The big news yesterday was the arrival of scores of federal enforcement agents fanning across a two-block radius around Canal Street and Broadway, steps from Streetsblog's offices.
The appearance of so many heavily armed and armored — and mostly masked — men followed a scabrous, anti-immigrant video that was posted on Sunday by a right-wing commentator, a video that seemed designed to give federal troops a pretext to arrest vendors of popular faux-luxury handbags and watches.
And sure enough, on Tuesday at about 3 p.m., the streets near our office were filled with federal agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations division, but also from many other agencies (including, oddly, the IRS).
I ran outside to cover the raid as part of Streetsblog's interest in how public space is policed, and also because these massive shows of force are becoming more and more common in our cities (hat tip to the Times for some good reporting on Tuesday about what happened in Chicago earlier this month). More such raids are likely in New York City, if President Trump's threats against likely Mayor Mamdani are to be believed.
I made a little video just so you can see what it looked like (apologies for my whiny voice trying to get answers from stone masked agents). At one point, you'll see me lose control of the camera for a second after being shoved by an ICE agent who, for the record, never told me to get on the sidewalk. I repeat, I was not obstructing government operations:
Of course, my video didn't have pictures of the mini-tank that the federal officials brought in:
Coverage of the raid went national (USA Today), but the best story was in the Times, which had much better video than I got. The Department of Homeland Security told the paper that the raids were done as a crackdown not on violent crime, but on mostly African men for illegal vending that is, alas, one of Lower Manhattan's great tourist attractions. There was no evidence presented that any of the targeted men were wanted for prior violence. (The Daily News also covered, with good quotes from a longtime vendor; the Post more or less played it straight; Gothamist's solid coverage played up the fact that the NYPD was not involved, even when protests started; Hell Gate focused on the federal anti-immigrant tack; The City played up the military hardware and the "chaos.")
It's also worth noting that several of the agents' cars had covered license plates — not that NYPD felt compelled to do anything about it, as Streetsblog's Emily Lipstein discovered:
Afterwards, protesters took to the streets in a black-and-blue version of Twisted Sister's signature song:
The other top story
Meanwhile, the death throes of the 2025 mayoral campaign have been hilarious to watch:
- Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa has the debate performance of his life — and suddenly Republican pooh-bahs are demanding that he get out of the race.
- Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran the MTA (many say poorly) for more than a decade now wants the city to take more control over its operation. (NY Times). Riders Alliance spokesman Danny Pearlstein mocked Cuomo's notion as "silly," "irresponsible" and "absurd." "The disgraced former governor decries mismanagement of the transit system that he recently controlled for 11 years, ignoring service as train delays quadrupled. Never a New Yorker enough to actually ride the subway, he's not yet given up mining it for personal advantage," Pearlstein said.
- Oh, and Cuomo also covered Sliwa a job in his administration if he quits the race and if Cuomo wins (two big "ifs"). (NYDN)
- On the FAQ Podcast, former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton showed again how out of touch he is by saying that his successor Jessica Tisch would be foolish to keep the post if Mayor Mamdani offers. Anyone who knows Tisch knows she loves her job and would like to keep it. (The City)
- Convicted con man and former Long Island Rep. George Santos claimed that he would move out of the city if Mamdani is elected. We are already preparing a front-page headline for when he's photographed waving from the jetway: "Con Air." (Shot: X.com, Chaser: X.com)
- Cuomo's campaign also put out a painfully inept AI-generated video suggesting that Mamdani is Mini Me to Bill de Blasio's Austin Powers. It moronic, but also inept: Everyone knows Mini Me doesn't talk:
Finally, in other news:
- Speaking of Sliwa, he was the one candidate last week who mentioned (sympathetically even!) homeless students. Well, City Limits revealed on Tuesday the extent of the sadness.
- And speaking of Cuomo, Democratic strategist Peter Kauffmann really put the shiv in with this Daily News op-ed.
- The North Star of any livable streets movement worth its salt is car reduction. The Guardian shows the way with this story about replacing many car trips with a simple cargo bike.
- Stars — they're just like us ... on the subway. (NY Post)
- Like Streetsblog, amNY also covered the DOT's Kimlau Square redesign, which Gothamist got as a handout.
- The Post really has a love-hate relationship with lawyers. When lawyers are arguing that transit leadership is inept, ol' Rupert loves them. When lawyers point out that the U.S. Department of Transportation is illegally blocking the 34th Street busway, all we hear are crickets.
- That said, we're glad to see the Paper of Wreckage standing on the side of LIRR customers.
- A minivan driver hit a cab and injured several people in the latest Manhattan car carnage. (NYDN)
- Heil a cab! That TV in the back of your taxi took a hard right turn. (Hell Gate)
- Programming note: We mentioned the wrong date yesterday for the start of early voting. It's actually Saturday! Click here to find your polling place.
- And, finally, here's one of the craziest low-speed car crash videos we've ever seen:
