New&nbsp;York&nbsp;and parts of the eastern United States and Canada were shrouded in a gray smoky haze Tuesday from fires burning in western United States and Canada.

New&nbsp;York&nbsp;state's environmental protection services issued an air quality advisory, which is automatically triggered when fine particle matter is expected to rise above 35 micrograms per cubic metre of air.

An expert from the agency said it is not uncommon for smoke from fires in the west of the country to reach the&nbsp;New&nbsp;York&nbsp;area, but they usually remain high enough to not affect air quality.&nbsp;This time, the smoke was lower than usual, the expert said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/day-of-mourning-death-toll-from-flooding-in-western-europe-hits-200-399331">Also read |&nbsp;'Day of mourning': Death toll from flooding in western Europe hits 200</a>

The phenomenon was set to dissipate on Wednesday with the arrival of a cold front in the&nbsp;New&nbsp;York&nbsp;region, said a spokesperson for the US National Weather Service.

Several large fires have ravaged the western United States in recent days -- notably in California, Nevada and Oregon, where the dangerous Bootleg Fire is still raging, even though the fire season has only just begun.&nbsp;

In Canada, more than 2,000 people have been evacuated in recent days in the province of Ontario, the most populous in the country, and more than 200 fires were active in the province and neighboring Manitoba, according to official figures Tuesday.

New York and parts of the eastern United States and Canada were shrouded in a gray smoky haze Tuesday from fires burning in western United States and Canada. New York state's environmental protection services issued an air quality advisory, which is automatically triggered when fine particle matter is expected to rise above 35 micrograms per cubic metre of air.

New York and parts of the eastern United States and Canada were shrouded in a gray smoky haze Tuesday from fires burning in western United States and Canada. New York state's environmental protection services issued an air quality advisory, which is automatically triggered when fine particle matter is expected to rise above 35 micrograms per cubic metre of air. An expert from the agency said it is not uncommon for smoke from fires in the west of the country to reach the New York area, but they usually remain high enough to not affect air quality. This time, the smoke was lower than usual, the expert said. Also read | 'Day of mourning': Death toll from flooding in western Europe hits 200 The phenomenon was set to dissipate on Wednesday with the arrival of a cold front in the New York region, said a spokesperson for the US National Weather Service. Several large fires have ravaged the western United States in recent days -- notably in California, Nevada and Oregon, where the dangerous Bootleg Fire is still raging, even though the fire season has only just begun. In Canada, more than 2,000 people have been evacuated in recent days in the province of Ontario, the most populous in the country, and more than 200 fires were active in the province and neighboring Manitoba, according to official figures Tuesday.

New York issues pollution alert amid smoke from wildfires in west and Canada

When the United States thought that it had managed to defeat the coronavirus, the moving seven day average of the new number of cases has now increased pretty much on a day-to-day basis for more than a week and all this has been blamed on the fastest spreading strain of COVID-19.

New York: COVID cases rise as Delta variant spreads

Several subway stations were flooded and major roads were cut in New York on Thursday ahead of the expected arrival of Storm&nbsp;Elsa, which has moved up the US East Coast after lashing Florida with wind and rain.

Between 2 and 4 inches of water fell in a series of thunderstorms over the city and surrounding areas on Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service (NWS) said, "causing extensive flash flooding in certain places."

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tropical-storm-elsa-strengthens-to-hurricane-as-it-closes-in-on-florida-396490">Tropical Storm Elsa strengthens to hurricane as it closes in on Florida</a>

Subway passengers posted video footage on Twitter of flooded platforms at the 157th Street station north of Manhattan.

Commuters could be seen waist-deep in the water, crossing a dark pool to reach the station's platforms.

"Lines 1 and A have really taken a hit, with a lot of flooding in the stations," Sarah Feinberg, head of the MTA, New York's public transport authority, said on Thursday at a press briefing.

Some major roads, including in the Bronx, were temporarily closed, disrupting traffic. New York police tweeted footage of motorists being stranded by the water.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/two-killed-as-tropical-storm-elsa-lashes-dominican-republic-395954">Two killed as tropical storm Elsa lashes Dominican Republic</a>

The NWS warned of possible new flooding by Friday morning, with the expected arrival of heavy rains brought by Storm&nbsp;Elsa, which is moving up from Florida.

Despite work to protect the city against flooding since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which killed 44 people and paralyzed the American economic capital for days, New York remains very vulnerable to flooding, with such incidents expected to increase because of climate change.

Several officials, including Eric Adams, president of Brooklyn and the favourite for the November mayoral election in New York after winning the Democratic primary this week, called for urgent investments to fortify the city's infrastructure.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tropical-storm-elsa-churns-past-haiti-headed-for-cuba-395659">Tropical storm Elsa churns past Haiti, headed for Cuba</a>

"Extreme weather episodes like this are not going to go away," warned one of his primary opponents, Kathryn Garcia, who oversaw the water pumping after Hurricane Sandy.

"We must invest in strategies to protect the city," she said.

Several subway stations were flooded and major roads were cut in New York on Thursday ahead of the expected arrival of Storm Elsa, which has moved up the US East Coast after lashing Florida with wind and rain.

Several subway stations were flooded and major roads were cut in New York on Thursday ahead of the expected arrival of Storm Elsa, which has moved up the US East Coast after lashing Florida with wind and rain. Between 2 and 4 inches of water fell in a series of thunderstorms over the city and surrounding areas on Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service (NWS) said, "causing extensive flash flooding in certain places." Also read | Tropical Storm Elsa strengthens to hurricane as it closes in on Florida Subway passengers posted video footage on Twitter of flooded platforms at the 157th Street station north of Manhattan. Commuters could be seen waist-deep in the water, crossing a dark pool to reach the station's platforms. "Lines 1 and A have really taken a hit, with a lot of flooding in the stations," Sarah Feinberg, head of the MTA, New York's public transport authority, said on Thursday at a press briefing. Some major roads, including in the Bronx, were temporarily closed, disrupting traffic. New York police tweeted footage of motorists being stranded by the water. Also read | Two killed as tropical storm Elsa lashes Dominican Republic The NWS warned of possible new flooding by Friday morning, with the expected arrival of heavy rains brought by Storm Elsa, which is moving up from Florida. Despite work to protect the city against flooding since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which killed 44 people and paralyzed the American economic capital for days, New York remains very vulnerable to flooding, with such incidents expected to increase because of climate change. Several officials, including Eric Adams, president of Brooklyn and the favourite for the November mayoral election in New York after winning the Democratic primary this week, called for urgent investments to fortify the city's infrastructure. Also read | Tropical storm Elsa churns past Haiti, headed for Cuba "Extreme weather episodes like this are not going to go away," warned one of his primary opponents, Kathryn Garcia, who oversaw the water pumping after Hurricane Sandy. "We must invest in strategies to protect the city," she said.

Flooding in New York as Storm Elsa expected to hit

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced new emergency measures to fight gun violence. He has also declared gun violence 'a disaster emergency'.

Andrew Cuomo announces new law against gun violence amid rising crimes in New York

Andrew Cuomo announces emergency measures against gun violence

A smaller replica of the Statue of Liberty travelled to Ellis Island from France on the back of a truck last week, retracing what its big sister did over a century ago. The statue was unveiled on Thursday.

Mini Statue of Liberty joins its big sister

After a year lost to the coronavirus, New York City's most well-known Fourth of July traditions were back.&nbsp;The traditional Macy's Fourth of July fireworks show was back in full form with a display over the East River, with shells being shot from five barges in a televised, choreographed spectacle. This year, crowds were welcome to gather.

The show was broadcasted live on NBC as part of a two-hour special featuring the Black Pumas, Coldplay, OneRepublic and Reba McEntire. The performers' appearances were pre-recorded from around the country in front of live audiences.

Last year, because of pandemic restrictions, there were a series of shorter fireworks shows in the days leading up to the holiday, with the locations kept secret in advance to keep people from congregating.

The annual spectacle of gluttony that is the Nathan's Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest also once again welcomed live audiences to watch the epic chowdown in Brooklyn.

The event wasn't quite the same as usual. Instead of being at Surf and Stillwell avenues, just off the Coney Island boardwalk, this year's competition was held nearby in a minor league baseball stadium, Maimonides Park. Spectators were asked to register for free tickets in advance.

Last year, though, there were no spectators allowed as Chestnut ate a then-record 75 hot dogs and buns. 
He said on Sunday that hearing the fans again helped propel him to victory.

"They kept pushing me. They didn't give up on me," he said in an ESPN interview. "Even if I was uncomfortable, having everybody cheer me and push me, it made me feel good."

Landmarks around the state, from the World Trade Center's centerpiece tower to Niagara Falls, were lighted in red, white and blue to mark Independence Day.&nbsp;"If the last 16 months has reaffirmed anything, it's how precious life is and how vital liberty is to our identity as New Yorkers and Americans," Gov&nbsp;Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies)

After a year lost to the coronavirus, New York City's most well-known Fourth of July traditions were back. The traditional Macy's Fourth of July fireworks show was back in full form with a display over the East River, with shells being shot from five barges in a televised, choreographed spectacle.

After a year lost to the coronavirus, New York City's most well-known Fourth of July traditions were back. The traditional Macy's Fourth of July fireworks show was back in full form with a display over the East River, with shells being shot from five barges in a televised, choreographed spectacle. This year, crowds were welcome to gather. The show was broadcasted live on NBC as part of a two-hour special featuring the Black Pumas, Coldplay, OneRepublic and Reba McEntire. The performers' appearances were pre-recorded from around the country in front of live audiences. Last year, because of pandemic restrictions, there were a series of shorter fireworks shows in the days leading up to the holiday, with the locations kept secret in advance to keep people from congregating. The annual spectacle of gluttony that is the Nathan's Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest also once again welcomed live audiences to watch the epic chowdown in Brooklyn. The event wasn't quite the same as usual. Instead of being at Surf and Stillwell avenues, just off the Coney Island boardwalk, this year's competition was held nearby in a minor league baseball stadium, Maimonides Park. Spectators were asked to register for free tickets in advance. Last year, though, there were no spectators allowed as Chestnut ate a then-record 75 hot dogs and buns. He said on Sunday that hearing the fans again helped propel him to victory. "They kept pushing me. They didn't give up on me," he said in an ESPN interview. "Even if I was uncomfortable, having everybody cheer me and push me, it made me feel good." Landmarks around the state, from the World Trade Center's centerpiece tower to Niagara Falls, were lighted in red, white and blue to mark Independence Day. "If the last 16 months has reaffirmed anything, it's how precious life is and how vital liberty is to our identity as New Yorkers and Americans," Gov Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. (With inputs from agencies)

New York City marks July 4 with eating contest, fireworks

The New York City mayor’s race plunged into chaos Tuesday night when the city Board of Elections released a new tally of votes in the Democratic mayoral primary and then removed the tabulations from its website after citing a “discrepancy.”

The results released earlier in the day had suggested that the race between Eric Adams and his two closest rivals had tightened significantly.

But just a few hours after releasing the preliminary results, the elections board issued a cryptic tweet revealing a “discrepancy” in the report, saying that it was working with its “technical staff to identify where the discrepancy occurred.”

By Tuesday evening, the tabulations had been taken down, replaced by a new advisory that the ranked-choice results would be available “starting on June 30.”

Then, around 10:30 p.m., the board finally released a statement, explaining that it had failed to remove sample ballot images used to test its ranked-choice voting software. When the board ran the program, it counted “both test and election night results, producing approximately 135,000 additional records,” the statement said. The ranked-choice numbers, it said, would be tabulated again.

The extraordinary sequence of events seeded further confusion about the outcome, and threw the closely watched contest into a new period of uncertainty at a consequential moment for the city.

For the Board of Elections, which has long been plagued by dysfunction and nepotism, this was its first try at implementing ranked-choice voting on a citywide scale. Skeptics had expressed doubts about the board’s ability to pull off the process, though it is used successfully in other cities.

Under ranked-choice voting, voters can list up to five candidates on their ballots in preferential order. If no candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes in the first round, the winner is decided by a process of elimination: As the lower-polling candidates are eliminated, their votes are reallocated to whichever candidate those voters ranked next, and the process continues until there is a winner.

The Board of Elections released preliminary, unofficial ranked-choice tabulations on Tuesday afternoon, showing that Adams — who had held a significant advantage on primary night — was narrowly ahead of Kathryn Garcia in the ballots cast in person during early voting or on Primary Day. Maya Wiley, who came in second place in the initial vote count, was close behind in third place. The board then took down the results and disclosed the discrepancy.

The results may well be scrambled again: Even after the Board of Elections sorts through the preliminary tally, it must count around 124,000 Democratic absentee ballots. Once they are tabulated, the board will take the new total that includes them and run a new set of ranked-choice elimination rounds, with a final result not expected until mid-July.

Some Democrats, bracing for an acrimonious new chapter in the race, are concerned that the incremental release of results by the Board of Elections — and the discovery of an error — may stir distrust of ranked-choice voting and of the city’s electoral system more broadly.

In a statement late Tuesday night, Wiley laced into the Board of Elections, calling the error “the result of generations of failures that have gone unaddressed,” and adding: “Sadly it is impossible to be surprised.”

“Today, we have once again seen the mismanagement that has resulted in a lack of confidence in results, not because there is a flaw in our election laws, but because those who implement it have failed too many times,” she said. “The BOE must now count the remainder of the votes transparently and ensure the integrity of the process moving forward.”

Garcia said the release of the inaccurate tally was “deeply troubling and requires a much more transparent and complete explanation.”

“Every ranked choice and absentee vote must be counted accurately so that all New Yorkers have faith in our democracy and our government,” she said. “I am confident that every candidate will accept the final results and support whomever the voters have elected.”

And Adams noted the “unfortunate” error by the Board of Elections and emphasized the importance of handling election results correctly.

“It is critical that New Yorkers are confident in their electoral system, especially as we rank votes in a citywide election for the first time,” he said in a statement released Tuesday night. “We appreciate the board’s transparency and acknowledgment of their error. We look forward to the release of an accurate, updated simulation, and the timely conclusion of this critical process.”

If elected, Adams would be the city’s second Black mayor, after David Dinkins. Some of Adams’ supporters have already cast the ranked-choice process as an attempt to disenfranchise voters of color, an argument that intensified among some backers on Tuesday afternoon as the race had appeared to tighten, and is virtually certain to escalate should he lose his primary night lead to Garcia, who is white.

Surrogates for Adams have suggested without evidence that an apparent ranked-choice alliance between Garcia and another rival, Andrew Yang, could amount to an attempt to suppress the votes of Black and Latino New Yorkers; Adams himself claimed that the alliance was aimed at preventing a Black or Latino candidate from winning the race.

In the final days of the race, Garcia and Yang campaigned together across the city, especially in neighborhoods that are home to sizable Asian American communities, and appeared together on campaign literature.

To advocates of ranked-choice voting, the round-by-round shuffling of outcomes is part of the process of electing a candidate with broad appeal. But if Garcia or Wiley were to prevail, the process — which was approved by voters in a 2019 ballot measure — would likely attract fresh scrutiny, with some of Adams’ backers and others already urging a new referendum on it.

By Tuesday night, though, it was the Board of Elections that was attracting ire from seemingly all corners.

Betsy Gotbaum, the city’s former public advocate who now runs Citizens Union, a good-government group, warned that “the entire country is watching” the Board of Elections. “New Yorkers deserve elections, and election administrators, that they can have the utmost faith in,” Gotbaum added.

A comparison between first-place vote totals released on primary night and those released Tuesday offered some insight into how the 135,000 erroneous votes were distributed. The bottom four candidates received a total of 42,000 new votes, roughly four times their actual vote total; the number of write-in ballots also skyrocketed to 17,516 from 1,336. Adams and Yang received the highest number of new votes.

It was not known, however, how the test votes were reallocated during the ranked-choice tabulations, making it impossible to determine how they affected the preliminary results that were released and then retracted.

When accurate vote counts are in place, it is difficult, but not unheard-of for a trailing candidate in a ranked-choice election to eventually win the race through later rounds of voting — that happened in Oakland, California, in 2010, and nearly occurred in San Francisco in 2018.

The winner of New York’s Democratic primary, who is almost certain to become the city’s next mayor, will face Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, who won the Republican primary.

According to the now-withdrawn tabulation released Tuesday, Wiley, a former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, nearly made it to the final round. She finished closely behind Garcia, the former sanitation commissioner, before being eliminated in the penultimate round of the preliminary exercise.

After the count of in-person ballots last week, Garcia trailed Wiley by about 2.8 percentage points. Asked if she had been in touch with Wiley’s team, Garcia suggested there had been staff-level conversations.

“The campaigns have been speaking to each other,” Garcia said in a phone call Tuesday afternoon, saying the two candidates had not yet spoken directly. “Hopefully we don’t have to step in with attorneys. But it is about really ensuring that New York City’s voices are heard.”

Wiley ran well to the left of Garcia on a number of vital policy matters, including around policing and on some education questions. Either candidate would be the first woman elected mayor of New York, and Wiley would be the city’s first Black female mayor.

Adams, a former police captain and a relative moderate on several key issues, was a non-starter for many progressive voters who may have preferred Garcia and her focus on competence over any especially ideological message.

But early results suggested that Adams had significant strength among working-class voters of color, and some traction among white voters with moderate views.

City Councilman I. Daneek Miller, an Adams supporter who is pressing for a new referendum on ranked-choice voting, suggested in a text message on Tuesday that the system had opened the door to “an attempt to eliminate the candidate of moderate working people and traditionally marginalized communities,” as he implicitly criticized the Yang-Garcia alliance.

“It is incumbent on us now to address the issue of ranked voting and how it is being weaponized against a wide portion of the public,” said Miller, co-chair of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus on the City Council.

Other close observers of the election separately expressed discomfort with the decision to release a ranked-choice tally without accounting for absentee ballots.

“There is real danger that voters will come to believe a set of facts about the race that will be disproven when all votes are in,” said Ben Greenfield, a senior survey data analyst at Change Research, which conducted polling for a pro-Garcia PAC. “The risk is that this could take a system that’s already new and confusing and increase people’s sense of mistrust.”

The New York City mayor’s race plunged into chaos Tuesday night when the city Board of Elections released a new tally of votes in the Democratic mayoral primary and then removed the tabulations from its website after citing a “discrepancy.

The New York City mayor’s race plunged into chaos Tuesday night when the city Board of Elections released a new tally of votes in the Democratic mayoral primary and then removed the tabulations from its website after citing a “discrepancy.” The results released earlier in the day had suggested that the race between Eric Adams and his two closest rivals had tightened significantly. But just a few hours after releasing the preliminary results, the elections board issued a cryptic tweet revealing a “discrepancy” in the report, saying that it was working with its “technical staff to identify where the discrepancy occurred.” By Tuesday evening, the tabulations had been taken down, replaced by a new advisory that the ranked-choice results would be available “starting on June 30.” Then, around 10:30 p.m., the board finally released a statement, explaining that it had failed to remove sample ballot images used to test its ranked-choice voting software. When the board ran the program, it counted “both test and election night results, producing approximately 135,000 additional records,” the statement said. The ranked-choice numbers, it said, would be tabulated again. The extraordinary sequence of events seeded further confusion about the outcome, and threw the closely watched contest into a new period of uncertainty at a consequential moment for the city. For the Board of Elections, which has long been plagued by dysfunction and nepotism, this was its first try at implementing ranked-choice voting on a citywide scale. Skeptics had expressed doubts about the board’s ability to pull off the process, though it is used successfully in other cities. Under ranked-choice voting, voters can list up to five candidates on their ballots in preferential order. If no candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes in the first round, the winner is decided by a process of elimination: As the lower-polling candidates are eliminated, their votes are reallocated to whichever candidate those voters ranked next, and the process continues until there is a winner. The Board of Elections released preliminary, unofficial ranked-choice tabulations on Tuesday afternoon, showing that Adams — who had held a significant advantage on primary night — was narrowly ahead of Kathryn Garcia in the ballots cast in person during early voting or on Primary Day. Maya Wiley, who came in second place in the initial vote count, was close behind in third place. The board then took down the results and disclosed the discrepancy. The results may well be scrambled again: Even after the Board of Elections sorts through the preliminary tally, it must count around 124,000 Democratic absentee ballots. Once they are tabulated, the board will take the new total that includes them and run a new set of ranked-choice elimination rounds, with a final result not expected until mid-July. Some Democrats, bracing for an acrimonious new chapter in the race, are concerned that the incremental release of results by the Board of Elections — and the discovery of an error — may stir distrust of ranked-choice voting and of the city’s electoral system more broadly. In a statement late Tuesday night, Wiley laced into the Board of Elections, calling the error “the result of generations of failures that have gone unaddressed,” and adding: “Sadly it is impossible to be surprised.” “Today, we have once again seen the mismanagement that has resulted in a lack of confidence in results, not because there is a flaw in our election laws, but because those who implement it have failed too many times,” she said. “The BOE must now count the remainder of the votes transparently and ensure the integrity of the process moving forward.” Garcia said the release of the inaccurate tally was “deeply troubling and requires a much more transparent and complete explanation.” “Every ranked choice and absentee vote must be counted accurately so that all New Yorkers have faith in our democracy and our government,” she said. “I am confident that every candidate will accept the final results and support whomever the voters have elected.” And Adams noted the “unfortunate” error by the Board of Elections and emphasized the importance of handling election results correctly. “It is critical that New Yorkers are confident in their electoral system, especially as we rank votes in a citywide election for the first time,” he said in a statement released Tuesday night. “We appreciate the board’s transparency and acknowledgment of their error. We look forward to the release of an accurate, updated simulation, and the timely conclusion of this critical process.” If elected, Adams would be the city’s second Black mayor, after David Dinkins. Some of Adams’ supporters have already cast the ranked-choice process as an attempt to disenfranchise voters of color, an argument that intensified among some backers on Tuesday afternoon as the race had appeared to tighten, and is virtually certain to escalate should he lose his primary night lead to Garcia, who is white. Surrogates for Adams have suggested without evidence that an apparent ranked-choice alliance between Garcia and another rival, Andrew Yang, could amount to an attempt to suppress the votes of Black and Latino New Yorkers; Adams himself claimed that the alliance was aimed at preventing a Black or Latino candidate from winning the race. In the final days of the race, Garcia and Yang campaigned together across the city, especially in neighborhoods that are home to sizable Asian American communities, and appeared together on campaign literature. To advocates of ranked-choice voting, the round-by-round shuffling of outcomes is part of the process of electing a candidate with broad appeal. But if Garcia or Wiley were to prevail, the process — which was approved by voters in a 2019 ballot measure — would likely attract fresh scrutiny, with some of Adams’ backers and others already urging a new referendum on it. By Tuesday night, though, it was the Board of Elections that was attracting ire from seemingly all corners. Betsy Gotbaum, the city’s former public advocate who now runs Citizens Union, a good-government group, warned that “the entire country is watching” the Board of Elections. “New Yorkers deserve elections, and election administrators, that they can have the utmost faith in,” Gotbaum added. A comparison between first-place vote totals released on primary night and those released Tuesday offered some insight into how the 135,000 erroneous votes were distributed. The bottom four candidates received a total of 42,000 new votes, roughly four times their actual vote total; the number of write-in ballots also skyrocketed to 17,516 from 1,336. Adams and Yang received the highest number of new votes. It was not known, however, how the test votes were reallocated during the ranked-choice tabulations, making it impossible to determine how they affected the preliminary results that were released and then retracted. When accurate vote counts are in place, it is difficult, but not unheard-of for a trailing candidate in a ranked-choice election to eventually win the race through later rounds of voting — that happened in Oakland, California, in 2010, and nearly occurred in San Francisco in 2018. The winner of New York’s Democratic primary, who is almost certain to become the city’s next mayor, will face Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, who won the Republican primary. According to the now-withdrawn tabulation released Tuesday, Wiley, a former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, nearly made it to the final round. She finished closely behind Garcia, the former sanitation commissioner, before being eliminated in the penultimate round of the preliminary exercise. After the count of in-person ballots last week, Garcia trailed Wiley by about 2.8 percentage points. Asked if she had been in touch with Wiley’s team, Garcia suggested there had been staff-level conversations. “The campaigns have been speaking to each other,” Garcia said in a phone call Tuesday afternoon, saying the two candidates had not yet spoken directly. “Hopefully we don’t have to step in with attorneys. But it is about really ensuring that New York City’s voices are heard.” Wiley ran well to the left of Garcia on a number of vital policy matters, including around policing and on some education questions. Either candidate would be the first woman elected mayor of New York, and Wiley would be the city’s first Black female mayor. Adams, a former police captain and a relative moderate on several key issues, was a non-starter for many progressive voters who may have preferred Garcia and her focus on competence over any especially ideological message. But early results suggested that Adams had significant strength among working-class voters of color, and some traction among white voters with moderate views. City Councilman I. Daneek Miller, an Adams supporter who is pressing for a new referendum on ranked-choice voting, suggested in a text message on Tuesday that the system had opened the door to “an attempt to eliminate the candidate of moderate working people and traditionally marginalized communities,” as he implicitly criticized the Yang-Garcia alliance. “It is incumbent on us now to address the issue of ranked voting and how it is being weaponized against a wide portion of the public,” said Miller, co-chair of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus on the City Council. Other close observers of the election separately expressed discomfort with the decision to release a ranked-choice tally without accounting for absentee ballots. “There is real danger that voters will come to believe a set of facts about the race that will be disproven when all votes are in,” said Ben Greenfield, a senior survey data analyst at Change Research, which conducted polling for a pro-Garcia PAC. “The risk is that this could take a system that’s already new and confusing and increase people’s sense of mistrust.”

New York mayor’s race in chaos after elections board counts 135,000 test ballots

Rudy Giuliani, the former personal lawyer for former President Donald Trump was suspended from practicing law in New York Court. Watch this report to know more.

New York Court suspends Rudy Giuliani's license to practice law

Legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen returned to Broadway on Saturday night (June 26). The show's first run finished on December 15, 2018, but Springsteen sought to re-open Broadway performances by restarting his show.

The Boss returns to Broadway

New York was called New Amsterdam, Ho Chi Minh City was Saigon. Cities have been named and renamed to suit colonisers and politics. South Africa is now renaming cities. Which other countries have done the same recently? Palki Sharma has a report.

Gravitas: South Africa renames Port Elizabeth

Two children were caught in the middle of a shooting rampage in New York, with bullets whizzing inches away from them. America's rivals have started to take note of this gun epidemic, with Vladimir Putin taking the lead. Palki Sharma gets you a report.

Gravitas: Children caught in New York shooting rampage

A piece of the art weaving together&nbsp;one of the great statesmen of the 20th century, an icon of the jet set and the world's first "super yacht" will go under the hammer at New York auction house Phillips on June 23.

"The Moat, Breccles," a signed 1921 oil landscape by Winston Churchill, is estimated by Phillips at $1.5 million to $2 million, far from the $11.6 million netted by another painting from the wartime British prime minister sold by Angelina Jolie at Christie's last March.

But even if it doesn't shatter records, this landscape -- which Churchill mentioned in a December 1921 essay titled "Painting as a Pastime" -- could appeal to both history and celebrity buffs.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-jenna-coleman-roped-in-for-the-war-rooms-on-winston-churchill%E2%80%99s-secret-whitehall-bunker-381036">Also Read |&nbsp;Jenna Coleman roped in for 'The War Rooms' on Winston Churchill’s secret Whitehall bunker</a>

Churchill kept the painting for 40 years before offering it in 1961, four years before his death, to his friend the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, Phillips Deputy Chairman Jean-Paul Engelen told AFP.

The tycoon was so proud of his gift that he hung it in a place of honor -- behind the bar of his yacht -- alongside works by Vermeer, Gauguin, Le Greco and Pissarro.

<img alt="Jean Paul Engelen, Deputy Chairman and worldwide co-head of 20th century and contemporary art at Phillips Auction House speaks next to &quot;The Moat, Breccles&quot; painting made by Winston Churchill and owned by the Onassis family." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0ae55dfb-b886-4f86-ab25-e5ea914f9cf6" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/000_9CK2W2.jpg" />

Jean Paul Engelen, Deputy Chairman and worldwide co-head of 20th century and contemporary art at Phillips Auction House speaks next to "The Moat, Breccles" painting made by Winston Churchill and owned by the Onassis family. Image Credits: AFP

This super yacht, named "Christina" after Onassis's daughter, was a former Canadian Navy frigate, nearly 100 meters long. It had been a part of the Normandy landings before Onassis bought the ship post-war for $34,000.

Onassis had it lavishly renovated to the tune of $4 million, making it "one of the most incredible structures that floated," Engelen said.

It was a favored gathering spot for the rich and famous, including Elizabeth Taylor, John F. and Jackie Kennedy, Richard Burton, Grace Kelly, J. Paul Getty, Eva Peron and others.

When Onassis died in 1975, seven years after his marriage to Jackie Kennedy, the yacht was sold and everything on board placed in storage, until his heirs recently decided to part with the painting.

To spur interest in the canvas, Phillips has recreated the bar on the "Christina" -- known as Ari's Bar -- in its New York showroom, including facsimiles of its famous whale teeth, and filled the shelves with Pol Roger champagne, Churchill's preferred bubbly.

A piece of the art weaving together one of the great statesmen of the 20th century, an icon of the jet set and the world's first "super yacht" will go under the hammer at New York auction house Phillips on June 23.

A piece of the art weaving together one of the great statesmen of the 20th century, an icon of the jet set and the world's first "super yacht" will go under the hammer at New York auction house Phillips on June 23. "The Moat, Breccles," a signed 1921 oil landscape by Winston Churchill, is estimated by Phillips at $1.5 million to $2 million, far from the $11.6 million netted by another painting from the wartime British prime minister sold by Angelina Jolie at Christie's last March. But even if it doesn't shatter records, this landscape -- which Churchill mentioned in a December 1921 essay titled "Painting as a Pastime" -- could appeal to both history and celebrity buffs. Also Read | Jenna Coleman roped in for 'The War Rooms' on Winston Churchill’s secret Whitehall bunker Churchill kept the painting for 40 years before offering it in 1961, four years before his death, to his friend the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, Phillips Deputy Chairman Jean-Paul Engelen told AFP. The tycoon was so proud of his gift that he hung it in a place of honor -- behind the bar of his yacht -- alongside works by Vermeer, Gauguin, Le Greco and Pissarro. Jean Paul Engelen, Deputy Chairman and worldwide co-head of 20th century and contemporary art at Phillips Auction House speaks next to "The Moat, Breccles" painting made by Winston Churchill and owned by the Onassis family. Image Credits: AFP This super yacht, named "Christina" after Onassis's daughter, was a former Canadian Navy frigate, nearly 100 meters long. It had been a part of the Normandy landings before Onassis bought the ship post-war for $34,000. Onassis had it lavishly renovated to the tune of $4 million, making it "one of the most incredible structures that floated," Engelen said. It was a favored gathering spot for the rich and famous, including Elizabeth Taylor, John F. and Jackie Kennedy, Richard Burton, Grace Kelly, J. Paul Getty, Eva Peron and others. When Onassis died in 1975, seven years after his marriage to Jackie Kennedy, the yacht was sold and everything on board placed in storage, until his heirs recently decided to part with the painting. To spur interest in the canvas, Phillips has recreated the bar on the "Christina" -- known as Ari's Bar -- in its New York showroom, including facsimiles of its famous whale teeth, and filled the shelves with Pol Roger champagne, Churchill's preferred bubbly.

Churchill painting from Onassis superyacht to auction in New York

Sarah Feinberg will be nominated to become the first woman to lead the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the largest public transit system in North America, responsible for running New York City’s subway, buses and two commuter train lines, transit officials said on Tuesday.

Feinberg, 42, a close ally of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has steered the city’s sprawling subway system through the pandemic, which has killed scores of workers and sickened thousands more while decimating the transit system’s ridership and cratering the agency’s finances.

She also oversaw the first overnight shutdown of the subway in its history. The move allowed for intensive cleanings, but some public transit advocates said it went on for too long and hurt essential workers who rely on the trains during off hours.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/biden-administration-moves-to-unkink-supply-chain-bottlenecks-390215" hreflang="en">Biden administration moves to unkink supply chain bottlenecks</a>

Feinberg has urged the city to provide more policing of the subway system and more homeless outreach resources following a spate of high-profile attacks on riders and transit workers in recent months.

But that has also led critics to accuse her of exaggerating crime in the subway and scaring off riders at a time when the system is trying to convince people to return. Subway ridership still stands at less than half of its pre-pandemic level of 5.5 million daily weekday riders.

"I am thrilled to be stepping into a position that allows me to continue to play a significant role in how our subway and bus systems operate, but to also have even more of an impact in shaping the future of the agency, and of transportation in this city and region," Feinberg said in a statement.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-was-scared-biden-would-be-replaced-with-hillary-clinton-or-michelle-obama-book-claims-390209" hreflang="en">Trump was scared Biden would be replaced with Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama, book claims</a>

"There should be no higher priority than ensuring we are doing all we can to bring ridership back — and as ridership comes back, so will the city’s economic recovery."

Cuomo will nominate Feinberg to become the chairwoman of the MTA’s 21-member board, which is appointed by state, city and regional officials. Her nomination would have to be confirmed by the New York state Senate.

Feinberg would replace Patrick J. Foye, the current MTA chairman and chief executive, who is leaving to become interim president and chief executive of Empire State Development, the state’s economic development agency.

Janno Lieber, who oversees the transit agency’s capital projects, will be appointed by Cuomo to take over for Foye as chief executive of the transit agency. He will be in charge of running day-to-day MTA operations and oversee the agency’s ambitious effort to modernize the transit system.

"The COVID crisis proved — once again — that mass transit is New York’s linchpin, in good times and bad,” Lieber said. “Now we need to keep building a system that connects people from all communities to jobs, education and opportunity. I look forward to taking on this important new role and to lead MTA in support of the New York City region’s economic revival."

Foye said he was proud of the way the transit agency had responded to the pandemic, especially the transit workers who made sure that essential workers and emergency responders were able to get to their jobs when much of the city was shut down.

"I know the strong gains we have made will continue," Foye said.

Sarah Feinberg will be nominated to become the first woman to lead the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the largest public transit system in North America, responsible for running New York City’s subway, buses and two commuter train lines, transit officials said on Tuesday.

Sarah Feinberg will be nominated to become the first woman to lead the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the largest public transit system in North America, responsible for running New York City’s subway, buses and two commuter train lines, transit officials said on Tuesday. Feinberg, 42, a close ally of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has steered the city’s sprawling subway system through the pandemic, which has killed scores of workers and sickened thousands more while decimating the transit system’s ridership and cratering the agency’s finances. She also oversaw the first overnight shutdown of the subway in its history. The move allowed for intensive cleanings, but some public transit advocates said it went on for too long and hurt essential workers who rely on the trains during off hours. Also read | Biden administration moves to unkink supply chain bottlenecks Feinberg has urged the city to provide more policing of the subway system and more homeless outreach resources following a spate of high-profile attacks on riders and transit workers in recent months. But that has also led critics to accuse her of exaggerating crime in the subway and scaring off riders at a time when the system is trying to convince people to return. Subway ridership still stands at less than half of its pre-pandemic level of 5.5 million daily weekday riders. "I am thrilled to be stepping into a position that allows me to continue to play a significant role in how our subway and bus systems operate, but to also have even more of an impact in shaping the future of the agency, and of transportation in this city and region," Feinberg said in a statement. Also read | Trump was scared Biden would be replaced with Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama, book claims "There should be no higher priority than ensuring we are doing all we can to bring ridership back — and as ridership comes back, so will the city’s economic recovery." Cuomo will nominate Feinberg to become the chairwoman of the MTA’s 21-member board, which is appointed by state, city and regional officials. Her nomination would have to be confirmed by the New York state Senate. Feinberg would replace Patrick J. Foye, the current MTA chairman and chief executive, who is leaving to become interim president and chief executive of Empire State Development, the state’s economic development agency. Janno Lieber, who oversees the transit agency’s capital projects, will be appointed by Cuomo to take over for Foye as chief executive of the transit agency. He will be in charge of running day-to-day MTA operations and oversee the agency’s ambitious effort to modernize the transit system. "The COVID crisis proved — once again — that mass transit is New York’s linchpin, in good times and bad,” Lieber said. “Now we need to keep building a system that connects people from all communities to jobs, education and opportunity. I look forward to taking on this important new role and to lead MTA in support of the New York City region’s economic revival." Foye said he was proud of the way the transit agency had responded to the pandemic, especially the transit workers who made sure that essential workers and emergency responders were able to get to their jobs when much of the city was shut down. "I know the strong gains we have made will continue," Foye said.

First woman is named to run New York’s transit agency

From cheesecake at Junior's in Brooklyn to donuts at Krispy Kreme in Times Square, New Yorkers are using their vaccination cards for free perks.

New Yorkers flash vaccine card for freebies

Post-Impressionist artist Vincent Van Gogh's masterpieces come to life in a breathtaking exhibit called "Immersive Van Gogh" at Pier 36, a 70,000-square-foot facility located on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

'It's magic' - hard hat tour of 'Immersive Van Gogh' exhibit dazzles

Students have been the silent sufferers of this pandemic. Graduating students in India are staring at uncertainty. In Mexico, students are protesting in-person learning. Palki Sharma brings you a report.

Gravitas: New York to open schools in full capacity

A grand jury has been convened in New York on Tuesday to launch an investigation into criminal charges on former US President Donald Trump for his business deals and concealing money.

NY prosecutors probing Donald Trump set up grand jury to investigate tax evasions : Report

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Monday landed in New York, as part of his US visit, to meet with senior United States officials, and discuss Covid-related cooperation between the two countries.&nbsp;

Ambassador of India to the UN TS Tirumurti received EAM Jaishankar on his first visit to New York after India entered the UN Security Council.&nbsp;

"Privilege to receive External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar on his first visit to New York after #India entered the UN #SecurityCouncil on 1 January 2021," Ambassador Tirumurti tweeted. &nbsp;

Jaishankar's US visit is slated to last till May 28, the External Affairs Ministry said last week. The Foreign Minister is expected to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York and later, he will hold discussions with his counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington DC, the ministry said. He will also be meeting Cabinet members and Senior Officials of the Administration dealing with the bilateral relationship. &nbsp;

"External Affairs Minister will have two interactions with business forums on economic and Covid-related cooperation between India and the US," said the ministry statement.&nbsp;

India is engaged in talks with various US entities involved in Covid vaccines production and is looking forward to procuring and subsequently producing these vaccines. The issue of vaccine procurement is expected to be a key agenda item during Jaishankar's interaction with US leadership and other stakeholders.&nbsp;

The US has already announced that it is going to distribute 80 million vaccines from its stockpile to countries in need. With India hit badly by the second Covid wave, efforts of New Delhi will focus on getting the maximum and also looking for tie-ups with vaccine developers to produce in India.&nbsp;

US has a stockpile of 60 million Astra Zeneca vaccine doses and also Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson &amp; Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.&nbsp;

US is playing a lead role in assisting India's fight against the COVID-19 virus. It has already provided large oxygen plants, concentrators, critical medicines like Remdesivir and also raw materials for vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII), which is manufacturing Covishield.&nbsp;

US is also backing India sponsored proposal on TRIPS waiver at the WTO. The TRIPS waiver aims to increase global vaccine production in order to take on the challenge of vaccinating the poorest of the poor and save lives.&nbsp;

In October last year, India and South Africa, along with 57 members of WTO proposed a waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS agreement for prevention, containment, and treatment of the coronavirus. EAM Jaishankar met his US counterpart Antony Blinken in early May in London during G7 Foreign Minister's meeting. &nbsp;&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Monday landed in New York, as part of his US visit, to meet with senior United States officials, and discuss Covid-related cooperation between the two countries.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Monday landed in New York, as part of his US visit, to meet with senior United States officials, and discuss Covid-related cooperation between the two countries. Ambassador of India to the UN TS Tirumurti received EAM Jaishankar on his first visit to New York after India entered the UN Security Council. "Privilege to receive External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar on his first visit to New York after #India entered the UN #SecurityCouncil on 1 January 2021," Ambassador Tirumurti tweeted. Jaishankar's US visit is slated to last till May 28, the External Affairs Ministry said last week. The Foreign Minister is expected to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York and later, he will hold discussions with his counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington DC, the ministry said. He will also be meeting Cabinet members and Senior Officials of the Administration dealing with the bilateral relationship. "External Affairs Minister will have two interactions with business forums on economic and Covid-related cooperation between India and the US," said the ministry statement. India is engaged in talks with various US entities involved in Covid vaccines production and is looking forward to procuring and subsequently producing these vaccines. The issue of vaccine procurement is expected to be a key agenda item during Jaishankar's interaction with US leadership and other stakeholders. The US has already announced that it is going to distribute 80 million vaccines from its stockpile to countries in need. With India hit badly by the second Covid wave, efforts of New Delhi will focus on getting the maximum and also looking for tie-ups with vaccine developers to produce in India. US has a stockpile of 60 million Astra Zeneca vaccine doses and also Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. US is playing a lead role in assisting India's fight against the COVID-19 virus. It has already provided large oxygen plants, concentrators, critical medicines like Remdesivir and also raw materials for vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII), which is manufacturing Covishield. US is also backing India sponsored proposal on TRIPS waiver at the WTO. The TRIPS waiver aims to increase global vaccine production in order to take on the challenge of vaccinating the poorest of the poor and save lives. In October last year, India and South Africa, along with 57 members of WTO proposed a waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS agreement for prevention, containment, and treatment of the coronavirus. EAM Jaishankar met his US counterpart Antony Blinken in early May in London during G7 Foreign Minister's meeting. (With inputs from agencies)

EAM Jaishankar arrives in New York to discuss Covid-related cooperation with US officials 

Google on Thursday announced plans of opening its first-ever physical retail store. The store is set to open in New York this year. The store will open in Chelsea neighbourhood this summer. Google has a large regional office here with many of its 11,000 New York employees.

"At the Google Store, customers will be able to browse and buy an extensive selection of products made by Google, ranging from Pixel phones to Nest products, Fitbit devices to Pixelbooks and more," said Google vice president Jason Rosenthal.

"Or they can shop online at GoogleStore.com and pick up their orders in store. Throughout the store, visitors will be able to experience how our products and services work together in a variety of immersive ways, which we're excited to share more about when the doors open."

The move has come amid Google's efforts to take on Apple with hardware product ranging from smartphones to thermostats and follows its acquisition of wearables maker Fitbit.

"The new Google Store is an important next step in our hardware journey of providing the most helpful experience of Google, wherever and whenever people need it," Rosenthal said in a blog post.

While Apple has integrated its physical stores into its marketing strategy, Microsoft last year announced it was permanently closing its retail locations except for a handful that would be used as "experience centers."

(With inputs from agencies)

Google on Thursday announced plans of opening its first-ever physical retail store. The store is set to open in New York this year. The store will open in Chelsea neighbourhood this summer.

Google on Thursday announced plans of opening its first-ever physical retail store. The store is set to open in New York this year. The store will open in Chelsea neighbourhood this summer. Google has a large regional office here with many of its 11,000 New York employees. "At the Google Store, customers will be able to browse and buy an extensive selection of products made by Google, ranging from Pixel phones to Nest products, Fitbit devices to Pixelbooks and more," said Google vice president Jason Rosenthal. "Or they can shop online at GoogleStore.com and pick up their orders in store. Throughout the store, visitors will be able to experience how our products and services work together in a variety of immersive ways, which we're excited to share more about when the doors open." The move has come amid Google's efforts to take on Apple with hardware product ranging from smartphones to thermostats and follows its acquisition of wearables maker Fitbit. "The new Google Store is an important next step in our hardware journey of providing the most helpful experience of Google, wherever and whenever people need it," Rosenthal said in a blog post. While Apple has integrated its physical stores into its marketing strategy, Microsoft last year announced it was permanently closing its retail locations except for a handful that would be used as "experience centers." (With inputs from agencies)

Google set to open its first physical store in New York

Roberto Novo has styled the hair of a constellation of stars, from singer Britney Spears to supermodel Naomi Campbell. But during the pandemic, he's turned his talents to the heads of other very important people, older New Yorkers — and he's done it for free.

Stylist gives free haircuts to older New Yorkers

New&nbsp;York, which has long prided itself on being one of the world's safest cities, is experiencing a surge in&nbsp;crime, with the topic becoming a central theme of a&nbsp;mayoral&nbsp;race&nbsp;set to be decided in June.

Crime&nbsp;was endemic in the Big Apple in the 1970s and 1980s when America's largest metropolis was gripped by a budgetary crisis, but it has been on a continuous downward trend since the mid-1990s.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="Shooting at New York Times Square injures 3, including a child">Shooting at New York Times Square injures 3, including a child</a>

However, the picture has deteriorated drastically since last summer. What initially looked like a byproduct of the movement against police violence following George Floyd's murder and social dislocation caused by the pandemic appears no longer to be the case.

From knife attacks on the subway to a surge in shootings, including in Times Square last weekend, violence is 'definitely up,'&nbsp;says John Pfaff, a criminal law professor at Fordham University.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="New York Police probe 'hate crime' targetting Chinese American man">New York Police probe 'hate crime' targetting Chinese American man</a>

'The spike of 2020 does run the risk of continuing into 2021,'&nbsp;he told AFP.

"I see a huge economic uncertainty, a huge emotional stress, you have institutions that are shut down across the board. All these things are going to contribute to violence and then that violence can be somewhat self-perpetuating going forward," Pfaff added.

New&nbsp;York&nbsp;is gradually beginning to emerge from the coronavirus crisis and unemployment is falling, but&nbsp;crime&nbsp;statistics are far from improving.&nbsp;

The latest figures, released on May 9, showed 505 victims of shootings since the beginning of January, the highest in 10 years. It was up from 275 for the same period in 2020.

There have been 146 murders so far this year, up 40 percent from 2019 when 104 people were killed and up 27 percent on last year.&nbsp;

Officially,&nbsp;crime&nbsp;in the subway is down 43 percent, but many experts note that is misleading as ridership plummeted with the pandemic.

A shooting in broad daylight in Times Square on May 8, which injured two women and a child, propelled&nbsp;rising&nbsp;violent&nbsp;crime&nbsp;to the forefront of the&nbsp;mayoral&nbsp;campaign, six weeks before the Democratic primary on June 22.

The primary effectively nominates the winner of the November election due to the unpopularity of Republicans in&nbsp;New&nbsp;York.

The main candidates -- which include ex-presidential candidate Andrew Yang, Brooklyn president and ex-police officer Eric Adams, and ex-Wall Street executive Raymond McGuire, have all promised decisive action to improve safety if elected.

And during their first virtual debate on Thursday night, the subject kept coming back like a boomerang.

On Friday, Pat Foye, president of the&nbsp;New&nbsp;York&nbsp;transport authority, increased the pressure, demanding 'an immediate injection'&nbsp;of hundreds of police officers at stations, where their presence has already been reinforced in recent weeks.

He even described&nbsp;New&nbsp;York's outgoing mayor, the left-leaning Democrat Bill de Blasio as 'irresponsible,'&nbsp;accusing him of 'ignoring the reality'&nbsp;of passengers.

When asked about it on local radio, De Blasio repeated his mantra:&nbsp;crime&nbsp;will drop with the resumption of economic activity, which is taking shape with almost all pandemic-era restrictions about to be lifted.

He accused Foye of "fear-mongering" at the behest of Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who frequently accuses the mayor of inaction on&nbsp;crime.

Republicans are also trying to use the rise in violence to their advantage. Some in the camp, like Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, present&nbsp;New&nbsp;York&nbsp;as a no-go area, far from the reality on the ground.

Others, especially in Democratic circles, call for perspective.

"Nobody is saying to me, 'I feel so unsafe'," said Susan Kang, professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

'It is a way to shift the political narrative to the issue of police.'

'Even if the&nbsp;crime&nbsp;numbers are growing, the numbers are still quite low,'&nbsp;she added, especially when most US cities have witnessed an increase over the past year.

The movement against police violence has pushed some Democrats to demand a reduction in the budget of the&nbsp;New&nbsp;York&nbsp;police force, which is the largest in the country with around 35,000 officers. They want to see money redirected to underprivileged communities.

Kang regrets that the discussion is now moving towards police deployments being insufficient.

"Times Square has a significant presence of police officers already. To what extent would more police officers improve the situation?" she asked.

Whatever approach is taken, the situation is 'only going to get worse in the next few weeks,'&nbsp;believes Christopher Herrmann, another expert at John Jay.

'The&nbsp;new&nbsp;mayor is going to walk in with this pile of bad news on his desk,'&nbsp;he said.

New York, which has long prided itself on being one of the world's safest cities, is experiencing a surge in crime, with the topic becoming a central theme of a mayoral race set to be decided in June.

New York, which has long prided itself on being one of the world's safest cities, is experiencing a surge in crime, with the topic becoming a central theme of a mayoral race set to be decided in June. Crime was endemic in the Big Apple in the 1970s and 1980s when America's largest metropolis was gripped by a budgetary crisis, but it has been on a continuous downward trend since the mid-1990s. Also read: Shooting at New York Times Square injures 3, including a child However, the picture has deteriorated drastically since last summer. What initially looked like a byproduct of the movement against police violence following George Floyd's murder and social dislocation caused by the pandemic appears no longer to be the case. From knife attacks on the subway to a surge in shootings, including in Times Square last weekend, violence is 'definitely up,' says John Pfaff, a criminal law professor at Fordham University. Also read: New York Police probe 'hate crime' targetting Chinese American man 'The spike of 2020 does run the risk of continuing into 2021,' he told AFP. "I see a huge economic uncertainty, a huge emotional stress, you have institutions that are shut down across the board. All these things are going to contribute to violence and then that violence can be somewhat self-perpetuating going forward," Pfaff added. New York is gradually beginning to emerge from the coronavirus crisis and unemployment is falling, but crime statistics are far from improving. The latest figures, released on May 9, showed 505 victims of shootings since the beginning of January, the highest in 10 years. It was up from 275 for the same period in 2020. There have been 146 murders so far this year, up 40 percent from 2019 when 104 people were killed and up 27 percent on last year. Officially, crime in the subway is down 43 percent, but many experts note that is misleading as ridership plummeted with the pandemic. A shooting in broad daylight in Times Square on May 8, which injured two women and a child, propelled rising violent crime to the forefront of the mayoral campaign, six weeks before the Democratic primary on June 22. The primary effectively nominates the winner of the November election due to the unpopularity of Republicans in New York. The main candidates -- which include ex-presidential candidate Andrew Yang, Brooklyn president and ex-police officer Eric Adams, and ex-Wall Street executive Raymond McGuire, have all promised decisive action to improve safety if elected. And during their first virtual debate on Thursday night, the subject kept coming back like a boomerang. On Friday, Pat Foye, president of the New York transport authority, increased the pressure, demanding 'an immediate injection' of hundreds of police officers at stations, where their presence has already been reinforced in recent weeks. He even described New York's outgoing mayor, the left-leaning Democrat Bill de Blasio as 'irresponsible,' accusing him of 'ignoring the reality' of passengers. When asked about it on local radio, De Blasio repeated his mantra: crime will drop with the resumption of economic activity, which is taking shape with almost all pandemic-era restrictions about to be lifted. He accused Foye of "fear-mongering" at the behest of Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who frequently accuses the mayor of inaction on crime. Republicans are also trying to use the rise in violence to their advantage. Some in the camp, like Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, present New York as a no-go area, far from the reality on the ground. Others, especially in Democratic circles, call for perspective. "Nobody is saying to me, 'I feel so unsafe'," said Susan Kang, professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. 'It is a way to shift the political narrative to the issue of police.' 'Even if the crime numbers are growing, the numbers are still quite low,' she added, especially when most US cities have witnessed an increase over the past year. The movement against police violence has pushed some Democrats to demand a reduction in the budget of the New York police force, which is the largest in the country with around 35,000 officers. They want to see money redirected to underprivileged communities. Kang regrets that the discussion is now moving towards police deployments being insufficient. "Times Square has a significant presence of police officers already. To what extent would more police officers improve the situation?" she asked. Whatever approach is taken, the situation is 'only going to get worse in the next few weeks,' believes Christopher Herrmann, another expert at John Jay. 'The new mayor is going to walk in with this pile of bad news on his desk,' he said.

Rising crime takes centre stage in New York mayoral race

Pablo Picasso's "Woman sitting by a window (Marie-Therese)" sold Thursday for $103.4 million at Christie's in New York, the auction house said.

The painting, completed in 1932, was sold for $90 million, which rose to $103.4 million when fees and commissions were added, after 19 minutes of bidding, Christie's said.

The sale confirms the vitality of the art market despite the Covid-19 pandemic -- but also the special status of Picasso, who was born in 1881 and died in 1973.

The same painting was acquired only eight years ago at a London sale for 28.6 million pounds, or about $44.8 million, less than half the price offered Thursday.

Five works by the Spanish painter have now crossed the symbolic threshold of $100 million.

Even before this sale, he was already alone at the top of this very exclusive club with four paintings, including "Women of Algiers," which holds the record for a Picasso, at $179.4 million in 2015.

This is the first time in two years that work has broken the $100 million mark, since a copy of Claude Monet's "Meules" series reached $110.7 million at Sotheby's, also in New York.

On Tuesday, the painting "In This Case" by the American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat sold for $93.1 million at Christie's in the first of the major spring sales, one of the two most important events in the auction world.

Pablo Picasso's "Woman sitting by a window (Marie-Therese)" sold Thursday for $103.4 million at Christie's in New York, the auction house said. The painting, completed in 1932, was sold for $90 million, which rose to $103.

Pablo Picasso's "Woman sitting by a window (Marie-Therese)" sold Thursday for $103.4 million at Christie's in New York, the auction house said. The painting, completed in 1932, was sold for $90 million, which rose to $103.4 million when fees and commissions were added, after 19 minutes of bidding, Christie's said. The sale confirms the vitality of the art market despite the Covid-19 pandemic -- but also the special status of Picasso, who was born in 1881 and died in 1973. The same painting was acquired only eight years ago at a London sale for 28.6 million pounds, or about $44.8 million, less than half the price offered Thursday. Five works by the Spanish painter have now crossed the symbolic threshold of $100 million. Even before this sale, he was already alone at the top of this very exclusive club with four paintings, including "Women of Algiers," which holds the record for a Picasso, at $179.4 million in 2015. This is the first time in two years that work has broken the $100 million mark, since a copy of Claude Monet's "Meules" series reached $110.7 million at Sotheby's, also in New York. On Tuesday, the painting "In This Case" by the American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat sold for $93.1 million at Christie's in the first of the major spring sales, one of the two most important events in the auction world.

Picasso painting 'Woman sitting by a window (Marie-Therese)' sells for $103.4 million

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday that New Yorkers will receive free train rides in subway stations if they get vaccinated against COVID-19, as part of a move to speed up immunizations.

New York City offers free subway rides in exchange for COVID-19 vaccination

A shooting in New York's bustling Times Square injured a four-year-old girl and two women, in the latest incident of gun violence in the city.

New York Times Square shooting leaves three injured

New&nbsp;York&nbsp;Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a major easing of coronavirus restrictions Monday, including the imminent resumption of 24-hour&nbsp;operations&nbsp;on the city&nbsp;subway.

The announcement highlights how far the Big Apple, once the epicentre of the United States's outbreak, has come in getting the virus under control.

From May 19, percentage limits on occupancy will be scrapped for many business and cultural venues in the city,&nbsp;including shops, restaurants, cinemas and museums, Cuomo said.

These limits currently vary between 33 and 75 per cent capacity.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="EU set to let vaccinated US tourists visit this summer">EU set to let vaccinated US tourists visit this summer</a>

Businesses will be allowed to welcome as many people as they want provided six feet of social distancing is maintained, as recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It's fully open, subject to six feet," Cuomo told reporters. The six-feet rule does not apply if all customers provide proof of vaccination or a negative test.

"All the arrows are pointing in the right direction," he added, pointing to declining Covid-19 positivity rates and hospitalizations, which are at their lowest since November, and rising vaccination levels.

Outdoor gathering limits will double from 250 to 500 people, while 250 people will be able to get together indoors, up from 100.

Larger gatherings will be allowed if everyone in attendance is either vaccinated or recently tested negative.&nbsp;

The announcement paves the way for&nbsp;New&nbsp;York's famous theaters to plan their return.

"We look forward to reopening at full capacity and are working to safely welcome audiences and employees back to Broadway theatres this fall," said the Broadway League trade association.

Large-scale indoor event venues will be able to operate at 30 percent capacity, up from 10 percent currently, while outdoor sports stadia will operate at 33 percent.

Cuomo said underground trains services in the Big Apple will resume around the clock on May 17.

In May 2020, when&nbsp;New&nbsp;York&nbsp;was being ravaged by the disease, services were halted overnight to allow for trains to be disinfected. Services currently stop running between 2:00 am and 4:00 am.

Monday's announcement, made in coordination with the neighboring states of&nbsp;New&nbsp;Jersey and Connecticut, came as 80,000 city government workers returned to offices, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

De Blasio has said he hopes&nbsp;New&nbsp;York&nbsp;City can "fully reopen" by July 1.

Many private employers have yet to set a return date though, and the business districts in Midtown and Wall Street remain deserted with many staff still working from home.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a major easing of coronavirus restrictions Monday, including the imminent resumption of 24-hour operations on the city subway.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a major easing of coronavirus restrictions Monday, including the imminent resumption of 24-hour operations on the city subway. The announcement highlights how far the Big Apple, once the epicentre of the United States's outbreak, has come in getting the virus under control. From May 19, percentage limits on occupancy will be scrapped for many business and cultural venues in the city, including shops, restaurants, cinemas and museums, Cuomo said. These limits currently vary between 33 and 75 per cent capacity. Also read: EU set to let vaccinated US tourists visit this summer Businesses will be allowed to welcome as many people as they want provided six feet of social distancing is maintained, as recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It's fully open, subject to six feet," Cuomo told reporters. The six-feet rule does not apply if all customers provide proof of vaccination or a negative test. "All the arrows are pointing in the right direction," he added, pointing to declining Covid-19 positivity rates and hospitalizations, which are at their lowest since November, and rising vaccination levels. Outdoor gathering limits will double from 250 to 500 people, while 250 people will be able to get together indoors, up from 100. Larger gatherings will be allowed if everyone in attendance is either vaccinated or recently tested negative. The announcement paves the way for New York's famous theaters to plan their return. "We look forward to reopening at full capacity and are working to safely welcome audiences and employees back to Broadway theatres this fall," said the Broadway League trade association. Large-scale indoor event venues will be able to operate at 30 percent capacity, up from 10 percent currently, while outdoor sports stadia will operate at 33 percent. Cuomo said underground trains services in the Big Apple will resume around the clock on May 17. In May 2020, when New York was being ravaged by the disease, services were halted overnight to allow for trains to be disinfected. Services currently stop running between 2:00 am and 4:00 am. Monday's announcement, made in coordination with the neighboring states of New Jersey and Connecticut, came as 80,000 city government workers returned to offices, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio. De Blasio has said he hopes New York City can "fully reopen" by July 1. Many private employers have yet to set a return date though, and the business districts in Midtown and Wall Street remain deserted with many staff still working from home.

New York to lift many COVID-19 restrictions on transit, eateries, museums, theatres

New York City Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a major easing of coronavirus restrictions on Monday, including the imminent resumption of 24-hour operations in the city subway. NYC's subway services will return to return to 24-hour operation from May 17.

New York City's 24-hour Subway service to resume from May 17

Hell's Kitchen Litter Legion founder Catie Savage scouts the New York City streets of the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood for trash explosions, pushing a cart with a cardboard sign reading "TRASH QUEEN OF HELL'S KITCHEN."

'Trash Queen of Hell's Kitchen' cleans up New York

New York City is all set to reopen fully from July 1 after more than a year of COVID-19 induced closures and capacity restrictions. Mayor Bill de Blasio cited strong Coronavirus vaccination numbers in the city as a reason for the reopening.

New York City plans to fully reopen July 1 says Mayor Bill de Blasio

Federal investigators raided the New York apartment of former US President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani early on Wednesday as part of a probe into his dealings in Ukraine.

Trump's Ex lawyer Rudy Giuliani's apartment searched in federal investigation

In a soaring cathedral on New York City's Upper West Side, a lone woman demonstrates yoga movements in front of a video camera for the church's twice a month virtual yoga sessions. The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, at 121,000 square feet (11,241 square meters), is the sixth largest church in the world.

'A little bit of peace' - Yoga inside the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York

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