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WEDNESDAY, MAR. 12, 2025

Dear New Yorkers,

Almost a third of the food Manny Colon purchases for his Upper West Side bistro comes from either Canada or Mexico. If Trump imposes his promised 25% tariff on those countries, he will face a choice of raising his prices or seeing his profits disappear.

Maybe worse, he says business is down 20% in recent weeks — which he thinks is because his heavily older clientele, living on Social Security and investment income, is cutting back amid the economic storms of the last three months.

“I have a supportive clientele and they are concerned about costs,” Colon said. “I might have to cut back on staffing. It is going to be messy.”

Like their counterparts around the country, small businesses in the city are being buffeted by Trump’s actions to impose wide-ranging tariffs and promises for more. And though they’re considering raising their prices or finding new places to source their goods, many are paralyzed by the uncertainty of Trump’s on-and-off approach.

Read more here about other small business owners struggling to adjust their business model to the tariff uncertainty.

Weather 🌤️

A little cooler, with highs in the low 50s. Still mostly sunny!

MTA 🚇

The 6 is running less frequently in The Bronx from 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. all week. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.

Alternate side parking 🚙

It’s in effect today, Mar. 12.

By the way…

New York City students can enter this essay writing contest as part of a new exhibition called Path of Liberty: That Which Unites Us. The first place essay wins $5,000!

Our Other Top Stories

Lawyers representing Mahmoud Khalil, the recent Columbia graduate arrested by ICE this weekend for his pro–Palestinian campus activism, will appear in court this morning. Khalil is in Louisiana, and is not expected to appear. But when asked about the outcry around Khalil’s arrest, Mayor Eric Adams seemed most concerned about the fact that his own prosecution didn’t get the same reaction. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told the City Council on Tuesday that she’s taking measures toward stronger discipline against officers who violate rules — including boosting penalties for misconduct that occurs during street stops. While most officers who violate department policy are disciplined with retraining, Tisch says in some cases, that doesn’t go far enough. Hazel Dukes, a longtime civil-rights leader and power player in local politics, died peacefully in her sleep on March 1. Community board colleagues and neighbors remembered her as someone who inspired and challenged them, made them laugh and never lacked for authenticity. The number of school safety agents — unarmed but uniformed NYPD employees — has declined about 28% in the past five years. Large high school campuses that need agents to operate metal detectors have been hardest hit — resulting in students waiting in long lines outside of school, sometimes making them late for class. In the fall of 2022, the NYPD began promoting the Community Response Team, an elite unit formed by Adams. Some officials within the department were disturbed by its behavior and reported it to Adams himself. But if he was troubled by the unit’s actions, he hasn’t shown it — and even had a live feed of its activities.

Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Wednesday, Mar. 12: Watch a screening of Harriet, the story of abolitionist Harriet Tubman starring Cynthia Erivo. Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Mar. 12: Hear Kwame Dawes, the current Poet Laureate of Jamaica, discuss the life and work of acclaimed Caribbean novelist Neville Dawes. Poets House in Tribeca, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Mar. 12 – Saturday, Mar. 15: Attend the Fusion Film Festival at NYU, a student-run festival showcasing women and nonbinary creators. Free with RSVP.

THE KICKER:  Penn Station commuters will be seeing red (and white) all week as St. John's men's basketball team chases its first Big East tournament title since 2000. The lights in the concourse will glow with the team’s colors to promote taking mass transit to the games, the MTA chairperson announced yesterday.

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

Love,

THE CITY

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