City Limits staff talk about the biggest stories in the last 12 months; TurboVax creator Huge Ma discusses his 2022 run for State Assembly in Queens.
Ese Olumhense, Jarrett Murphy, Adi Talwar, Governor’s Office
Scenes from 2021 in New York City: Eric Adams on election night, Hurricane Ida floods, the vaccine rollout and Cuomo’s final days in office.
A lot can happen in the span of 12 months.
Back on Jan. 1, Andrew Cuomo was sitting comfortably in the Governor’s Mansion, planning his bid for a fourth term in Albany. Mayor Bill de Blasio was beginning his final year in office, with Andrew Yang the frontrunner to replace him. And Donald Trump was trying to reverse the results of the presidential election, with far-right extremists still a few days away from rioting in the Capitol.
A year later, Cuomo is out. De Blasio is set to announce a bid for governor. And Trump is, well, still lying about the results of the presidential election.
Closer to home, there’s a new class of city councilmembers taking office—and for the first time, most of them are women, including new Speaker Adrienne Adams. Mayor-elect Eric Adams is ready to move into Gracie Mansion and take over a city struggling with record-high COVID-19 cases, a pandemic-afflicted economy, a rising murder rate and an ongoing homelessness crisis.
Much has changed over the past year, but one thing certainly hasn’t: For the 45th year City Limits covered the most important stories in the city and state. We have continued documenting movements for tenants’, workers’ and immigrants’ rights, uncovering problems in the city’s response to homelessness and holding officials accountable to their rezoning promises.
On Sunday, City Limits Executive Editor Jeanmarie Evelly joined City Watch on WBAI 99.5 FM to reflect on the most memorable stories of the past year and to look ahead to 2022.
She also discussed City Limits’ 45th Anniversary, including her comprehensive “45 Stories, 45 Years” project and her weekly Flashback Friday series.
In addition to Evelly, the Dec. 26 episode featured an interview with Queens Assembly candidate Huge Ma, the software engineer who created the TurboVax Twitter account that helped thousands of New Yorkers make their vaccine appointments.
As City Limits’ Ese Olumhense reported earlier this month, Ma is willing to trade his folk hero status for a seat in the state legislature, where he will be ridiculed by political opponents and yelled at by the neighbors he wants to represent.
Be sure to stick with City Watch and City Limits in 2022. It’s going to be an exciting year.
The post City Watch: Looking Back at NYC in 2021 & to the Year Ahead appeared first on City Limits.