Shaking hands and kissing babies were once the way to winning elected office, but not when election season is in full swing in the middle of a pandemic.  more

It may have come in a week late, but the $212 billion state budget is packed to the gills. And some state lawmakers say the extra deliberation was worth it. more

After nearly three years of running, former teacher Eric Dinowitz will succeed Andrew Cohen on the city council. At least until the end of this year. more

Three candidates from the March 23 city council special election race have been eliminated, but the city's elections board is not yet ready to declare a successor to Andrew Cohen. But it is now a mathematical certainty the community's next city councilman is Eric Dinowitz. more

The Bronx Arts Ensemble has a new executive director, and her name is Judith Insell. more

Absentee voters at risk of having their ballots rejected have just a couple more days to cure those ballots before the final count gets under way for last month’s city council special election. more

By the end of this year, Corey Johnson and many of his city council colleagues will head for the door, their time up at City Hall. Yet, the Speaker doesn’t want to make that grand exit without establishing some kind of legacy, and he believes he has found it in a long-term comprehensive planning bill he’s simply called “Planning Together.” more

Eric Dinowitz is well on his way to becoming this region's newest city councilman after absentee and military ballots increased his lead over Mino Lora. Still, it wasn't enough to push Dinowitz past the 50 percent threshold, meaning elections officials will institute ranked-choice balloting on Monday. more

If there’s one thing the candidates in the March 23 special election may agree on, it’s that not enough people came out to vote.  Barely 9,000 of the district’s 90,000 registered voters cast early, live or absentee ballots in the race. For Mino Lora — who currently sits in second place in the race to replace Councilman Andrew Cohen behind early frontrunner Eric Dinowitz — this low turnout is by design. more

State lawmakers accomplished something this budget season many deemed impossible: They finally legalized marijuana in New York. Effective immediately, anyone older than 21 in New York can legally carry up to three ounces of marijuana and even smoke it in public, although many restrictions on where that’s permitted already are in place. For instance, smoking it in schools or while driving a car remains illegal. more