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The Brief

NEW YORK - Some New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents say they have been left out of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s "rental ripoff" hearings.

What we know:

Dozens organized meetings of their own to air longstanding complaints about public housing conditions.

The ripoff hearings were created to give renters a platform to tell city leaders about problems such as lack of heat, leaks, mold and other hazardous conditions, and to call out negligent landlords.

But several NYCHA tenants say they were not directly invited to participate.

NYCHA residents speak out

About 50 people gathered at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club at the Throgs Neck Houses in the Bronx for a meeting organized by residents. Michelle Solomon, who lives at the Castle Hill Houses, described ongoing pest problems in her apartment.

What they're saying:

"I heard from the mayor’s office and they say, well, NYCHA residents [are] not excluded from the conversation, but NYCHA residents [weren't] included in the conversation," Rev. Kevin McCall, founder of the Crisis Action Center said at meeting in the Bronx.

Another resident criticized the mayor’s focus on private landlords.

"The first town hall meetings he decides to host is about landlords, but he forgot to deal with the landlord in his own backyard," McCall said, referring to the city’s oversight of public housing.

The other side:

A spokesperson for City Hall said the mayor has been clear that no one will be turned away from the hearings.

Still, NYCHA residents say they have been raising concerns about housing conditions for years and want their voices heard.

"Now we have mices and roaches, and they come in from underneath your door. I can’t live like that. They’re all over my clothes," Solomon said.

Other residents said repair requests have gone unresolved for years.

"Most of the tenants have tickets that was made for complaints since 2019, and the repairs still haven’t been made," another tenant said.

Residents argue that conditions in public housing are among the worst in the city and say they want a seat at the table as the administration addresses housing issues.

Mamdani's response

The mayor’s office said it plans to roll out additional engagement opportunities focused specifically on NYCHA residents. In the meantime, public housing tenants are welcome to RSVP for upcoming hearings.

What's next:

Organizers of the Bronx meeting said they plan to hold similar gatherings in every borough to collect concerns from NYCHA tenants.

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday in Harlem.

The Source: This report is based on information from NYCHA residents.

Syracuse, N.Y. - Volunteer firefighters across the state, including in Onondaga County, are making a push for new state laws to allow volunteers to get paid for their work.

Different ideas are being debated, but the general proposal would allow departments to pay volunteers up to $12,000 a year, said Tony McIntyre, former chief of the North West Fire District, a volunteer department that covers Lysander and Van Buren. That’s about 20% of what a professional firefighter is paid, he said.

It is necessary to pay volunteers to encourage people to join and stay on a job which can be grueling and time-consuming, McIntyre said. Many feel that paying volunteers would make a big difference, he said.

“We feel this is a last-ditch effort to save volunteer fire services in New York State,” McIntyre said.

Departments for decades have had trouble recruiting volunteers with some departments closing or merging, including half a dozen last year. McIntyre said recruiting has somewhat improved, but retaining active volunteers is a bigger problem.

The number of volunteer firefighters has hit a 40-year low, according to fire officials proposing to pay volunteers.

Statewide, the number of volunteers has fallen from around 120,000 in 2000 to 80,000 this year, according to the Firefighters Association of the State of New York (FASNY).

There are 1,800 volunteer departments in New York state and 50 in Onondaga County, according to FASNY.

Volunteer firefighters from across Onondaga County and the state will host a rally at 11 a.m. Thursday at East Syracuse Station 1 at 204 N. Center St. to show their support for paying volunteers.

On Wednesday, Cicero Fire Chief Jim Perrin Jr., who is leading the efforts in Onondaga County alongside McIntyre, went to Albany with other volunteers to meet with lawmakers, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, to ask for support on the nominal compensation push.

McIntyre said volunteers in Onondaga County started having serious conversations about the proposal to pay volunteers in September.

At this point, there is no legislation on the table on how paying volunteers would work or be funded.

FASNY, which lobbies for and represents 80,000 volunteer firefighters, has proposed 14 ways to compensate volunteers which the group believes would be more equitable than allowing departments to pay them directly, said John D’Alessandro, secretary for FASNY. The proposals include increased tax credits, more reimbursement for mileage and other working costs, a childcare tax credit or stipend and property tax credits.

Currently, volunteers receive $200 tax credits and can also pay lower property taxes in some jurisdictions, D’Alessandro said. Some departments also have a pension-like program that pays long-time volunteers small amounts annually.

FASNY wants any proposal to pay volunteers to include a state fund that departments with less money could draw from to pay volunteers.

“We can’t leave anyone behind, or public safety is going to suffer,” D’Alessandro said.

FASNY is concerned that volunteers will leave smaller departments with fewer resources to join larger, wealthier districts that can offer more pay, D’Alessandro said. That could also potentially create tension between departments, the group maintains.

D’Alessandro said the bigger departments need to be thinking about the impact on their smaller neighbors when they support this effort. He said larger, wealthier departments are many of the largest proponents.

McIntyre said many firefighters already leave smaller departments for larger ones because most find the larger departments with more resources better to work at.

McIntyre said that paying firefighters wouldn’t be required, but would just be a tool that departments struggling for retention could use.

Three groups working for laws to pay volunteers with McIntyre’s task force are the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs (NYSAFC), the New York State Fire Coordinators’ Association (NYSFCA), and the Association of Fire Districts of the State of New York (AFDSNY). They have not proposed specific legislation, McIntyre said.

McIntyre and D’Alessandro both said volunteer departments are still the way forward.

Professionalizing the entire state would be very expensive and unrealistic, D’Alessandro said.

D’Alessandro and McIntyre emphasized that they want to pass legislation and that their groups will continue to work toward a resolution.

“Let me be clear, we are not anti-FASNY, I am not anti-FASNY,” McIntyre said. “We just want them to come to the table so we can work on this together.”

D’Alessandro emphasized that FASNY is not against paying firefighters more, they just want to do it in a sustainable way.

“There is no silver bullet here,” he said. “There is no magic solution.”

NEW YORK CITY - As the war in the Middle East intensifies with no clear end in sight, the economic impact is being felt thousands of miles away at gas stations and grocery stores across the United States.

Fuel prices are climbing rapidly, and experts warn that other everyday necessities could soon follow.

By the numbers:

Gas prices are fluctuating daily, and the numbers are quickly trending upward. The national average for a gallon of gas has reached $3.25, marking a $0.28 jump from just a week ago.

A gas station in Long Island City saw prices rise by two cents in a matter of minutes Thursday morning. In New York City, the average price went up eight cents in just one day.

Across the tri-state area, drivers are currently paying an average of $3.07 to $3.22 per gallon:

Drivers are already seeing noticeable differences between stations — sometimes several cents per gallon even within the same neighborhood. Experts warn that drivers should expect these prices to continue climbing as the conflict disrupts global oil movement.

Why the Iran conflict is driving costs higher

Dig deeper:

The disruption extends far beyond gasoline. Cargo ships are currently stuck in the Gulf or are being forced to make lengthy detours around the southern tip of Africa. Meanwhile, planes carrying air cargo out of the Middle East remain grounded.

Oil is a foundational component in manufacturing and shipping, which means prolonged delays will likely lead to shortages and price increases on a wide range of goods.

Affected industries and imports include:

If shipping bottlenecks worsen, consumers could see higher prices and potential shortages in the coming weeks.

Key takeaways:

Wage and hour litigation – disputes over how employees are paid, including overtime, worker classification and timekeeping – remains one of the most active areas of employment law, with little sign of slowing, especially in New York State.

“It’s gone up dramatically, there’s no doubt about it,” said Scott Rogoff, a partner at Barclay Damon who concentrates his practice on labor and employment matters, about the frequency of wage and hour disputes.

While individual wage complaints have long been part of the employment landscape, Rogoff said class and collective actions are appearing with far greater frequency than in years past.

“In the past, it was a one-off,” he said. “But we’re seeing a lot more class claims.”

One of the reasons for this, Rogoff said, is that unlike discrimination or harassment cases, wage and hour disputes often hinge on straightforward calculations.

“It’s direct money, and it’s easily calculable,” Rogoff said, explaining that, for example, if an employee alleges unpaid overtime, damages can typically be determined by payroll records and hours worked without the more subjective components that complicate other employment litigation.

He also points to a more informed workforce, noting that employees today have immediate access to information about wage laws and are increasingly aware of their rights. Add fee-shifting provisions, which allow prevailing employees to recover attorney’s fees, and wage claims become particularly attractive to plaintiffs’ counsel.

Rogoff identifies classification as one of the most significant areas of risk for wage and hour litigation. To address this, he advises clients to conduct a simple but revealing visual exercise: list everyone providing services to the company and identify who is classified as an employee versus an independent contractor. Then, within the employee group, distinguish between exempt and non-exempt workers.

“If you don’t meet all of the requirements, we need to make some adjustments,” Rogoff said. “You can’t ignore this.”

Stephen J. Jones, a partner at Nixon Peabody and leader of the firm’s wage and hour compliance and litigation team, sees similar activity, particularly in New York.

Nationally, filings under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act have declined from their 2015 peak, Jones noted. But that broader trend does not fully reflect what is happening locally.

“New York certainly remains a hotbed,” he said, noting that more Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions are filed in New York than in any other state, with roughly 1,200 filed annually.

One reason is the state’s six-year statute of limitations under New York Labor Law, which allows plaintiffs to pair federal claims with longer-reaching state claims.

“As you can imagine, the potential damages can add up over a six-year period,” Jones said.

In his practice, Jones most frequently encounters three categories of wage and hour disputes: misclassification, regular rate miscalculations, and off-the-clock work.

Misclassification claims often center on whether employees properly qualify as exempt from overtime. Employers bear the burden of proving that both the employee’s duties and salary basis meet exemption requirements — a standard that can be undermined by improper salary deductions or outdated assumptions about job responsibilities.

Regular rate claims arise when employers fail to include all required forms of compensation, such as bonuses or shift differentials, in overtime calculations.

“The regular rate is often higher than the hourly rate that employees get quoted,” Jones explained.

Off-the-clock allegations are also common, particularly where preliminary or post-shift tasks, meal periods, or automatic time deductions fail to capture all hours worked.

To reduce exposure in these areas, Jones recommends forward-thinking compliance efforts, including privileged payroll audits, policy reviews and regular training for managers and human resources personnel.

“Employers must remain proactive and vigilant in their compliance efforts,” he said. “There’s no shortage of wage and hour pitfalls.”

Ryan T. Biesenbach, an associate at Underberg & Kessler with a focus on labor and employment law, said wage and hour claims remain one of the most active areas of employment litigation in New York.

“Wage and hour claims are highly attractive to plaintiffs’ counsel because damages can be aggregated across groups of employees; both federal and New York law allow for liquidated damages (100%), attorneys’ fees, and statutory penalties; and liability is often document-driven rather than credibility-driven,” Biesenbach said.

Employees are also generally more aware of their rights through social media and online resources, he noted. At the same time, “the ever-evolving legal requirements place a significant burden on employers, making it challenging to maintain compliance in an increasingly complex and shifting regulatory landscape.”

Mid-sized employers are particularly vulnerable, he said, because they often outgrow informal HR practices before implementing fully compliant policies and procedures.

Common issues include misclassification errors, such as treating employees as exempt without satisfying both the salary threshold and duties tests, and overreliance on job titles such as “manager” or “administrator” when determining exemption status.

Other recurring issues involve off-the-clock work, including employees answering emails, texts, or calls outside scheduled hours, or remote employees performing work before or after clocking in. Timekeeping inconsistencies, such as failing to record travel time or training time, and pay practices that conflict with the law, can also create exposure.

“Misclassification issues and proper payments of wages, such as overtime, remain the largest areas of risk,” Biesenbach said, noting that liquidated damages can dramatically increase liability for what may be minor or unintentional errors. Add the potential for collective actions involving “similarly situated” employees, and “potential liability can skyrocket.”

To reduce exposure, Biesenbach recommends proactive operational changes, including periodic wage and hour audits to review exempt classifications and confirm that salary thresholds and duties meet legal requirements. Employers should strengthen timekeeping systems, require employees to attest to time accuracy and train managers and supervisors on legal obligations and company practices.

“And, importantly, document everything with respect to employee time and attendance: as New York employers, there are strict record-keeping requirements with respect to employee pay and claims are won and lost in many cases on the availability of accurate, contemporaneous records,” he said.

Caurie Putnam is a Rochester-area freelance writer.

Commuters should brace themselves as heavy rain and some snow will impact the Tri-State Area on Friday morning.

It will be a First Alert Weather Day, and the commute is shaping up to be a slow one.

The rain will be the main issue for most of the region, while areas far north could pick up one to three inches of snow. Roads will be wet, visibility may drop at times, and it's a good idea to give yourself some extra time out the door.

New York weather on Thursday

The morning starts off cloudy with temperatures sitting in the 30s. As we head into the afternoon, it stays mostly cloudy, but we do manage to inch up to around 40 degrees. Not a pretty day, but manageable.

Things start to change again at night. Showers develop to the south and west through the evening. By dawn, rain spreads in, mixing with snow north and west of New York City. If you commute early, plan for damp roads and pockets of slush well outside of the city.

Friday is a damp day

Friday keeps the unsettled trend going. Expect periods of rain and drizzle throughout the day.

Those north and west of the city may start with a wintry mix before everything gradually shifts over to plain rain. Highs top out in the low 40s, so it's chilly, but not cold enough to cause major issues for most.

Snow forecast this weekend

The weekend brings improvement, at least at first.

Saturday looks partly sunny with highs in the mid‑40s, a nice break from the wet stretch. Sunday, however, we're watching a system that has the potential to bring more snow to our area.

Forecasters will have more updates as the weekend system gets closer.

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