Party City's CEO told employees the specialty retailer is "winding down" operations, CNN reports.
The company was impacted severely by the COVID-19 pandemic and never fully recovered.
The company spent much of the past two years in bankruptcy proceedings and has closed 80 locations.
Party City's balloon is out of air.
CEO Barry Litwin, who took the job in August, told Party City's corporate employees on Friday that operations were "winding down" immediately, CNN reported.
The news follows reports last week that the company was contemplating a second bankruptcy in two years as debt continued to weigh on profitability.
A spokesperson for Party City did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Litwin told employees the company had done what it could to avoid shutting down but that, "unfortunately, it's necessary to commence a wind-down process immediately," CNN reported.
Party City navigated a pre-pandemic shortage of helium for balloons, securing a new supply source.
It was impacted severely by the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdowns and social distancing ended many celebratory gatherings, and other mass retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target stepped up their party supply offerings.
What happens when a chemical engineer, who’s previously built a hydrogen-powered drone, becomes a venture capitalist? Energy Revolution Ventures (ERV), that’s what. The VC has now closed an $18 million seed and Series A fund to invest in deep tech, such as energy storage, carbon capture, and, yes, hydrogen technologies. Marcus Clover, co-founder and partner […]
FIRST ON FOX: Several celebrities and media figures turned out in New York City on Wednesday night for liberal mega donor Alex Soros and former Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s engagement party.
Fox News Digital obtained photos of guests leaving the engagement party, which took place at the SoHo home of Vogue executive Anna Wintour, showing former President Bill Clinton and Hillary attending the party along with MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.
Also in attendance were Hollywood couple Adrian Brody and Georgina Chapman, as well as fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg and her husband, media mogul Barry Diller.
Soros and Abedin announced their engagement on social media over the summer, with Soros sharing a photo of himself down on one knee.
"This happened…we couldn’t be happier, more grateful, or more in love," Soros wrote in an Instagram post.
Abedin, the 48-year-old longtime aide to former Secretary of State Clinton, revealed to the public earlier this year that she was getting romantic with the 38-year-old Soros in a Valentine's Day post on Instagram, showing the pair cozying up behind a table full of roses at a restaurant booth in Paris.
The engagement of the progressive power couple comes seven years after Abedin separated from her first husband, disgraced Democratic politician Anthony Weiner. She filed for divorce in 2017, although it was not finalized until years later.
Abedin has been a staunch Clinton ally since she began interning for the former first lady in the White House back in 1996. She went on to work for her as a top aide in the State Department, the Clinton Foundation, as well as Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. She joined MSNBC in 2022.
Soros, 39, has been making headlines ever since he took control of his father's mammoth multibillion-dollar Open Society Foundations in June 2023. Since then, he has been jet-setting around and meeting with top Democratic officials, former President Clinton and even attending meetings with Pope Francis. Soros has also visited President Biden's White House at least 20 times, records show.
Soros has posted dozens of photos of himself and leading House and Senate Democrats since 2018. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California appear the most often on his social media feeds. He also posted a photo with Vice President Kamala Harris, writing, "Great to recently catch up with Madame Vice President, [Kamala Harris]!"
Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.
Grace Chang has commuted roughly every other week from Washington, DC to New York City since starting her job in May.
Grace Chang
Grace Chang occasionally commutes from Washington, DC, to NYC for work.
She said the four-hour commute is worth it because the job is a good fit for her.
Remote working arrangements have made it easier for some Americans to become supercommuters.
Grace Chang says the occasionalfour-hour commute to her job is worth it but could be unsustainable in the long term.
Earlier this year, Chang, 28, felt burned out from her finance job at a hospitality companyin Washington, DC. She began exploring new opportunities but struggled to find a role in DC that would allow her to grow and be less demanding.
After expanding her search outside the Beltway, Chang accepted a financial planning and analysis position, which she started in May. The role pays$120,000 annually, but it came with a downside: a commuteroughly every other week from DC to New York City. Chang asked that the name of her employer be excluded for privacy reasons.
For her journey, Chang said she wakes up around 4 a.m. on Monday, catches the 5:05 a.m. Amtrak train at Union Station, arrives in New York City around 8:30 a.m., and is at her midtown Manhattan office 30 minutes later. She usually stays in New York until Wednesday or Thursday, and since her company doesn't pay for lodging, she crashes with friends or family who live in or near the city.
"I'm not 100% sure if the job is worth the commute, but it pays the bills and is a good stepping stone for other opportunities in the future," she said.
Chang is among the supercommuters who have embraced long treks to work in recent years: A Stanford University study published in June defined a supercommuter as anyone with a journey of more than 75 miles.The study, which was conducted by Stanfordeconomists Nick Bloom and Alex Finan, found that the share of supercommutes in the10 largest US cities was 32%higher between November 2023 and February than between the same time period four years earlier.
The economists said this uptick was likely tied to increased remote working arrangements. For example, some Americans who moved away from cities during the pandemic — in part for lower housing costs — decided they could tolerate their commute when their employers calledthem back to the office.
Supercommuting isn't the long-term goal
Chang said her employer doesn't have a specificin-office policy, buther manager wants her to work in person sometimes, particularly during busier periods.
When Chang landed the job, she never seriously considered moving to New York City. She and her husband have lived in the DC area for over a decade, and her husband works locally.
"We have friends and community here and didn't want to uproot so quickly," she said. "After I started making the commute, I just got used to it."
Staying with friends and family has helped Chang save money on accommodations while she's in New York, but her commute still comes with a financial cost. If she buys well in advance of her trip, she said she can generally get a one-way train ticket for less than $100. She said Amtrak offers a 10-ride ticket pass for $790, which amounts to $79 per one-way ticket.
However, Chang said her role would likely have a lower salary if it were based in DC, in part because the city has a lower cost of living than NYC.
In recent weeks, Chang's manager said she could reduce her commute to once a month. She said she'd previously requested a less frequent commute once she was fully trained for her job: She's been in the role for over six months.
While Chang is open to jobs closer to home, she said she's enjoying her current role and is getting the career development she wanted.
"It's definitely not a long-term goal or aspiration to continue to do this, but what has made this doable is having a positive mentality toward commuting," she said. "If I dreaded it every week, I would have quit in the first month."
Do you have a long commute to work? Are you willing to share your story with a reporter? Reach out to [email protected].
Once, not long ago, booking a table at a hot new restaurant didn’t entail a midnight dash to Resy. Truly, we didn’t know how good we had it then. Hours-long lines out the door are now the norm, not the exception, in major cities from New York to Los Angeles. One reason is that restaurants […]
Judge Juan Merchan on Monday rejected Trump attorneys' request to dismiss charges brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on the basis of presidential immunity.
The ruling comes after President-elect Trump and his team in July requested Merchan overturn his guilty verdict in New York v. Trump, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that presidents have immunity for official acts.
Merchan ruled that the evidence presented in the trial was related "entirely to unofficial conduct and thus, receive no immunity protections."
"Further, even if this Court were to deem all of the contested evidence, both preserved and unpreserved, as official conduct falling within the outer perimeter of Defendant’s Presidential authority, it would still find that the People’s use of these acts as evidence of the decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch, a conclusion amply supported by non-motive-related evidence," Merchan writes.
Merchan also argued that the Court said "if error occurred regarding the introduction of the challenged evidence, such error was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt."
Merchan rejected that request, but has yet to rule on President-elect Trump's formal motion to dismiss the case altogether.
"Today’s decision by deeply conflicted, acting Justice Merchan in the Manhattan DA Witch Hunt is a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s decision on immunity, and other longstanding jurisprudence," Trump spokesman and incoming White House communications director Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital. "This lawless case should have never been brought, and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed, as President Trump must be allowed to continue the Presidential Transition process, and execute the vital duties of the presidency, unobstructed by the remains of this, or any other, Witch Hunt."
Cheung added: "The sooner these hoaxes end, the sooner our country can unite behind President Trump for the betterment of all Americans."
Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree stemming from the yearslong investigation related to alleged hush money payments run by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance initiated the investigation, and Bragg prosecuted Trump.
After an unprecedented six-week trial in New York City, a jury found the president guilty on all counts.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a former president has substantial immunity for official acts committed while in office.
In the formal motion in July, Trump attorney Todd Blanche pointed to the Supreme Court’s immunity decision, and argued that certain evidence of "official acts" should not have been admitted during the trial.
Specifically, Blanche argued that testimony from former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks; former Special Assistant to the President Madeleine Westerhout; testimony regarding The Special Counsel’s Office and Congressional Investigations and the pardon power; testimony regarding President Trump’s response to FEC Inquiries; his presidential Twitter posts and other related testimony was impermissably admitted during trial.
Meanwhile, Trump attorneys, earlier this month, officially requested to "immediately" dismiss charges against the president-elect in New York v. Trump, declaring the "failed lawfare" case "should never have been brought."
Trump attorneys said the case "would never have been brought were it not for President Trump’s political views, the transformative national movement established under his leadership, and the political threat that he poses to entrenched, corrupt politicians in Washington, D.C. and beyond."
Trump lawyers said that "wrongly continuing proceedings in this failed lawfare case disrupts President Trump’s transition efforts and his preparations to wield the full Article II executive power authorized by the Constitution pursuant to the overwhelming national mandate granted to him by the American people on November 5, 2024."
Bragg, last month, requested to Judge Juan Merchan that the case be stayed until the end of Trump’s second term, but Trump attorneys noted that the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department concluded that "the categorical prohibition on the federal indictment of a sitting president…even if the case were held in abeyance…applies to this situation."
They added that Bragg's "ridiculous suggestion that they could simply resume proceedings after President Trump leaves Office, more than a decade after they commenced their investigation in 2018, is not an option."
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
An adviser to President-elect Trump's campaign, Alex Bruesewitz, passed out and collapsed as he was speaking onstage during a New York Young Republican Club gala Sunday night.
Bruesewitz, 27, was introducing incoming White House senior aide Dan Scavino inside a venue in Manhattan when he began stumbling over his words and fainted, video on social media shows.
Several people quickly rushed to his aid after his collapse. It was not immediately clear what caused him to faint.
Master of ceremonies Raheem Kassam, also a former aide of British conservative politician Nigel Farage, later assured the audience that Bruesewitz was doing fine backstage and that he even asked if he "look[ed] cool" when he fainted.
"I talked to our friend Alex Bruesewitz and you know what he said to me? He goes 'Did I at least look cool?' I said Alex, you used gravity like I've seen nobody use gravity before in their lives," Kassam said. "But he's recuperating back there, so give him a big cheer so he'll hear you."
Trump also said following the collapse that he believes Bruesewitz will be fine, according to the New York Post.
"I know that Alex is going to be fine because he’s a tough son of a gun," Trump said. "There’s no doubt about that. So I want to say hello to Alex, because he’s a very special guy."
Bruesewitz is the CEO of consultancy firm X Strategies LLC, which states its mission to help elect "America First" candidates. Its website says he is "a prominent political consultant and strategist known for his unwavering support of President Donald Trump and the America First agenda."
The website adds that Bruesewitz "has been the driving force behind the efforts to defeat Republicans who fight against Trump and the MAGA movement and works to replace them with Republicans who fight for the values we hold dear."
Before his collapse, Bruewitz appeared to be OK while commending the New York Republican Club for backing Trump's campaign. He also gave shout-outs to several supporters of the incoming president who were at the event, including former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, who recently resigned from his U.S. House seat.
Other notable speakers at the event included former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and senior adviser to President-elect Trump, Corey Lewandowski.
New Jersey-based attorney Alina Habba hit the nation’s radar back in 2021, becoming President-elect Trump's fierce legal defender and then spokeswoman as he battled an onslaught of legal cases and criminal charges ahead of his decisive win against Vice President Kamala Harris last month.
Now, Habba is readying to take on a new role: counselor to the president under Trump's second administration.
"Alina has been a tireless advocate for Justice, a fierce Defender of the Rule of Law, and an invaluable Advisor to my Campaign and Transition Team," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social last week, announcing her new role. "She has been unwavering in her loyalty, and unmatched in her resolve - standing with me through numerous ‘trials,’ battles, and countless days in court."
Following the once and future president’s announcement, Fox News Digital took a look back at Habba’s legal career and meteoric rise in Trump’s orbit and, now, the White House.
Habba is the managing partner of Habba Madaio & Associates LLP, a law firm based in Bedminster, New Jersey, that also practices in New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Habba, 40, is a New Jersey native, born to Chaldean Catholic Iraqi immigrant parents. She attended Lehigh University in Pennsylvania as an undergraduate before earning her J.D. from Widener University.
"As a devout Catholic, a proud first generation Arab American woman, and a feisty Jersey girl who’s fed up with far-left corruption in Washington – President Trump championed my journey, empowering me to become who I am today. His unwavering support not only shaped my career but has inspired other young women with big dreams," Habba declared in her RNC speech in July from Milwaukee.
Ahead of joining Trump's legal team, Habba litigated cases related to negligent nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also earned recognition on the Super Lawyers Rising Stars List between 2016-2022, as well as a spot on the "Top 100 Lawyers in America" list, and has supported a handful of charity efforts, including a charity that benefits pregnant homeless women, Birth Haven.
Habba has seen a meteoric rise to national prominence in recent years, after Trump hired her in 2021 to help litigate a barrage of cases leveled at him ahead of the 2024 election, becoming his legal spokesperson and trusted adviser.
Habba hit the Trump legal scene when she spearheaded a lawsuit against the former and upcoming president’s niece, Mary Trump, and the New York Times for "tortiously breaching and/or interfering with his contractual rights and otherwise maliciously conspiring against him" to obtain and publish his tax records in 2018.
Habba’s legal successes for Trump include former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos dropping a defamation suit against Trump in 2021 and the dismissal of another case related to New York state-level charges over allegations Trump and the Trump Organization were involved in a fraudulent marketing company. She also notched a win earlier this year when the Supreme Court dismissed ex-lawyer Michael Cohen’s appeal to revive a lawsuit against Trump as he sought monetary damages over his 2020 imprisonment related to lying to Congress and his previous work for Trump.
"Michael Cohen has exhausted every avenue of his pathetic attempt to drag my client into court time and time again. As expected, the Supreme Court has correctly denied Michael Cohen's petition and he must finally abandon his frivolous and desperate claims,"Habba told Fox News Digital in a statement in October.
Habba’s national name recognition grew as Trump battled the E. Jean Carroll cases.
Carroll, who previously worked as a columnist for Elle magazine, had filed two lawsuits against Trump since 2019, when she first accused him of raping her in an excerpt in her book "What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal." Trump vehemently denied the allegation, saying, "it never happened," ultimately leading Carroll to sue Trump for defamation when he was still president. At the time, she was barred by the statute of limitations from suing him over the underlying rape allegation.
A jury would eventually find Trump had sexually abused Carroll and that, in denying it, defamed her, awarding her $5 million. But while that case was tied up in appeals, and with Trump continuing to deny ever even meeting Carroll, she filed another suit in 2022 alleging both defamation and rape. She was able to do this because earlier that year, New York had passed a law that allowed sex abuse plaintiffs to file a one-time civil case despite the expiration of the statute of limitations.
Habba joined the Trump legal team for the second case, in which the former president was accused of rape and defamation for social media posts in which Trump denied the allegations and accused Carroll of promoting a "hoax and a lie."
Trump was never criminally charged with sexual assault, and the initial jury found him liable for sexual abuse – though not rape. The jury specifically said Carroll hadn’t proven that Trump raped her.
The second case sought more than $10 million for damage to her reputation stemming from Trump’s comments in 2019, when he was still president. The jury ultimately awarded her $18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages.
"I have sat on trial after trial for months in this state, the state of New York, Attorney General Letitia James and now this. Weeks, weeks. Why? Because President Trump is leading in the polls and now we see what you get in New York," Habba said earlier this year following the verdict.
"So don’t get it twisted," she continued, calling the case evidence of the "violation of our justice system." "I am so proud to stand with President Trump. But I am not proud to stand with what I saw in that courtroom."
Habba also battled New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud suit – one of Trump’s most high-profile cases that the AG has refused to dismiss after Trump’s electoral win.
James announced an investigation into the Trump Organization, claiming there was evidence indicating that the president and his company had falsely valued assets to obtain loans, insurance coverage and tax deductions.
Both inside the courtroom, during press conferences and in media interviews, Habba defended Trump against James’ case.
"Letitia James is putting her nose into private companies and private individuals' work, which is not what is meant to happen and the law that she’s using is a consumer fraud law. So that she can establish some way to have control, to not have a jury to do certain things in this case that are nonsensical and shouldn’t be happening and we have been fighting it all along the way. The problem we have is the judge is the one that’s going make those decisions and he’s proven himself to be quite motivated by the other side," Habba said on "Sunday Morning Futures" with host Maria Bartiromo last year.
Trump and his legal team charged that James had conducted a "witch hunt" against him after she explicitly campaigned on a platform to prosecute the president. Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the former president saying his assets had been undervalued.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in September of last year in the non-jury trial that Trump and his organization had deceived lenders by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth. Trump’s team called on James to drop the case following his election last month, which she rejected on Dec. 10.
Following the announcement that Habba will serve as counselor to the president, conservatives and supporters of Trump have touted Habba’s fiery defense of him over the last few years.
"I have sat with President Trump for years now while he has been targeted with lies and with judges, AGs, and DAs who have specifically run in this city and others on getting Trump," Habba said during a press conference in January following the Carroll verdict, rounding up the bevy of court cases Trump faced following his first administration.
"The Trump administration will fix this problem. We will stop Kamala Harris's regime – because she was there, let's not forget that, and she still is – of using officials from the White House, putting them in DAs' offices and AGs' offices, and attacking your political opponent," she continued.
Habba also delivered a powerful speech at the RNC in July – following Trump’s first assassination attempt – that has been revived this month for her emotional tone when she described her tight relationship with Trump.
"To my husband, whose family survived the Holocaust, [Trump] is a champion of the Jewish faith. To my Iraqi parents, he is a mentor to their daughter," she said from the RNC.
"But to me, he is my friend."
In Trump’s first administration, the counselor to the president role was filled by Fox News contributor Kellyanne Conway. The role entails advising the president on all legal matters related to the office of the president and the White House.
Habba joined Fox News’ Martha MacCallum last week, where she previewed that her new role will focus on "all things that we need to do to fix this country."
"First and foremost, anybody asked to serve this country in such an honorable role or any role, frankly, it's a responsibility that I take very seriously, but an honor. I told the president, I am there to do whatever it is you need me to do, and that's the truth. But I will say what a great privilege I will be there to advise. I will be there to help with policies that are important. I know that for me, obviously lawfare and all of the things that Pam Bondi is going to focus on are top of mind because of what we've lived for the last three and a half years. But I will tell you I'm ready to get to work, and that's on all things that we need to do to fix this country," Habba said.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom, Brooke Singman and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
A top adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams abruptly resigned on Sunday amid a federal investigation into a corruption and bribery indictment against Adams.
The adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, has had her phones seized and her home searched as part of the investigation. She issued a lengthy statement regarding her departure in tandem with Adams on Sunday, saying she plans to spend more time with her family.
"To my political partner, brother, and friend, Mayor Eric Adams: I thank you for seeking me out, way back in 2004, and asking me to run your Senate campaign. I thank you for seeing in me things that I did not see in myself," Lewis-Martin said.
"I extend humble gratitude to you for encouraging me to be my authentic self and for having my back during some trying times. As you would say, this has been a good ride; I will use author’s license and say that this has been an amazing ride," she added.
"Ingrid has not been just a friend, a confidant, and trusted adviser, but also a sister. We’ve always talked about when this day would come, and while we’ve long planned for it, it is still hard to know that Ingrid won’t be right next door every day," Adams said.
"I, and every New Yorker, owe her a debt of gratitude for her decades of service to our city. While she gets to spend a lot more time with her granddaughter, I know Ingrid will still stay involved in moving our city forward from the sidelines as she continues to root for our administration and our city," he added.
The announcement comes just days after Adams met with incoming border czar Tom Homan. Adams has adopted a more aggressive immigration stance following President-elect Trump's win in November.
"It went great," Homan told Sean Hannity on Thursday night. "Look, I sat down with the mayor for well over an hour. He gets it. And today he proved that as the mayor in New York City, he's more concerned with public safety than politics. I wish the mayor of Chicago and the San Diego City council mayor and Governor Pritzker, I wish they'd all take a page out of Mayor Eric Adams' playbook."
Homan recalled how the "ex-cop" came out of Adams during their closed-door meeting Thursday in New York.
"He really cares about public safety, and he's putting politics aside. He wants to help ICE take criminal threats off the street. He wants to help ICE look for national security threats. He wants to help ICE find over 340,000 missing children, which many are going to be in the city. So a great meeting."
"Hats off to the mayor for coming to the table and working with us," credited Homan.
Homan disclosed that since his meeting with the New York mayor, other leaders from across the aisle have reached out to him.
I was excited to see what the city had to offer since my friends and family had hyped it up.
I loved exploring Bryant Park, but I wish I never visited Times Square.
New York is one of the most iconic cities in the world, and even though I travel 100 days out of the year, I'd never been until recently.
I finally took my first trip to the Big Apple in November. As my plane landed, my headphones blared Taylor Swift's "Welcome to New York," and I couldn't have been more excited to see what was in store for me.
In the end, my four-day trip surprised me — in both good and bad ways.
Riding a hop-on, hop-off bus was a great way to start the trip.
I'm glad I booked our hop-on, hop-off bus.
Megan duBois
I love riding a hop-on, hop-off bus on my first day in a new-to-me city.
In New York, the bus got me around town with ease since there were a dozen different stops along the route, including near Times Square, the Empire State Building, and Bryant Park.
I appreciated that I could get off as many times as I wanted so I could really take my time exploring.
My day ended with some incredible views of the bright NYC skyline from the bus windows.
I was pleasantly surprised by Bryant Park, which already had its holiday market going.
Bryant Park is located in Midtown Manhattan.
Megan duBois
One of my favorite areas of the city to explore was Bryant Park, which is in Midtown Manhattan near the main branch of the New York Public Library.
There were dozens of small stalls selling goods from local vendors and restaurant pop-ups serving some of the most incredible holiday dishes.
I especially enjoyed my sandwich with bresaola, onions, gherkins, and raclette from the raclette-cheese stand.
The food scene in New York City lived up to the hype.
I ate my way around New York City.
Megan duBois
Everyone I talked to before my trip praised the food scene in New York City, so I tried everything from authentic bagels and dim sum to classic Italian food and Indian fusion.
Everything I ate and drank was incredible.
One of the best things I did in the city was a Hell's Kitchen food tour. The neighborhood tour was led by an expert guide, and our small group of six got to try five dishes at five different restaurants.
My favorites were the Georgian cheese boat from the aptly named Cheeseboat restaurant and a chicken-tikka-masala taco from Taco Mahal.
Going to the top of the Rockefeller Center was one of the best parts of my trip.
From peeking through a window at Studio 1A to see the "Today" show filming to exploring the iconic FAO Schwarz toy store, it ended up being one of the best parts of my trip.
The pinnacle of my visit, however, was going to the top floor of the Rock for 360-degree views of the city — I could see everything from Central Park to One World Trade Center.
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy Times Square one bit.
Times Square was crowded, loud, and hard to get around.
Megan duBois
Every New Year's Eve, I watch the ball drop in Times Square from the comfort of my home in my pajamas. Since it was my first time in New York City, I knew I wanted to finally see this part of the city for myself.
Once I got to the tourist destination, however, I was severely let down.
It wasn't nearly as big as I expected it to be after seeing it on TV. With all the flashing billboards, shops, food carts, and knock-off mascot characters walking around, the area was also very overwhelming
Since I felt too overwhelmed by local public transit to use it, I found it difficult to get around the city.
I was a little intimidated by the subway.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images
Although New York City has a famously robust transit system, I didn't end up using it.
I live in a part of Florida where public transit isn't really a thing, so learning how to ride the local subway and bus lines — and figuring out which ones to take and where to get off — felt daunting.
Unfortunately, I quickly learned that rideshares and taxis cost a pretty penny and often take a long time to get from point A to point B because of the sheer amount of traffic in the city.
I didn't mind walking to some neighborhoods if they were close to where I already was, but it wasn't always convenient or easy.
Unfortunately, this limited the amount of exploring I could do, so I mainly spent my trip in and around Midtown.
Airbnb has its sights set on global domination. In earnings calls this year, its cofounder and CEO, Brian Chesky, mapped out what he sees as the short-term-rental giant's biggest expansion markets: Mexico and Brazil in the Americas; in Asia, Japan, India, South Korea, and China, for Chinese residents looking to travel outside the country; and further into Germany, Italy, and Spain in Europe, where it already has a stronghold.
What's connecting these scattered countries? Dave Stephenson, the chief business officer at Airbnb, says they're all places where the company's footprint is small compared to the amount of money people spend on travel there. The company is working on ways "to show up locally relevant," he says, "so that people think of why it's better to travel on Airbnb." Stephenson maintains that Airbnb, despite its name recognition, has a smaller footprint than hotels. The company says it has 8 million active listings globally, compared to, by one estimate, some 17 million hotel rooms. Airbnb aims to close that gap, continent by continent.
There's something else tying this far-flung strategy together: Airbnb is looking for new frontiers at a time when cities around the world are cracking down on the company and other short-term rental platforms, largely in response to complaints that short-term rentals draw (often unruly) tourists and displace locals. Barcelona, which has an estimated 20,000 Airbnb listings, has said it will ban all short-term rentals by 2028. Málaga will stop giving out new short-term-rental permits in dozens of neighborhoods. New York enacted a law in 2023 that wiped nearly all short-term rentals off the map. Other cities, like London and Paris, have been enforcing strict limits on the number of nights each year that a property can be listed for short-term renting.
For Airbnb, terra incognita looks more appealing as some of its terra firma becomes less firm.
When Airbnb was new and growing rapidly in the 2010s, there was little regulation on short-term rentals. Many did not anticipate how homeowners, and even renters, would turn Airbnb into overnight miniature business empires. But complaints mounted over the years. Residents reported that short-term renters often had parties that brought trash, noise, and general chaos to buildings and neighborhoods, even after the company barred guests from hosting large gatherings. Locals also blamed the lucrative rentals for pushing up housing prices. Housing costs are influenced by many factors, but in 2020, researchers found that Airbnb growth in the median ZIP code accounted for an increase of $9 in monthly rent and $1,800 in home prices, making up one-fifth of rent growth and one-seventh of property value increases. A report by the New York City comptroller found that between 2009 and 2016, 9.2% of the jump in rental rates could be tied to Airbnb.
At this point, dozens of local governments around the world have enacted laws regulating short-term rentals that are bespoke to their cities. This gives places where Airbnb is looking to expand the advantage of seeing how various regulations have started to affect housing availability elsewhere, should they want to move proactively. "Even though those places that Airbnb could be pushing into may not have a [regulatory] framework, there's at least these examples where governments have recognized the need to protect housing and implemented successful ways of regulating it," says Murray Cox, founder of Inside Airbnb, which scrapes Airbnb data to show its footprint in cities around the world. Cities could take approaches from other playbooks, such as requiring Airbnb to share data with local officials, zoning short-term rentals to more commercial neighborhoods, or allowing hosts to rent out primary residences a limited number of nights a year.
Chesky is more than confident that Airbnb can win over the hearts and minds of the masses anywhere it expands into.
For Airbnb, the patchwork regulation around the world is both "a problem and an opportunity," says Cox. If rentals are curtailed in Paris, the company could look to expand to nearby cities or rural parts of France where there are fewer regulations. For Airbnb, that might mean moving into new countries. "They either can't grow or they're declining in cities or some parts" of their core markets, Cox says. "The only way that they can either maintain their revenues or grow is to push into other markets."
Airbnb isn't opposed to rules outright. If regulations are in place before the company expands to a new market, it could make the process simpler for hosts and guests and spare Airbnb from having to pivot and wipe tens of thousands of listings from its platform in one swoop after a new law passes. "We really do welcome sensible regulation," Stephenson tells me. "In a sensible, reasonable way, it works quite well." Airbnb is still pushing back against what it believes are overreaching regulations, like those in New York City. And despite the regulations, Airbnb is growing. Its revenue is up 10% year over year, and the number of nights booked grew, along with experiences, which include activities provided by local businesses and tour guides, by 8%.
But Airbnb's challenges don't stop at the regulations. It must also get people around the world to buy in. "Each country is going to have its own dynamics," Jamie Lane, the senior vice president of analytics and chief economist at AirDNA, tells me. In some countries, hosting strangers in your home wouldn't be culturally acceptable. Lane also says there are local competitors to Airbnb in some places "that have been impactful and made it hard for them to compete."
Those challenges are partially why Airbnb pulled out of hosting in China in 2022, wiping out 150,000 listings there. For one, the country's strict travel regulations around COVID-19 lasted longer than measures taken by most other nations, which created a drag on travel bookings. But Airbnb struggled to compete with Chinese companies offering short-term rentals long before that. The homegrown alternatives there included Tujia, which was designed to attract Chinese travelers specifically by anticipating peak travel times and rates, Melissa Yang, the company's cofounder, told CNN several years ago.
Chesky is more confident that Airbnb can win over the hearts and minds of the masses anywhere it goes. "Airbnb pretty much resonates pretty equally everywhere once there's the awareness," he told investors in a call earlier this year. "In fact, I could argue that Airbnb might resonate better in Asia because there's a younger travel population that's not predisposed to hotels, and they're on social media. And we are disproportionately on social media versus our competitors. So I'm very, very bullish about that."
While the company isn't telegraphing its expansion strategy in every country, one of its most obvious moves began in Japan this fall. Airbnb ran an ad in English last year promoting travel in Kyoto, but it ramped up its Japanese ads in October. It's looking to court young Japanese travelers who want to take weekend trips, showing photos of a family traveling to a sleek, modern cabin in a wooded area, where they sing karaoke. Stephenson says Airbnb has also learned that local travelers want proximity to onsens, Japanese hot springs and bathing facilities, so listings there now show nearby onsens.
Elsewhere, Airbnb has been implementing payment methods preferred by locals. The company recently added KaKao Pay in South Korea and Vipps in Norway, among dozens of other options. It may seem like a small step, but Airbnb thinks meeting people where and how they pay will make the service more appealing.
Researchers are closely watching Airbnb's ongoing spread. Bianca Tavolari, a researcher and member of the advisory board of the Global Observatory of Short-Term Rentals, a group of Latin American organizations focused on housing, says Brazil has lagged in regulating short-term rentals, though a court ruled last year that hosts must have explicit consent from property owners to list apartments or condos as short-term rentals. Airbnb shares some tourism trend information with local officials through its city portal, but researchers like Tavolari still have questions about Airbnb's full impact. "We are in the dark," she tells me. Yet "cities are seeing it as a great opportunity," particularly those that depend heavily on tourism dollars, she says, and thinking less about the long-term costs to residents.
Cox says he's "hopeful that some of these locations that Airbnb is planning to push to have already started thinking about" how they'll handle its growth. If Chesky's hypothesis is right, Airbnb could continue to spread rapidly once people in other parts of the world get used to couch surfing or navigating a hidden lockbox to let themselves into their rentals. Cities should be ready before more tourists start packing their bags.
Amanda Hoover is a senior correspondent at Business Insider covering the tech industry. She writes about the biggest tech companies and trends.
An event in Brooklyn featuring a tongue-in-cheek proposal for a New York City "Department of Tenderness."
Eliza Relman/Business Insider
Rom-coms like "When Harry Met Sally" exemplify how the urban built environment can spark romance.
Two New York City-based urban planners are using that lesson to promote "romantic urbanism."
Their tongue-in-cheek event in Brooklyn asked: What if we had a City Department of Tenderness?
Netflix's latest holiday rom-com, "Hot Frosty," begins like this: A lonely young widow named Kathy hangs a magical scarf on a snowman in the public square of her idyllic fictional New York town. The snowman comes to life and happens to have a flowing head of hair and a chiseled physique, and is named, you guessed it, Jack. He and Kathy promptly engage in heart-warming hijinks and fall in love.
While the film gets originality points for romanticizing a snowman, it follows the classic holiday rom-com movie formula, which includes, as Bloomberg's Linda Poon has written, an adorable, walkable small town. The town center is the picture of a "5-minute city," with daily amenities clustered together, and plays a key role in facilitating Kathy and Jack's romance. Without it, Kathy never would have stumbled upon Jack in snow form.
The crucial role that well-designed urban environments play in rom-coms struck Daphne Lundi and Louise Yeung — New York City urban planners and neighbors — when they spent the early days of the pandemic lockdown watching movies in each other's apartments.
Sparks flew in "third places" like art galleries and parks in "Rye Lane" and at urban landmarks like the Empire State Building in "Sleepless in Seattle." Paris is a character of its own in "Amelie," and the titular small townis a star of "Fire Island," they noticed.
Harry wouldn't have met Sally without a Manhattan bookstore. In "Notting Hill," the London neighborhood is a central character in the romance between a famous Hollywood actor and a bookshop owner. In some cases — think "Sex and the City" and "Emily in Paris" — the characters are in love with the city itself.
Lundi and Yeung realized that in those romantic fantasies, a walkable urban landscape brings people together who might not otherwise cross paths — and lets them linger. They took that as motivation for how to make real-life cities and towns better for lovers or anyone looking to make new connections.
Lundi and Yeung first wrote about their theory in a 2023 essay called "Romantic Urbanism." But the essay has since transformed into something bigger — a call for submissions including design proposals and public events. As policymakers, they're tasked with building affordable housing, creating safe public spaces and accessible transit, and creating jobs. But despite their centrality to quality of life, love, intimacy, and connection aren't policy goals, Yeung told Business Insider.
So they're asking: "How can cities actually be designed to express care, to foster care? What does that care infrastructure actually look like in practice?" she said.
"We need to make spaces for people to be incentivized and for people to want to go out and hang out with each other," said Clio Andris, a professor of city and regional planning and interactive computing at Georgia Tech who's studied how urban design impacts romantic relationships.
A City 'Department of Tenderness'
On a warm, perfectly sunny day in late October, Lundi and Yeung hosted their first public event showcasing their ideas for a more romance-friendly city — the inaugural meeting of what they're cheekily calling the New York City Department of Tenderness — on a small car-free plaza in Brooklyn.
The event featured several proposals from Schuyler deVos, a creative technologist and web developer, including a presentation on a Brooklyn-Queens train line called the "V line" (Valentine's line) designed to help those in "long-distance" inter-borough relationships.
The "Department of Tenderness" street signs direct people to mingle at stoplights and yield to families.
Eliza Relman/Business Insider
Henry McKenzie, who stopped by the presentation, said a cross-borough train line spoke to him.
"Every time you're on the train for more than an hour to see someone, that is an expression of love," he said. He'd also like more free or affordable third spaces where he could gather with his Dungeons & Dragons group, whose members are scattered across the city.
Trey Shaffer, a 25-year-old computer programmer from Long Island City who volunteered at the event, said he finds the pedestrian walkways on New York's bridges to be especially romantic places. "We need more Brooklyn Bridges," he said. "We can just make a copy, like, right next to it."
One attendee at a "romantic urbanism" event in Brooklyn suggested cleaner public spaces will promote human connection.
Eliza Relman/Business Insider
A city built for romance benefits all kinds of other relationships, too. Lively street corners, safe and accessible third spaces, and affordable housing help familial bonds, friendships, and even loose ties between neighbors and coworkers.
McKenzie's friend Sarah Dolan said that she tends to socialize exclusively with people she already knows in part because of a dearth of communal spaces. "There's not that many opportunities to meet new people, unless you really seek it out," she said.
Lundi and Yeung say they were overwhelmed with the response they've gotten to the project, which has received about 80 submissions, including essays and event proposals. One person wrote about their experience developing relationships while riding New York's paratransit service for people with disabilities. Another is exploring corner bodegas as "care infrastructure."
They hope the project will inspire more urban planners and policymakers to consider fostering human connection and relationships as a core part of their work and make real-world cities more like those in the movies.
"There's this trope of city people as being hardened and hard," Lundi said. "As a New Yorker, part of what this has shown me is that we're actually really tender."
Fatima said she feels Bengaluru may not be able to support further population growth.
Photo courtesy of Sheya Foundation, Tyler Le/BI
Batool Fatima moved to Bengaluru, "India's Silicon Valley," nearly 25 years ago.
She said the city felt like a dream when she arrived but now it's struggling with urbanization.
After a water crisis this year, some people are leaving Bengaluru but Fatima plans to stay.
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Batool Fatima, 50, about environmental issues facing Bengaluru, the city known as "India's Silicon Valley." The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I was born and raised in Hyderabad. Like Bengaluru, it's one of India's tech hubs.
I moved to Bengaluru in 2000 after I got married because my husband lives there. I also visited frequently as a child because my father used to work there.
It was like a dream city for us then. It was more advanced than Hyderabad, with wider roads and a lot of greenery and lakes.
Over the years, the rapid expansion of certain industries in Bengaluru, such as IT and ITES, fueled significant construction and population growth. The landscape changed in front of our eyes. Development has had a positive impact, creating opportunities for both locals and migrants.
But Bengaluru is dealing with water scarcity issues and some people seem to be leaving the city because of problems with infrastructure. Rather than leaving, I want to work on solutions. The community must come together to prioritize sustainability and the city's natural resources to preserve its future.
People who've moved to Bengaluru help to sustain the city
I've been working in the nonprofit sector since 2011. In June 2024, I started my own nonprofit, Sheya Foundation. We're invested in equitable access to healthcare and education, and I'm also very interested in climate issues.
Bengaluru is seen as an IT city. It's an aspirational city to live in because it's known for its pleasant climate and career opportunities.
With the development of the city's tech sector, a lot of intellectuals have moved in, many who care about the city and climate. However, there have also been environmental and economic strains.
There's an economic strain on people who don't work in IT and don't make high salaries. With wealthier tech workers in the city, the cost of living has risen dramatically, and houses have become more unaffordable. I'm seeing young people dropping out of school to start work because of the impact of higher costs on families.
Other people who aren't IT employees have moved to the city to work in industries serving the tech community, such as hospitality and schools. These people are helping to sustain the city.
There have been some tensions between local people and those who've come from elsewhere because of cultural differences. Recentreports suggest a rise in confrontations between locals and people who don't speak the language.
I'm not from Bengaluru and haven't encountered any negativity myself. But I speak Telegu, which many local people also understand, so I feel at home here.
I'm concerned about water scarcity in the city, but there are solutions
Water scarcity has become a particularly visible issue in Bengaluru.
The number of lakes in the city has decreased significantly in recent decades due to urbanization. Too many high rises are coming up too fast, and I don't think there's enough planning going into water facilities to sustain residents.
Bengaluru dealt with a huge water crisis earlier this year. It particularly affected people in high-rise buildings because the buildings are over-reliant on borewells that dried up during the crisis.
The water crisis didn't affect me too badly. Where I live, there's only one borewell for our group of villas, so we agreed to ration it and only use the water for half an hour per house each day. Since June, we've had good rain, so we no longer need to restrict ourselves.
The water issues seem to have calmed down across the city. But we'll have to see if there'll be a year-on-year impact during the summer months.
We need to be ruthless about not encroaching on our lakes. If we're going to be lax on this aspect, people are going to leave. I've read on the newsthat some people left during the summer because of a lack of water.
I'd like to see companies investing in solutions for Bengaluru. For example, they should work with the government to develop vegetation wetlands.
Residents also need to assess what we are doing to treat water as a precious commodity instead of complaining about what the government isn't doing. The community has to collaborate with the government by doing things like looking into stormwater drainage for their houses.
We need to work on solutions for the city rather than try to create a new Bengaluru elsewhere
Public infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with Bengaluru's growing population. I feel the city is bursting at the seams and may not be able to support further population growth.
But that doesn't mean I want it to stop developing as a tech hub. Bengaluru contributes significantly to India's GDP and helps generate high-paying jobs. Maintaining it as a tech hub allows players in the tech ecosystem — multinational companies, startups, research institutions, and a skilled workforce — to continue collaborating, driving innovation and job creation.
The state government has been developing nearby suburban regions like Yeshwanthpur and Bidadi, which can reduce congestion in the city's core while enabling Bengaluru to continue excelling in tech. In my opinion, that's a more viable solution than relocating the IT sector to other regions in India.
It's not going to be easy to move a tech hub from Bengaluru to another city. When I visit, Hyderabad, my hometown, which is also known for IT, there are similar issues there in terms of traffic, water, and property prices.
I want to keep using my foundation to build community awareness. I love Bengaluru, and I'd rather stay here and work on solutions than leave.
I loved living and working in Belfast and took advantage of all the city had to offer for years.
Eventually, I grew tired of the fast-paced, cramped feel of city living.
I left the city to move to the quiet, coastal town of Bangor. I have more space, and I'm happier.
I moved to Belfast, one of Ireland's most bustling and famous cities, in 2010.
I was working my dream job with some of the greatest people in the industry on one of the biggest shows in the world, "Game of Thrones." Life was good and busy for years.
But after about a decade, the city's buzz started to fade, and I yearned for a slower pace of life.
Eventually, I found sanctuary by the sea in a quaint coastal town just 25 minutes from the outskirts of Belfast.
I loved city living for years until I got sick of the constant buzz
Belfast is filled with restaurants, bars, and shops.
Maria Albi/Shutterstock
Belfast has everything you'd expect an Irish city to have — lots to do, tons of bars and restaurants, and super-friendly people.
I shopped in bespoke boutiques, ate at expensive restaurants, and drank in fancy cocktail bars while also attending parties and events.
Between my long days at work and social engagements, I rarely spent any time in my own home. Life was full-speed ahead, and I had little time for myself, family, or friends.
Although I was busy, I felt like I was living the dream and taking advantage of all Belfast had to offer. But after a few years, I felt like I'd maxed out on city living.
What had attracted me to Belfast started to push me away. Tired of the constant buzz of people, lights, and traffic, I began yearning for a slower pace of life.
In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic gave me the final push I needed to leave. For months, I found myself cooped up in my tiny city apartment with no outdoor space. Leaving my home wasn't much comfort since Belfast still felt as busy as ever to me.
As I walked past queues of people waiting 45 minutes just to buy groceries and local parks teeming with people, I felt my inner voice say, "If not now, when?"
I found sanctuary in an Irish seaside town
I love going for walks along the coast.
C.L Smith
In 2021, I took the leap and abandoned city living to move to Bangor in County Down.
I had friends and family in the peaceful seaside town, plus I'd grown up next to a beach in Ireland — a part of me had always longed to return to the sanctuary of the sea.
When I drove up to my new house in Bangor, I felt a wave of tranquility wash over me. I didn't hit any traffic on the drive, something I rarely experienced in Belfast.
Going from a tiny apartment on a busy city street to a spacious home with luscious green trees, a garage, and a garden, felt like a dream come true.
Immediately, I embraced a slower pace of life. I installed a hot tub in my garden and started growing my own vegetables.
I wake up every morning to the sound of the Irish ocean lapping at the shore and visit the beach for daily walks so I can bask in the sea air.
I'm still grateful for my time in the city, but I feel much happier living in a town where my neighbors often stop to say hello and I don't have to struggle to find a parking space.
Plus, a 25-minute drive can still get me to Belfast if I ever crave a taste of the city.
I think anyone contemplating leaving a busy city for a quieter town nearby should give it a try, too. After all ... if not now, when?
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he and incoming border czar Tom Homan have the same desire to go after illegal immigrant criminals following a Thursday meeting between the pair.
Adams met with Homan to discuss cooperation between local and federal authorities on deporting violent criminals once the Trump administration takes office on Jan. 20.
"We're not going to be a safe haven for those who commit repeated violent crimes against innocent migrants, immigrants and long-standing New Yorkers," Adams said after the meeting. "From what I heard from the incoming head of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is that we have the same desire to go after those who are committing violent acts, repeated violent acts among innocent New Yorkers and among migration asylum seekers. That's what I heard from him. And I was pleased to hear that, because we share the same desire."
The mayor noted that the city doesn't allow itself to be a safe haven for American citizens committing crimes, "and we're not going to do it for those who are undocumented."
The meeting came as Homan plans to implement President-elect Trump's mass deportation plan once he takes office on Jan. 20.
Homan has warned leaders in sanctuary cities to either cooperate with immigration authorities or step aside. Earlier this week, Adams announced the closing of dozens of migrant shelters, as the "sanctuary" city continues to see a drop in arrivals.
In total, 25 shelters are being closed in the next few months. New York has seen more than 225,000 migrants arrive since 2022. The surge coincided with a spike at the southern border, compounded by a strategy by Texas to bus migrants to sanctuary cities to relieve pressure on the border state.
Even before Thursday's meeting between Adams and Homan, immigration activists accused the mayor of "collaborating" with the new administration.
"It’s despicable that Mayor Adams continues to shirk his responsibilities to uphold New York City’s existing policies and values as a sanctuary city by collaborating with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan," Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, said in a statement.
Adams has been deeply critical of the federal government's handling of the migrant crisis and has taken a tougher stance on illegal immigration than many of his Democratic contemporaries, who have vowed to resist the incoming Trump administration's plan to deport illegal migrants.
Currently, there are 170 crimes that allow New York officials to communicate and collaborate with ICE after a migrant is convicted of a crime, said Adams.
"We need to examine them and see what is my authority, using executive orders, to ensure that I keep New Yorkers safe. That's my only goal. I cannot make any clearer. In pursuing that goal, my years and years of advocating for immigrants that are here and attempting to find the American dream, if that demonizes me, then I'm going to take it. But I'm going to save lives in this city," he said.
The mayor criticized those he said have attempted to cast him as switching his position on illegal immigration.
"People are trying to push their own agenda. I have one agenda. I've never lied about the agenda," he said. "Everybody, everyone in this city should be protected and should not be the victims of violent crimes. And that was a conversation I had with the incoming border czar. We shared that same belief, and we're going to pursue that same belief."
Fox News Digital's Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
Immigration activists in New York City on Thursday slammed Mayor Eric Adams' meeting with incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan, accusing him of "collaborating" with the new administration.
"It’s despicable that Mayor Adams continues to shirk his responsibilities to uphold New York City’s existing policies and values as a sanctuary city by collaborating with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan," Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, said in a statement.
Adams will meet with Homan on Thursday afternoon. Adams had said that he wants to sit down with Homan and talk about cooperation on deporting violent criminals specifically. Homan has repeatedly said that public safety threats will be the priority for the expected mass deportation campaign.
"I’m not going to be warring with this administration, I'm going to be working with this administration," Adams said last week. "President Trump is the president-elect. And whomever he chooses to run his agencies. I'm looking forward to sitting down and see how do we better New York."
"I would like to speak with our border czar and find out what his plans are. Where our common grounds are, we can work together. And I strongly believe, my history is sitting down with those across the aisle with different ways of thinking and sit down and share my ideas," he said. "I believe I have some ideas that could deal with this issue, and we can reach what the American people have been saying to us: Secure our borders, address the people who are committing violent acts in our country and make sure that… our citizens are going to be safe."
But he also clarified that otherwise law-abiding immigrants "should not be rounded up in the middle of the night."
Adams also had a message for critics from the left, telling them to "cancel me."
"Well, cancel me, because I'm going to protect the people of this city, and if you come into this country, in this city, and think you're going to harm innocent New Yorkers and innocent migrants and asylum seekers, this is not the mayor you want to be in a city under," he said.
But that has not stopped the criticism from activist groups over the meeting.
"New Yorkers know that under Homan ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] will be used to divide us, cruelly targeting and demonizing immigrants, while making every New Yorker even more unsafe," Awawdeh said. "Too many of us remember the gunfire and street brawl that took place as a result of ICE’s actions in a residential Brooklyn neighborhood, in 2020, which resulted in an immigrant New Yorker being shot in the face."
"Targeting immigrants for arrests and deportation is destructive and diverts resources away from initiatives that actually promote safety and well-being," he continued. "Mayor Adams has an obligation to every New York family to maintain our public safety by refusing to participate in ICE’s cruel, politicized immigration agenda."
"Study after study shows that cities with large immigrant populations are safer than those with fewer immigrants, and places with sanctuary policies have lower crime rates. Adams is clearly prioritizing his own political self-interest over the needs and the public safety of all New Yorkers," Awawdeh added.
Michael Blake, a former Democratic National Committee vice chair and candidate for New York City mayor, called the upcoming meeting between Homan and Adams "wrong" and "unjust," adding that "everyone has a seat at the table" if he is elected mayor.
Homan, meanwhile, said last week that he was open to a meeting with Adams.
"I'm willing to meet with him, and I'm willing to meet with anybody to help make their communities safer," Homan said on "America's Newsroom" after being contacted by the Adams administration.
"Prioritization out of the gate is public safety threats; work with us on that. It makes your community safer. It keeps my officers safe. It keeps the community safe. Let's work together and get this done."
Adams has taken a tougher approach to illegal immigration than many of his Democratic counterparts, including by suggesting that sanctuary policies be rolled back to allow for the deportation of criminals. Other Democrats have promised to either resist or not assist in deportation operations.
New York police are investigating a fatal immigrant gang stabbing in Lower Manhattan that left one teenager dead and another injured.
The stabbing is believed to have erupted because of a dispute between migrant gangs that have taken over several New York City-run migrant hotels in the neighborhood, according to local news channel ABC7 NY.
The two victims, both teenage migrants reportedly associated with a Venezuelan gang called "Los Diablos de la 42" (the devils of 42nd Street), were attacked by three unknown assailants at 7:43 p.m. on Dec. 5.
The deceased victim, a 17-year-old named Yeremi Colino, was living in the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, which is being used as a migrant shelter paid for by the City of New York. Colino was stabbed in the chest and was taken to a nearby hospital after a bystander called 911. Colino died from his wounds in the hospital.
The second victim, an 18-year-old migrant named Alan Magalles Bello, was stabbed in the arm by a screwdriver but is expected to recover.
The three assailants, who were wearing COVID masks, were caught on camera. Police have yet to make any arrests.
The incident was initially being investigated as a hate crime as early reports indicated the assailants attacked after asking the two victims if they spoke English. Several Democratic politicians rushed to condemn the attack as "racist."
According to local outlet amNewYork Metro, Congressman Dan Goldman, whose district includes portions of Manhattan, said that "two migrant teenagers were stabbed in our city because they didn’t speak English."
"I condemn this racist, xenophobic hatred in the strongest terms – it has no place in our city and must be rejected," he said, adding that "these suspects must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Police are no longer investigating the attack as a hate crime, however, after video footage indicated the confrontation unfolded over gang signs.
According to ABC7 NY, video footage recorded the victims confronting the larger group asking; "Why are you flashing gang signs?" before a brawl ensued, which left Colino dead and Bello injured.
The New York Post reported that both victims were associated with the "Diablos de la 42" gang, which has ties to the international Venezuelan terrorist group "Tren de Aragua."
ABC7 NY reported that the suspects are believed to be gang members in the Caribbean migrant community.
New York Police Department Detective Bureau Assistant Chief Jason Savino said that the Diablos gang has issued messages mourning the loss of Colino and vowing revenge on the Caribbean gang.
