Best FAQ NYC Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 428: Mamdani Derangement Syndrome Is Real 37:05

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9h ago37:05

37:05

It seems like no one — from President Donald Trump to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the New York Post to the New York Times — can seem to line up a clean swing at Zohran Mamdani. Instead, the young socialist who just upended Democratic politics keeps benefitting from the wild shots aimed at him while members of the establishments determined to defeat…

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Episode 427: Inside Mamdani’s Construction of a New Coalition 1:14:46

2d ago1:14:46

1:14:46

What just happened, how did New York City get here, and what happens now?! Three guests with different behind-the-scenes perspectives about Zohran Mamdani's winning primary campaign and his alignment with the Democratic Socialists of America — Narrative Wars writer Michael Lange, city historian Asad Dandia, and City and State Editor Peter Sterne — …

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Episode 426: An Aging Establishment Is Up Against a New Populist Politics 33:37

7d ago33:37

33:37

By FAQ NYC

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Episode 425: The Humbling of Andrew Cuomo Is a Changing of the Guard 47:18

13d ago47:18

47:18

On an historic night for Zohran Mamdani, Katie Honan phoned in from Andrew Cuomo’s forlorn “celebration” moments after he conceded and as workers were already taking down the bunting. New York Law School Executive Editor Ben Max joined her and co-hosts Crhistina Greer to take in the moment and consider what it all means for New York City and the De…

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Episode 424: ‘New York Times, You’ve Gone Rogue’ 32:27

22d ago32:27

32:27

Christina Greer gives her perspective on the New York Times mayoral' panel ("everyone's a trope, right"), and the mixed message the paper sent by in effect overruling that panel to publish its own editorial blasting Mamdani, quickly dismissing Lander, and suggesting, without directly saying so, that voters should back Andrew Cuomo given that the ra…

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Episode 423: ‘A Little Bit of Amnesia’ in Ramos Endorsing Cuomo 36:27

29d ago36:27

36:27

Mayoral candidate and State Senator Jessica Ramos joined FAQ NYC in March to lament that ”there is, I think, a little bit of amnesia happening. I do think the press could do a better job of highlighting the myriad of ways in which Andrew Cuomo has created the mess that he now claims he is somehow going to fix. But I can't forget, right?" Now, Ramos…

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Episode 422: Is Cuomo Choking?` 31:58

1M ago31:58

31:58

Polling shows that the mayor’s race is still the governor's to lose — but his lead keeps shrinking and he might well lose it in the home stretch. Cuomo’s limited public appearances haven't exactly inspired confidence, let alone the sort of energy that's evident in Zohran Mamdani's ubiquitous volunteers. Hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry …

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Episode 421: Kathryn Garcia Says 2025 ‘Is Much More Topsy-Turvy” 1:52:19

1M ago1:52:19

1:52:19

FAQ NYC teamed up with Max Politics for a live podcast event on Thursday, with special guest Kathryn Garcia reflecting on her 2021 mayoral race where she came just 7,000 votes short of upsetting Eric Adams , what's different this time around and the difference between politics and policy: "I hope that despite what's happening at the Federal level, …

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Episode 420: ‘How Do I Get a Squirrel?’ 39:29

1M ago39:29

39:29

“It's hard to be a human in New York but it's downright dangerous to be a baby squirrel,” says Kyra Tippens-Richan, who spends her work days performing autopsies on animals and her off-hours caring for squirrels. She shares her story, and then Ben Max stops by to run down the competitive races down-ballot ahead of the FAQ NYC-Max Politics live podc…

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Episode 419: Cuomo's Still Coasting 32:03

2M ago32:03

32:03

Time's running awfully short for Zohran Mamdani to turn momentum into position, Adrienne Adams to ignite or anyone else to catch up with Andrew Cuomo, who's happy to stay out of the fray, keep unscripted interactions with voters let along other candidates to a minimum and other otherwise trust, like Eric Adams did four years ago, that even Democrat…

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Episode 418: Are the Moderates Riding 'The Silent Wave’? 30:48

2M ago30:48

30:48

While New York City mayor went to DC to kiss the ring, Newark’s mayor got himself arrested trying to visit a newly opened ICE lock-up in his city. Meantime, Andrew Cuomo was docked $600,000 by the Campaign Finance Board on Monday for illegally coordinating with his own super PAC — but still seems to be on track for a victory in the Democratic prima…

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Episode 417: Mamdani Momentum Hits Cuomo Cliff 49:24

2M ago49:24

49:24

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 …

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Episode 416: A Different Path to Public Safety 46:49

2M ago46:49

46:49

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 Ha…

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Episode 415: Is Randy Running the Show While Eric Runs for Reelection? 26:32

3M ago26:32

26:32

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 mo…

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Episode 414: Does Cuomo Want a Wedding or a Marriage? 29:42

3M ago29:42

29:42

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 …

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Episode 413: Brad Lander Says NYC Can Do Better Than ‘A Bully Who’s Also a Chicken’ 58:54

3M ago58:54

58:54

“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…

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Episode 412: Adrienne Adams Says ‘I’m the Change the City Needs’ 48:10

3M ago48:10

48:10

“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 sa…

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Episode 411: A High-Stakes Casino Contest 37:11

3M ago37:11

37:11

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 H…

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Episode 410: Andrew Cuomo Muscles Into Adrienne Adams’ Turf 34:10

4M ago34:10

34:10

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 …

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Episode 409: A Plan to Make Subways Feel Safe Again 46:40

4M ago46:40

46:40

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 — i…

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Episode 408: Jessica Ramos Says NYC Can Do Better Than Another ‘Megalomaniac Mayor’ 1:02:48

4M ago1:02:48

1:02:48

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 I…

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Episode 407: ‘The Great Wound’ of a Self-Exiled Brooklyn Basketball Legend 50:29

4M ago50:29

50:29

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…

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Episode 406: Running Hard or Hardly Running? 31:28

4M ago31:28

31:28

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 institut…

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Episode 405: 'Inshallah Mayor’ Zohran Mamdani Says It's All About Making NYC More Affordable 35:21

4M ago35:21

35:21

"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 i…

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Episode 404: ‘Sometimes People Just Get Beaten to Death’ 46:28

4M ago46:28

46:28

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, th…

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Episode 403: Cometh the Hour, Cuomo the Man? 54:41

4M ago54:41

54:41

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. The…

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Episode 402: Whitney Tilson Says NYC ‘Needs To Make Crime Illegal Again’ 49:28

4M ago49:28

49:28

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…

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Episode 401: Two Adamses, Two Tis(c)hes and Much Too Much Tumult 31:19

4M ago31:19

31:19

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…

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Episode 400: Michael Blake Has ‘A Very Different Vision of What Can Be for NYC’ 54:54

5M ago54:54

54:54

"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 …

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Episode 399: Time-Tunneling Into a Different Brooklyn with Jonathan Lethem 54:02

5M ago54:02

54:02

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 inclu…

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Episode 398: NYC Was in a Different Place on Monday Morning 40:33

5M ago40:33

40:33

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 repor…

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Episode 397: Zellnor Myrie Says ‘We Cannot Cower in This Moment’ 49:49

5M ago49:49

49:49

“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-th…

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Episode 396: The Mayor Who Cried Wolf? 36:12

5M ago36:12

36:12

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…

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Episode 395: Scott Stringer Says ‘The Greatest City in the World Is Broken Now’ 51:50

6M ago51:50

51:50

“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 …

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Episode 394: Adams is Sinking and Cuomo Is Looming 27:49

6M ago27:49

27:49

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 …

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Episode 393: A New Year and a New Toll 33:54

6M ago33:54

33:54

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 historica…

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Episode 392: Scenes from NYC's Long War to Take Back Its Streets from Cars 58:56

6M ago58:56

58:56

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 Scho…

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Episode 391: A Grim End to a Brutal Year for Eric Adams 34:03

7M ago34:03

34:03

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 i…

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Episode 390: How a Gilded Age Anti-Sex Law Bred the Modern State’s Criminalization of ‘Dangerous’ Speech 58:21

7M ago58:21

58:21

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 Sa…

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Episode 389: Ingrid Out 34:26

7M ago34:26

34:26

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 c…

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Episode 388: What a Diff’rence a Day Makes 25:16

7M ago25:16

25:16

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. Ah…

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Episode 387: Are We All Centrists Now? 31:49

7M ago31:49

31:49

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.By FAQ NYC

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Episode 386: A New Police Commissioner, Again 28:18

7M ago28:18

28:18

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…

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Episode 385: Is ‘Urban Supremacy’ Killing New York City? 39:23

8M ago39:23

39:23

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’ de…

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Episode 384: The Mayor Meets the Donald at the Fights 31:34

8M ago31:34

31:34

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 ta…

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Episode 383: New York Leaders Are Scrambling to Respond to Trump’s Foreseeable Win 33:26

8M ago33:26

33:26

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 r…

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Episode 382: Blood in the Water 56:57

8M ago56:57

56:57

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 soci…

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Episode 381: Two Cops, One Photo 31:48

8M ago31:48

31:48

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 sub…

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Episode 380: Adams and Trump Are Singing from the Same Hymnbook 25:51

8M ago25:51

25:51

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 s…

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Episode 379: The Case for Voting "Yes" to the Big Question on the Back of Your Ballot 38:18

9M ago38:18

38:18

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 ti…