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Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026

Dear New Yorkers,

We’re big fans of local news, and local newsrooms. May we take a moment to tell you about one of our favorites?

There’s nothing like a great neighborhood paper, and if you care about the Upper West Side, you should really read the West Side Rag. They consistently cover block-level local news — business openings and closings, local crimes and controversies, fascinating local characters — with witty columns and a famously active comment section.

They’re the kind of outlet we wish existed in every neighborhood in New York; Upper West Siders are lucky to have them! We fervently recommend their free, daily newsletter. If you subscribe, you might even spot stories from The City Reporter; they republish our work from time to time, for which we thank them.

Subscribe to the Rag’s newsletter by clicking here. You won’t regret it.

Love,

The City Reporter

The South Asian Council for Social Services holds a food pantry at their Queens building, Sept. 2, 2026. (Alex Krales/The City Reporter)

Federal funding cuts and new work rules for food aid and Medicaid are putting low-income New Yorkers under growing strain as front-line charities and their funders try to blunt the impact.

"There is really a double squeeze," Richard Buery, chief executive of the Robin Hood Foundation, told The City Reporter. "We know that poverty and hardship are being driven by the ongoing increase in the cost of basic needs of food, housing and childcare. That’s happening in a moment where the federal disinvestment in the safety net is coming to bear."

The city reported 22,000 people lost federally funded food benefits in June amid new requirements that anyone 64 or younger — up from 54 — work or volunteer 20 hours a week, including parents with kids older than 14. The number is expected to climb when July numbers are released in the next week.

Food pantries are bracing for a surge in demand for meals. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers could lose their healthcare coverage when new work and recertification rules for Medicaid take effect Jan. 1.

Read more about how residents, community groups and policymakers are navigating the changes to federal food and healthcare assistance.

Weather ☀️

A high near 86 and mostly sunny during the daytime. A low near 73 and partly cloudy at night.

MTA 🚇

In Brooklyn from 7:45 to 9:30 a.m. and 6:45 to 7:15 p.m., select Church Avenue-bound G trains skip 4th Avenue–9th Street, 15th Street–Prospect Park and Fort Hamilton Parkway; take the F line instead. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.

Alternate-side parking 🚙

It’s in effect today, Sept. 9.

By the way…

Broadway Week is back with 2-for-1 tickets for participating shows through Sept. 20.

Our Other Top Stories

"Today is a long time coming": Ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration released 170,000 pages of city records related to air quality and health concerns following the terror attacks. Hear more about Mamdani’s release of 9/11 documents, and other recent moves his administration has made, on the latest episode of FAQ NYC.

9/11 Commemoration Events

Friday is the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks that forever changed New York City and the world. Here are several community events scheduled around the city to mark the occasion.

Thursday, Sept. 10: Dawn to Dusk Remembrance, FDNY Ten House (124 Liberty St.), throughout the day. Thursday, Sept. 10: Special Memorial Mass Livestream, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10: Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance Candlelight Vigil, Maimonides Park, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11: Table of Silence Project 9/11, Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza, 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11: 9/11 Memorial Commemoration Ceremony Livestream, 9/11 Memorial Plaza, 8:40 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11: Notes of Tribute: Viewing the 9/11 Memorial Lights, Green-Wood Cemetery, 7-9 p.m.

THE KICKER: Meet the gardening group Canarsie Carailles, stewards of one of Brooklyn’s greenest blocks.

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

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