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Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

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

Dear New Yorkers,

If you buy groceries in New York City, you're familiar with sticker shock. But you may not realize that faulty supermarket scales could be one reason your food bill is so damn high.

Our new investigation — produced with NYCity News Service — reveals that city inspectors found hundreds of broken or miscalibrated food scales at groceries and supermarkets across the city. Major chains like Gristedes, Westside Market and Whole Foods were among the violators.

Despite recently hiring more inspectors, the city admits it can't keep up with mandatory annual checks of every scale — meaning the problem is likely even bigger than these numbers suggest. But Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Deputy Commissioner James Hurst told us the agency expects to have all food scales in the city inspected by June.

For New Yorkers struggling with affordability — an issue Mayor Mamdani has put at the top of his agenda — any overcharges from faulty scales can add up fast.

Read the full investigation here.

Weather ☀️

Sunny with a high of 42.

MTA 🚇

In Staten Island, all SIR trains from Prince’s Bay to Arthur Kill board from the St. George-bound platform, 9:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.

Alternate side parking 🚙

It’s in effect today, Jan. 12.

By the way…

A federal judge on Friday ruled that the Trump administration cannot block childcare subsidies to five Democratic-led states, for now. Read more about the suit.

Our Other Top Stories

The new deputy mayor overseeing the health department is very much a product of Queens, where she and her family immigrated from Ecuador. Helen Arteaga Landaverde, 49, comes to the job at Health and Human Services after five years as the CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, a 545-bed public hospital in Queens that was at the “epicenter of the epicenter” in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. bullet

An iconic restaurant in Fulton Mall became an Arby's, before it was revived amid the pandemic. Listen here as St. John Frizell, a “steward” of Gage and Tollner, joins Lit NYC hosts Amy Sohn and Harry Siegel to talk about the craft of the cocktail, the business of Brooklyn, the nature of the great good place, and much more.

Reporter’s Notebook

Largest Nurses Strike in NYC History

As of Sunday evening, approximately 16,000 nurses at five private hospitals in New York are set to walk off the job on Monday, after failing to reach an agreement with management on improved on-the-job safety standards and healthcare benefits. Their union, the New York State Nurses Association, claims it is the largest strike of its kind in New York City history.

Patients at the striking hospitals — Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai West, Mount Sinai Morningside, NewYork-Presbyterian — are encouraged to seek their care as usual at the hospitals, the union said.

Spokespersons for Montefiore, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian issued a joint statement on Friday, ahead of the strike: “A strike will pose challenges for sure, but our institutions will do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions to the delivery of the safe, high-quality care we are known for.”

— Claudia Irizarry Aponte

Who’ll Watch Mamdani’s City Hall?

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is going his own way when it comes to who will keep an eye on City Hall's adherence to ethics. On Wednesday Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber turned in her resignation, which Mamdani then accepted without comment.

On Friday at an unrelated press conference THE CITY asked him why he did so, despite Strauber's extraordinary record as an anti-corruption fighter. That resume included running a probe that led to the indictment of the man who nominated her for the job, Eric Adams, who was also Mamdani’s rival until he dropped out of the race.

Mamdani’s response?

"We are putting together an administration that is dedicated to building a new era in our city, and so we are continuing to make decisions on retention and recruitment. We appreciate her service."

His office says the search for Strauber's replacement is underway but gave no timeline for an announcement. Any nominee then must be confirmed by the City Council.

— Greg B. Smith and Samantha Maldonado

Wind Projects Go to Court

New York offshore wind developers and Attorney General Letitia James are fighting back against the Trump administration’s December “pause” on offshore wind project leases, including for the state’s in-progress Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind.

On Friday, James filed two lawsuits in federal court in an effort to allow construction on the projects to continue. Last week, the companies developing those projects, Orsted and Equinor, filed lawsuits in federal court asking for a preliminary injunction and alleging the Trump administration’s action is unlawful. No decision has yet been made in those cases.

The Department of the Interior had directed the two New York projects — plus three more in other states — to stop construction citing unspecified national security concerns. New York’s wind projects are under construction off the coast of Long Island and are expected to generate enough power for about a million homes when they are operational.

— Samantha Maldonado

Things To Do

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

Monday, Jan. 12: Yoga en Español is at the Morningside Heights Branch of the NYPL from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Bring a mat. The class will primarily be taught in Spanish.
Wednesday, Jan. 14: The Parks department is holding two community input meetings, one for Bildersee Playground’s reconstruction in Canarsie, Brooklyn (6:30 p.m to 8:30 p.m.) and another for the Wayanda Park reconstruction in Queens Village (6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.). Both meetings are virtual.
Thursday, Jan. 15: Brooklyn Bridge Park is hosting January concerts at their Roebling Rink, every Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Skating admission is $14.84. Free for non-skaters.