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WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 3, 2025

Today's SCOOP is brought to you by our members.

Dear New Yorkers,

Isaac Salazar still remembers the staffers at the community-based clinic that helped him navigate New York City’s complexities when he came from Mexico 10 years ago.

It’s what inspired him to go back to school and pursue social work, graduating in August from Hunter College.

Last year, he received another lifeline: he was awarded a scholarship known as the CUNY Social Work Fellows, a City Council program that covers tuition and other fees for students pursuing masters of social work degrees for many much-needed jobs in behavioral health at city agencies and nonprofits contracted through the city.

Salazar is one of more than 100 students so far in its first year across four City University of New York colleges to benefit from the social work scholarship program since it launched last year, which is funded with $2 million in the most recent budget.

Read more about the program here.

Weather 🌤️

Mostly sunny, with a high near 74.

MTA 🚇

In Queens, Manhattan-bound ‌7 express trains skip 74 St-Broadway. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.

Alternate side parking 🚙

It’s in effect today, Sept. 3.

By the way…

The Empire State Building is bidding to be the venue for Taylor Swift’s wedding. Here’s how you can get a one-day officiant license in NYC if you also want to pitch to the pop star.

Our Other Top Stories

From FAQ NYC: the summer’s done, Jerrold Nadler is ending his storied Congressional career at the end of his term, nodding at the need for generational renewal in the Democratic Party. And it looks like Eric Adams might be out of work soon, too, as Zohran Mamdani has maintained a healthy lead in the mayoral race entering its final two-month sprint. Rep. Jerry Nadler will not seek reelection in 2026. “This decision has not been easy. But I know in my heart it is the right one and that it is the right time to pass the torch to a new generation,” Nadler, who is 78, said in a statement to our friends at NOTUS.

Reporter’s Notebook

Ballot Pushback

Council leaders have called on the city Board of Elections to reject three of the five ballot measures advanced by the Charter Revision Commission in July, arguing that the proposal’s language is misleading and violates state laws.

Mayor Eric Adams convened the commission last December to address the city’s housing crisis by streamlining the approval processes for affordable housing projects. Council leaders have taken aim at questions two, three and four, claiming that they fail to disclose that the City Council’s authority over land use decisions would be shifted into “the hands of mayoral appointees,” according to their statement.

The Council had even created their own alternate commission a month before the Mayor’s with their own set of proposals, but could not move forward as the mayor’s proposals take priority.

The Board of Elections must certify all ballot questions by September 11.

— Marina Samuel

Jim Walden Out of Mayoral Race

Jim Walden, the first independent candidate to announce a run for mayor last year, ended his longshot bid for the office on Wednesday.

In a statement, the former assistant U.S. attorney said that “in a choice between values and ambitions, values must win.”

Walden had raised more than $1 million and was awarded more than $2.3 million in public matching funds, although consistently was at the bottom of polls.

Walden did not endorse a candidate on his way out, but took a veiled swipe at the Democratic candidate, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani.

“For months I have been steadfast in my view that, unless there is a one-on-one race in November, a Trojan Horse will take control of City hall,” he said. “I cannot spend more public money in the futile hope I am the one called to battle.”

— Katie Honan

Things To Do

Here are some free and low-cost things to do around the city this week.

Thursday, Sept. 4: Attend a free shuffleboard workshop at Bryant Park in partnership with the New York Shuffleboard Association. Register here. Lessons start at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5: Line dance at Betsy Head Park in Brownsville from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Register here.  Sunday, Sept. 7: Experience the Bronx’s Little Italy by heading to the annual Ferragosto Festival. Free entry, with festivities starting at noon.

THE KICKER: If you thought subway service was particularly bad this summer, you’re not wrong. The MTA reported 138 major incidents in June and July, the highest for those two months since 2018.

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

Love,

THE CITY

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