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Dear New Yorkers,

Tomorrow, former president Donald Trump will take office once again.

The Queens-born billionaire has promised a daunting slate of actions for “Day One,” including starting mass deportations, rolling back environmental protections, cutting money for schools that support racial and gender diversity, increasing fracking, imposing tariffs on foreign goods and more.

Here’s how THE CITY has covered the city’s preparations for Trump’s second term.

His intended immigration policies weigh heavily on the minds of many in New York: Migrants leaving the now-closed Floyd Bennett Field shelter expressed fear about potential deportation. “It’s what you heard in the hallways, in the dining room, in the bathrooms everywhere,” said a Venezuelan asylum-seeker. “My kids were asking me, ‘Dad, what happens if the police come and they take us away?’”

And people who provide social services to immigrants haven’t been comforted by Mayor Eric Adams’ mixed messages on the matter: Faith-based leaders and other advocates met with Adams earlier this month to share concerns about deportation efforts, but said they left the meeting “unclear” and uninspired.

New York has in the past called itself a “sanctuary city,” which means that local lawmakers have implemented a collection of policies designed to limit the amount of information that can be shared with federal authorities about undocumented immigrants. But what does the idea of a “sanctuary city” mean under Trump?

In the weeks following the presidential election, the city also saw a spike in marriages, driven in part by same-sex couples and people with concerns about their immigration status. “We already fought for [gay marriage] I don’t want to have to do it again,” one groom told THE CITY in December as he left the Marriage Bureau in Manhattan.

Officials are also bracing for a likely assault on local public health systems, which could include federal agencies losing power, will and credibility, and ceasing to promote or invest in vaccines and other public health measures. Potential loss of funding could be addressed in the state budget, but the work of federal and local health departments are often intertwined.

Trump’s presidency also has the potential to disrupt New York’s climate agenda — ambitious benchmarks on which the state has already fallen about three years behind. With Gov Kathy Hochul’s former rival Lee Zeldin nominated as EPA commissioner, commitments to carbon-free electricity and steeply reduced greenhouse gas emissions grow increasingly hazy.

Meanwhile, there’s the question of our indicted mayor, who visited Trump in Palm Beach, Florida,  this weekend: Will Trump bail Adams out of his legal troubles? And even if the president wanted to completely stop the trial  could he?

New York and the nation face a lot of uncertainty, but one thing is for sure: Whatever this administration brings, you can count on THE CITY.

Weather 🥶

Tomorrow is likely going to be one of the coldest inauguration days in history, with a high of 26 degrees in New York and only 23 in D.C.

MTA 🚇

Tomorrow, there’s no M train service between Myrtle Ave and Forest Hills-71 Ave all day. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.

Alternate side parking 🚙

It’s suspended tomorrow, Jan. 20, for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

THE KICKER: In 1841, after defeating incumbent (and New Yorker) Martin Van Buren, incoming President William Henry Harrison refused to wear an overcoat at his own chilly inauguration. He died a month later of what was probably pneumonia.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Sunday.

Love,

THE CITY

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