The January Indypendent Is Loaded
The cost of milk. Up. The cost of a carton of milk. Up. The cost of going out to eat. Up. The cost of rent. Up. Health insurance premiums. Up. Millions of Americans took out their frustration over the ever-increasing cost of life’s necessities by voting for Donald Trump who has no serious plans to address any of this and will likely make things worse if he follows through with the tariffs and mass deportations he’s promised.
So what would it look like if the power of government was actually wielded to help make life easier and more affordable for the working class?
In our January cover story, we look at the insurgent mayoral campaign of Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist elected to the state legislature from Queens in 2020. The Democratic primary will be held in June. Mamdani top-line proposals are a four-year rent freeze for NYC’s two million rent-stabilized tenants, free universal child care up to age 6, free bus fares and city-operated grocery stores that wouldn’t have an incentive to price gouge their customers.
We also look at the role of the powerful New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America which is mobilizing at an unprecedented scale to back Mamdani’s campaign. It remains to be seen if it will succeed. However, at a moment when many liberals and progressives are despairing over the presidential election results and what’s to come, NYC-DSA and its candidate are leaning into a hopeful, optimistic vision of what life in America’s largest city could be like.
By John Tarleton
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NEW YORK CITY
Policing, Real Estate and NYC’s MAGA Mayor
As his popularity plummets in New York City, Eric Adams appears well on his way to becoming a future star in the MAGAverse.
By Tom Angotti
Timid prosecutors were their own worst enemy in the trial of the white vigilante who was caught on video choking Jordan Neely to death in a crowded subway car.
By Eileen Weitzman
Columbia & NYU’s $327 Million Tax Break Targeted
The money would go instead to the cash-strapped City University of New York which serves more than 200,000 poor and working class students.
By Eric Santomauro-Stenzel
Meet The Indypendent’s Distro Heroes
Meet four of the Indy volunteers who help us manage the neighborhood-level distribution of our free monthly print newspaper. If you would like to join the team, email contact@indypendent.org.
INTERNATIONAL
The Underground Network Helping Gazan Refugees Survive in Egypt
A patchwork of mutual aid organizations has sprung up to tackle the severe problems facing people fleeing genocide.
By Amba Guerguerian
Petrostate Stalemate: COP 29 Report Back
An inside look at this year’s annual U.N. climate conference held in oil-rich Azerbaijan.
By Renée Feltz
Biden urged to ease Cuba sanctions before leaving office.
By Danny Valdes
MORE INDY COVERAGE
Kamala Harris’s crushing defeat is a reminder that liberal identity politics can’t defeat Trump’s rightwing populism. Something more radical is needed.
By Nicholas Powers
Some Republican Leaders Are Looking for Ways to Slash Social Security
Social Security is the most effective anti-poverty program in U.S. history. Will the Democrats fight to save the crown jewel of their New Deal legacy?
By Eric Laursen
How Economic Power Works in the World
If you don’t have time to read Martin Daunton’s 1,024 epic on how the modern global economy has been shaped over the past 90 years, we’ve got you covered.
By Bennett Baumer
No justice for Jordan Neely and coping with the winter blues.
INDY WINTER FUND DRIVE
We need your help. We are currently in the middle of our annual winter fund drive. We have raised about one-fourth of our goal of $50,000 but are lagging behind where we were this time last year. Can you help us catch up? We do this fund appeal once a year. It’s when we ask our readers to step up, support the crucial work we are doing and help us enter the new year on sound financial footing. It’s your giving that will continue to make possible the kind of incisive, well-reported grassroots journalism cited above.
To make an annual contribution or to become a monthly sustainer, go to indypendent.org/donate or send a check or money order to: The Indypendent/388 Atlantic Ave., 2nd Floor/Brooklyn, NY 11217
In Solidarity,
The Indypendent Team