If your building’s budget feels tighter and your block looks rougher, you’re not imagining it. We sit with Curtis Sliwa for a candid tour through New York’s pressure points—subway safety that breaks down between stations, quality-of-life standards slipping block by block, and a regulatory push that could leave co-ops and condos holding the bag. Curtis retraces the Guardian Angels’ roots from a late-night McDonald’s to a global volunteer network, then pivots hard into policy: how to put officers into moving train cars, rebuild effective homeless outreach, and get serious about everyday enforcement that residents actually feel.
Housing takes center stage as we unpack Local Law 97 and the real cost of electrifying older buildings. Curtis makes the case that boards face impossible math without targeted relief, risking maintenance spikes, distressed sales, and cascading devaluation. We also dig into the hidden vacancy problem—from NYCHA units to subsidized apartments and privately mothballed rentals—and why predictable rules, faster turnarounds, and smarter incentives could bring thousands of homes back online. The lithium battery storage boom gets a close look too, with concerns about siting near homes and schools, safety protocols for first responders, and how to balance climate goals with community consent.
Layered through the conversation is a call for transparency and trust: publish the hard numbers, take the tough reports, and stop gaming the stats. Curtis also opens up about radio’s enduring power—especially overnight—and why real debate beats echo chambers if you want a functioning city. If you care about co-op and condo governance, public safety, and practical urban policy, this is a frank, high-signal listen. Subscribe, share with your board or building chat, and leave a review with one change you want City Hall to prioritize next.