BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Just as Dick Clark had a long and defiant run as “America’s oldest teenager,” drag king Murray Hill gives no indication of intent to abdicate his well-earned position as the “hardest working middle-aged man in show business.” Having made his bones with a breezy, bawdy persona that draws on vaudeville, burlesque, borscht … Read more
BY NATHAN RILEY | Demanding that New York State stop racist law enforcement patterns by legalizing adult use of marijuana, advocates told members of the State Assembly, including Health Committee chair Richard N. Gottfried, a West Side Democrat, that police stops are traumatizing black and brown New Yorkers. At a Jan. 11 hearing in Lower … Read more
BY DUNCAN OSBORNE | While Mayor Bill de Blasio is proposing to increase spending by roughly $2 billion in the city fiscal year that begins on July 1, cuts in federal and state support for the city may force the mayor to curtail those plans. “This budget proceeds against a backdrop of tremendous uncertainty,” the … Read more
BY NATHAN RILEY | Upper West Side State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal is emerging as a principal player among legislators aiming to unravel New York’s decades-old, counterproductive War on Drugs. From her influential post as chair of the Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Committee, she is lead sponsor on a bill offering care for drug users while they … Read more
BY NATHAN RILEY | Upper West Side Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal has introduced legislation to bar insurance companies from discriminating against people who take the anti-HIV treatment intended to prevent infection known as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP. Its introduction was a major step forward in preventing the spread of the AIDS virus. Known by the brand name … Read more
BY PAUL SCHINDLER | Even among the 40 percent of New York State voters who say they know who Cynthia Nixon is, much of that recognition comes from her long-running role as Miranda Hobbes in the “Sex and the City” TV and film franchise. Theater aficionados will be familiar with her substantial body of work on … Read more
BY NATHAN RILEY | Right in Cynthia Nixon’s backyard, just weeks after the actor and activist announced her Democratic primary challenge to Andrew Cuomo, the Hell’s Kitchen Democrats — a progressive newcomer on the local political club scene — voted on Apr. 5 to endorse the two-term governor for reelection. The club held its first endorsement … Read more
BY NATHAN RILEY | While Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio dance around harm reduction measures to reduce the record-high number of overdose deaths, Cynthia Nixon is embracing Safer Consumption Spaces at events in the city and upstate. Cuomo’s Democratic primary challenger unequivocally supports allowing users to inject in health care facilities where overdose … Read more
BY NATHAN RILEY | In a report that will be read by public health officials across the country, the New York State Health Department has declared that legalizing marijuana would bring positive benefits; the “pros outweigh the cons,” opined Dr. Howard Zucker, the state health commissioner. The report, which went public two weeks ago, makes … Read more
PHOTOS AND REPORTING BY SAM BLEIBERG | New Yorkers showed up like never before to vote in the state primary elections last Thursday. An attention-grabbing gubernatorial campaign, progressive challenges to Democratic senate incumbents, and a close contest for attorney general brought voters of all ages and backgrounds. City Media spoke with voters at P.S. 33 in Chelsea … Read more