New York City has experienced various significant events in the last few months. Here’s a recap of some of the most notable moments.
New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted on charges of bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution on Oct. 9 by the Federal Grand Jury. On Nov. 24, those charges were dropped.
James Comey, former director of the FBI, was also indicted around the same time with similar charges. Comey was charged with obstruction of justice and making false statements to Congress during his 2020 testimony about whether or not he authorized a source to leak information to the media.
Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayor-elect, has begun building his transition team ahead of his official inauguration on Jan. 1.
Both cases were dismissed by a judge from the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, who ruled that the charges made by prosecutor Lindsey Halligan, interim U.S. attorney, were unlawful. The Trump Administration immediately announced it would file an appeal, but that has not yet taken place. The Department of Justice is still considering adding additional charges against James and Comey.
Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayor-elect, has begun building his transition team ahead of his official inauguration on Jan. 1. The team includes government officials who have already served under previous mayoral administrations.
Elana Leopold, a political strategist who worked for former New York City mayor Bill De Blasio, will serve as the team’s executive director. Maria Torres-Springer, former first deputy mayor of New York City under Eric Adams, will be co-chair of the transition team. Torres-Springer was one of four top officials who resigned from Adams’ administration over its cooperation with President Donald Trump.
The Fair Workweek Law aims to provide hourly workers — particularly those in the fast food industry and retail — with more predictable schedules.
On Dec. 1, Mayor Eric Adams announced a $38.9 million settlement with Starbucks. The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection found that the Starbucks Corporation was not compliant with the Fair Workweek Law. This law aims to provide hourly workers — particularly those in the fast food industry and retail — with more predictable schedules.
Starbucks was violating multiple laws including cutting employees’ working times by 15% without receiving consent, failing to provide regular schedules and prioritizing giving shifts to new hires rather than long-time employees. More than 150,000 workers will receive restoration payments under the agreement. This resolution is the largest worker protection settlement in New York City history.
At Rikers Island, a prison complex located in the East River in the Bronx, 13 prisoners have died in custody in the last year. The 2025 death toll in New York City jails is more than double that of 2024.
This comes alongside a nationwide increase in violence against prisoners by correction officers. According to an investigation conducted by The New York Times, the rate of brutality in United States prisons has been rising for a decade. The report showed that, in 2014, members of staff reported using force against inmates three times a day across the prison system. Then, in 2019, that number rose to seven times a day. Last year, the number rose to 11.
The investigation also found that these numbers are not a result of prison overcrowding, increased attacks on guards or the decrease of prisoners being held in isolation. This decrease occurred after the passing of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act (HALT) in 2022, which restricts the use of solitary confinement in prisons and jails.
On Dec. 1, a correction officer testified at a pretrial hearing for Luigi Mangione, the 27-year old accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024. Mangione has been under constant surveillance at Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn while awaiting his trial.
Thompson was fatally shot while walking into the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan. Mangione was charged with the assassination after sufficient evidence was gathered.
Mangione’s defense team is arguing that certain pieces of evidence should be excluded from the upcoming trial. They have also asked that witnesses testifying be restricted from discussing the contents of Mangione’s journals or characterizing them as a “manifesto.”
On April 1, Pamela Bondi, U.S. attorney general, released a press statement directing prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Mangione. This also stems from Bondi’s overall mission to “revive” and expand the use of the death penalty in the United States. Since 2009, seven states — Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Virginia — have outlawed capital punishment. During Bondi’s first days as attorney general, she sent out a memorandum to all government departments regarding the revival of the death penalty.
Mangione’s official trial date has not been set yet, but if found guilty, Mangione will face 25 years to life in prison.
