In a September 14, 2025 Empire Report op-ed from Albany, NY, Governor Kathy Hochul warns about the alarming rise of political violence and urges leaders and citizens alike to lower the temperature, reject dehumanizing rhetoric, and hold offenders accountable at the ballot box and in public discourse. She explains how social media amplifies extremism and…
On Sept. 14, 2025, during WBLS 107.5’s “Hear From the Mayor,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams reflected on the 24th anniversary of 9/11 and hosted retired NYPD inspector Paul McCormack, now CEO of Ground Zero 360, to discuss the traveling memorial exhibit—currently installed in City Hall’s Rotunda—that features personal effects from 11 fallen first…
Gov. Kathy Hochul highlighted more than $10.1 million in state funding to modernize law-enforcement technology across New York’s Capital Region—part of $127 million in statewide grants—including $387,000 for the East Greenbush Police Department to acquire radios, drones, night-vision gear and dispatch upgrades. The governor said the investments are improving officer safety and helping link and…
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended 20 properties and districts for listing on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, from Kingston’s c.1750–1870 Pine Street African Burial Ground and Jackie Robinson–developed Fulton Park Plaza in Brooklyn to Buffalo’s McKinley Parkway Historic District, poised to be the…
On September 11, 2025 in Albany, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a package of 9/11 laws to expand support for survivors’ families and first responders: A.2123-A/S.1165-A (the “Ignazio Giacalone Act”) grants extra civil service exam credits to children and siblings of NYC sanitation workers who died from 9/11-related illnesses; A.8417/S.8181 revitalizes the September 11th Worker Protection…
New York City has thrown its weight behind California’s legal battle to block the federal government from deploying National Guard troops in Los Angeles, joining a coalition of 13 municipalities. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the Ninth Circuit, the group argued that cities—not the military—hold the authority and expertise to manage public safety while…