Dean Fuleihan, quien ocupó ese mismo cargo para el exalcalde Bill de Blasio.

El comité estará a cargo de desarrollar e implementar políticas de respuesta de la alcaldía, explicó Bitta Mostofi, asesora especial para la coordinación estratégica y operaciones para la Oficina del Alcalde para Asuntos del Inmigrante.

“También [incluye] cualquier otra posible interacción, el establecimiento de prioridades y, por supuesto, la recopilación de datos y documentación, para que estemos preparados para hacer frente a cualquier crisis, entre otras cosas”, dijo Mostofi.

“El Comité de Respuesta Interinstitucional también está estudiando nuevos cambios en las políticas santuario y dando prioridad a la respuesta a las crisis”, agregó Ziesemer. “Este es el primer paso en un esfuerzo meditado y mesurado por fortalecer y mejorar la protección que nuestras ciudades brindan a las comunidades de inmigrantes y a todos los neoyorquinos”.

Otro de los cambios anunciados en la orden es la prohibición del uso de lotes de la ciudad (como aparcamientos, garajes) para cualquier fin de aplicación de la ley federal. Esta medida se parece a una orden ejecutiva firmada en Chicago el año pasado, que prohibía a las autoridades federales de inmigración utilizar propiedades pertenecientes a la ciudad o controladas por ésta.

En Nueva York, la orden también reitera que los agentes federales no pueden entrar en propiedades municipales —como escuelas, refugios, hospitales y espacios públicos— sin una orden judicial.

Otro de los cambios incluye desarrollar una auditoría de los departamentos y agencias de la ciudad para revisar sus políticas en lo que respecta al cumplimiento de las leyes de santuario vigentes en la ciudad de Nueva York y publicar un informe para el 7 de mayo.

Por último, en un esfuerzo por reforzar las medidas de protección para los inmigrantes neoyorquinos en la propia alcaldía, la orden pide la formación interna de los empleados municipales y hace hincapié en la protección de la privacidad. Y pide nombrar inmediatamente a directores de privacidad para que revisen los protocolos de recopilación de datos.

Más detalles en nuestra conversación a continuación.

Ciudad Sin Límites, el proyecto en español de City Limits, y El Diario de Nueva York se han unido para crear el pódcast “El Diario Sin Límites” para hablar sobre latinos y política. Para no perderse ningún episodio de nuestro pódcast “El Diario Sin Límites” síguenos en Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Pódcast y Stitcher. Todos los episodios están allí. ¡Suscríbete!

The post PODCAST: ¿Qué cambia con la nueva orden ejecutiva sobre leyes santuario de Mamdani en Nueva York? appeared first on City Limits.

Independent Twin Cities journalist Georgia Fort walked into the federal courthouse in St. Paul on Tuesday to people shouting outside, “Drop the charges, support free speech!”

She and St. Paul activist Trahern Crews each pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal charges filed against them in connection to a protest at a St. Paul church.

The other seven people indicted in the case have also entered pleas of not guilty, including Don Lemon, a former CNN host who is now an independent journalist, civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong and St. Paul School Board Member Chauntyll Allen.

Protesters disrupted services inside Cities Church on Summit Avenue near Snelling Avenue on Jan. 18. They said the acting field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota serves as a pastor at the church.

The nine people are charged under the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The FACE Act prohibits interference or intimidation of “any person by force, threat of force, or physical obstruction exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — Monday brought optimism, positive vibes and all the hope that is customary on the first full day of spring training. Tuesday brought the crushing reality the Twins are likely to be without one of their top players for the entire 2026 season.

The Twins are digesting the news  Pablo López will likely need Tommy John surgery to address what general manager Jeremy Zoll called a “significant tear” in the starter’s ulnar collateral ligament.

The Twins have talked up the depth of their rotation as a strength of the team, and now that depth is getting tested immediately with the door opening for their young starters to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity.

“You can never have enough starting pitching depth,” manager Derek Shelton said. “I mean, there’s no manager in the world that’s going to tell you, regardless of how many guys they have, it’s too much. This gives some of our younger pitchers an opportunity to step up.”

All-star Joe Ryan will head the rotation. Behind him, the Twins are hoping for a bounce back from Bailey Ober, who was the picture of consistency before a tough 2025. The Twins are now likely to have room in the rotation for three among a group of younger starters that includes Simeon Woods Richardson, Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews, David Festa and Mick Abel.

Every member of that group has at least some major league experience, ranging from Bradley, who has thrown nearly 400 innings across the past three seasons, to Abel, who has 39. Both Bradley and Abel were acquired at least year’s trade deadline — Bradley for Griffin Jax and Abel as part of the Jhoan Duran deal.

Woods Richardson has spent much of the past two seasons in the Twins’ rotation and capped off his 2025 with a strong September. Matthews and Festa each debuted in 2024 and had stints in the rotation last year.

“We have a lot of really good starting pitching depth,” Ryan said. “We’re going to go out there, put the best foot forward. … We can still be competitive and be in a really good spot, and it just sucks to lose him.”

While the Twins like their internal options, there’s always a chance they look externally, too, for rotation help. Lucas Giolito and former Twin Zack Littell are among the free agent options still available.

Asked about that possibility, Zoll touted the number of starters the Twins have in camp.

“Obviously picking up the pieces from this news and (we) want to make sure we have full clarity on everything before we get to next steps,” Zoll said. “We spent a lot of this offseason talking about the strength of our roster being in the rotation depth and view it as a real opportunity as a next man up.”

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