ELINOR TATUM … 1

DAVID DINKINS DIES

Late the evening of Nov. 23, former New York City Mayor David Dinkins died at 93, less than two months after his wife, Joyce Dinkins, died at 89. David Dinkins was the city’s first and only Black mayor, serving one term from 1990 through 1993. At the time that Dinkins was elected mayor, the city was experiencing extraordinarily high crime rates, enormous budget deficits and racial tensions, making his job particularly hard. While he managed to revitalize parts of the city during his time in office, many felt that his handling of the Crown Heights riots in 1991 was one of the biggest reasons why Dinkins lost his reelection to Rudy Giuliani. However, Dinkins himself felt that his being voted out of office was due to racism. The former mayor taught at Columbia University and

DANCE TILL YOU DROP

While much of New York has hunkered down for the past eight months, eschewing parties and gatherings with people outside their “pods,” a vibrant – and now illegal – underground nightlife has thrived. New York magazine depicted one such “sin city” scene on its cover last week – the same week Gov. Andrew Cuomo acknowledged his 10-person limit on private gatherings is unenforceable.

“The example Mayor David Dinkins set for all of us shines brighter than the most powerful lighthouse imaginable.”

– Attorney General Letitia James, on Dinkins’ death at age 93, via The New York Times

“Before Yes We Can, He Did. Rest In Peace, Mr. Mayor. ”

– State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, on Dinkins’ passing, via Twitter hosted a radio show on WLIB as well as consulting other politicians following his time in office.

STATE SENATE SUPERMAJORITY

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea StewartCousins said her conference will have a supermajority of 42 members in 2021. “It will be the biggest Senate majority conference in the history of New York state,” Stewart-Cousins said during a press conference in Albany. “We defended seats downstate and we made incredible gains. We have flipped seats upstate and in western New York, and you have to consider that’s extraordinary because of the gerrymandered way the districts are drawn.”

The Assembly Democrats have long had a supermajority, which means that both houses will have significantly more power and will no longer need the support of Republicans to override Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s vetoes. Should the Legislature’s Democratic supermajority hold in the coming year, Democrats will have the ability to create new district lines in 2022.

POLLY TROTTENBERG RESIGNS

New York City Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg announced she would be leaving her post of seven years