Ely Samuel Parker, a Native American who served as an aide to Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War, was kept from practicing law during his lifetime. Source: New York Times
Posts published in “Law and Legislation”
Does the Subway Still Need Train Conductors?
By Gotham Rex on November 13, 2025
Gov. Kathy Hochul must decide by year’s end whether to sign a law that would mandate two-person crews on all trains, a practice critics say is costly and outdated. Source: New York Times
Mamdani was elected with a thinner résumé than his predecessors as mayor.
By Gotham Rex on November 4, 2025
The mayor-elect’s rivals focused on his inexperience during the campaign. Voters appeared to put more weight on his vision. Source: New York Times
New York Judge Dismisses Texas Challenge to the State’s Abortion Shield Law
By Gotham Rex on October 31, 2025
The lawsuit was filed against an Ulster County clerk who rebuffed an attempt to enforce a Texas judgment against a New York doctor for sending abortion pills to that state. Source: New York Times
If Elected, How Might Mamdani Use Mayoral Power in Ways That Affect Israel?
By Gotham Rex on October 31, 2025
Zohran Mamdani’s opposition to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians could influence New York City’s investments, his appointees and city policing tactics. Source: New York Times
Margaret Markey, Who Championed Victims of Sexual Abuse, Dies at 83
By Gotham Rex on October 3, 2025
As a New York State assemblywoman, she began a campaign that finally bore fruit in 2019, when the Legislature extended the deadlines for victims to file claims. Source: New York Times
How 106 People Got Together to Stop a School Shooting — Before It Happened
By Gotham Rex on September 27, 2025
A threat on a school bus from an alienated young man united dozens of agencies to answer a single question: Is it possible to stop potential mass shooters before they commit a crime? Source: New York Times
Susan Xenarios, Who Transformed Rape Crisis Response, Dies at 79
By Gotham Rex on September 19, 2025
She helped found New York City’s first rape crisis center after encountering indifference when she herself was assaulted. Then she took on New York State laws. Source: New York Times
In Rebuke of Eric Adams, City Council Overrides 3 Vetoes
By Gotham Rex on September 10, 2025
Measures eliminating criminal summonses for unlicensed vending and giving higher pay to grocery delivery workers had been overruled by the mayor. Source: New York Times
Inside a High-Stakes Fight to Limit Social Media’s Hold on Children
By Gotham Rex on March 29, 2024
A push by leading Democrats to restrict how social media companies use algorithms to serve content to children has been met by a high-stakes lobbying effort. Source: New York Times
State Finds NYC’s Foie Gras Ban Violates Farmers’ Rights
By Gotham Rex on December 16, 2022
A ruling by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets may stop the city from implementing a law that prohibits the sale of the fattened livers of geese and ducks. Source: New York Times
Behind New York City’s Shift on Mental Health, a Solitary Quest
By Gotham Rex on December 11, 2022
The psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey has been advocating tougher involuntary psychiatric treatment policies for 40 years. Now it’s paying off. Source: New York Times
A Times Square Hotel Was Set To Become Affordable Housing. Then the Union Stepped In.
By Gotham Rex on December 7, 2022
An influential hotel workers’ union is flexing its power at a key moment in the city’s recovery, affecting major projects from casinos to homeless shelters. Source: New York Times
How New York City Became a Free-for-All of Unlicensed Weed
By Gotham Rex on November 23, 2022
Shops selling weed have proliferated since the state legalized cannabis last year, thriving in confusion over their legality and a lack of enforcement. Source: New York Times
New York Enacts 2-Year Ban on Some Crypto-Mining Operations
By Gotham Rex on November 22, 2022
National cryptocurrency industry groups had lobbied Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto the environmental ban, fearful that other states could follow New York’s lead. Source: New York Times