FAQ NYC

A jam-packed episode for another jam-packed week of New York news, with Yoav Gonen of The City and Chris Sommerfeldt of the Daily News talking about all the candidates in Brooklyn who didn’t even know they were on the ballot (including one candidate who isn’t even alive), a dispatch from Alex Brook Lynn in Paris about sending formula across the Atlantic to frantic N.Y. moms, and Caroline Lewis of WNYC and Gothamist explaining what’s happening with the state’s rollout of legal weed and with the people who did (and still are) illegally selling it here.

An awful lot of New York politicians end up going to prison but Assemblyman Eddie Gibbs, who spent 17 months in Rikers as a teen followed by four and a half years in state prisons, is the first to do it the other way around. He joins the pod for a conversation about that, “the bad old days” and the state of the city now, and rapping and performing comedy with legends including the late, great Big L and Biggie Smalls.

Josefa Velasquez joins from Albany to break down the stop-and-start, hurry-up-and-wait path toward New York’s forthcoming and already late $216 billion or so budget (and everything else) deal.

Chinese American Planning Council President and CEO Wayne Ho joins the pod to talk about what Albany can do to make the economics of this work for New York’s aging population, respond to Assemblymember Ron Kim’s charge that CPC is waging a “war on workers,” and much more.

Super-reporter Greg B. Smith breaks down why Eric Adams’ promise to remove the homeless from the trains “right away” has been going nowhere fast.

The great Ben Max rejoins Chrissy, Katie and Harry to talk about Eric A’s first trip to Albany, “fish-gate,” and much more.

Graham Rayman of the Daily News runs down the slow-motion disaster at the city’s jails, and map maestro Steve Romalewski breaks down the new maps Albany’s Democratic majority just drew up.

Karen Hinton, who worked for both Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio, joins the pod to discuss her new memoir, Penis Politics: A Memoir of Women, Men and Power.

A conversation with incoming City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams about her past and the city’s future.

Katie Honan and Harry Siegel take stock of an ominous moment in New York, with big changes looming, and Alex Lynn talks with East Village resident Kirsten Theodos about the ongoing demolition of East River Park, and community member’s fight to save it.

Chrissy and Harry consider New York City’s outgoing and incoming mayors, and Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio of DoumentedNY explains what’s happening now with non-citizen voting here. Plus, check out our Alex Lynn’s piece about growing up as the daughter of a New York hustler.

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie rejoins the pod to talk about his plans to make New York election reform sexy. And seven minutes in heaven is kid’s stuff, so listen to Katie Honan explain six minutes of grace and how she finally beat a ticket.