Your Vital City favorites and ours from the year gone by

The year just passed was a busy one for New York City: We elected a new mayor, said a long goodbye to the current one, implemented congestion pricing, obsessed over housing affordability, saw a federal judge call for a receiver to oversee the city’s jails, fended off Trump administration provocations, and more.

Here's what our readers read the most — and some selections our editors found especially compelling. ‎ ‎

Your favorites

Zohran Mamdani’s Real-World Constraints by Carl Weisbrod

The incoming mayor has grand plans — and serious logistical obstacles.

State of the City on Crime 2024 by Vital City and Paul Reeping

New York City may be getting safer, but it lags prepandemic conditions in many categories.

Just the Facts on New York City Subway Crime by Aaron Chalfin, John Hall and Paul Reeping

The city’s subway system is far safer than many people think, though stubborn problems remain.

How Zohran Mamdani Could Succeed as Mayor by Bradley Tusk and Jamie Rubin

Two pragmatic political veterans chart the course for the young, ideologically ambitious mayor to serve the city well.

The State of Crime in New York City at Midyear 2025 by Vital City

Despite major declines in shootings and murders, felony assaults remain at 20-year highs.

Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo Aren’t as Different as You Might Think by Josh Greenman

The two leading contenders for mayor made unions and others big promises that will be very hard to keep when reality comes calling.

Guess What? Government Is Already in the Grocery Business by Nevin Cohen

Many have made Mamdani’s proposal to create a few low-cost, publicly owned supermarkets into a punchline — but is the idea really that radical?

New York Is Not Broken by Greg Berman

Federal leaders and even some local aspirants speak as though the city needs an urgent rescue. That’s at odds with basic indicators, and of the enduring feel of city life.

My First Adult Apartment A Survey

Our housing issue presented a range of concrete solutions to the city’s most pressing crisis. Here, a range of New Yorkers shared their experience paying the rent for the first time.

New York’s Housing Crisis: Self-Inflicted and Solvable by Annemarie Gray

How did New York get so unaffordable, and how do we get out of the bind? A sweeping overview of the problem. ‎

Our favorites

What To Do (and Not To Do) About People in Crisis on Streets and Subways by Vital City

Pragmatic recommendations for the incoming administration for how to address one of thorniest problems in New York City life.

Jane Jacobs 2.0: Training AI to Make Cities More Humane By Edward Glaeser and Carlo Ratti

Two leading academics explain how they used AI to analyze historical film footage, revealing that modern pedestrians walk faster and linger less than they did in William Whyte’s era.

What Mamdani Can Learn from a de Blasio Administration Safety Innovation by Renita Francois and Abdul Nasser Rad

Two public policy practitioners argue that the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and NeighborhoodStat, if built up, could serve as foundational blueprints for the incoming mayor

A Department of Community Safety: Theory Meets Practice by Gloria Gong

A leading government practitioner diagnoses some of the operational hurdles of shifting public safety responsibilities from the NYPD to an alternative civilian agency.

Percy Sutton, Eric Adams and the State of Black Political Power in New York by Basil Smikle Jr.

A political veteran compares Percy Sutton’s mastery of "inside-outside" politics with Eric Adams’s struggles, warning that Adams’s decline creates a vacuum in Black political power.

Reality Check: Who’s the Guard Really Guarding in U.S. Cities? By Vital City

President Trump sent the National Guard to a number of U.S. cities — and blustered about sending them to more. Are these really the most dangerous places in America, in desperate need of federal help?

New York City’s Catholic Church at a Crossroads by Eileen Markey

The first American pope arrives at a time when New York’s parishes are on the defensive, protecting their increasingly immigrant congregations from federal hostility.

A Tale of Two New Yorkers: Didarul Islam and Zohran Mamdani by Brandon Del Pozo

What a fallen police officer taught a political aspirant about the changing face of the much-pilloried NYPD.

Mamdani’s Facilitators, Frenemies or Foes by David Schleicher

Mamdani’s success will hinge not only on his political acumen, but on allies, friends and political opponents with their own incentive structures.

Andrew Cuomo Sees a City in Crisis. Do Voters? by Harry Siegel

The former governor ran on a message that New York City, teetering on the bring, needed a strong hand to bring it back to safety. Was the city he sought to lead the same city New Yorkers are living in?

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Charts that defined our year

How government helps — and fails to help — people in crisis on streets and subways

The progress made — and yet to go — on serious crime

An overstretched NYPD?

Where Trump sent (or wanted to send) the cavalry

The truth about youth crime