The Gotham Conservative

Elon Musk is sitting on the CPAC stage wearing black pants, a black jacket, a black graphic t-shirt and large reflective black frames. On his head, he's wearing what has become his signature black Make America Great Again cap, with MAGA written in Gothic font. Before his feet rests a chainsaw. He's answering questions in an interview format about his political journey, going from "politically neutral, for quite a while", he says, to becoming Donald Trump's right-hand man. Musk says Democrats' attacks on free speech are part of what fuelled his Republican loyalty. Someone from the crowd shouts "I love you", to which Musk responds: "Thanks, I love you too." The sound of the gold chain dangling from his neck clinks and clanks as he shifts in his seat. Almost everyone we've seen here has been dressed in suits, with their eyes clearly visible. It's an unusual vibe at a gathering of America's most devout conservatives...

Attorney General Pam Bondi derided the indictment of Mayor Eric Adams of New York as "incredibly weak" on Thursday, as the Trump administration waits to hear if a judge will grant its request to dismiss the case. The remarks came in an interview with Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington. Eight federal prosecutors have already resigned from the Justice Department in protest over its efforts to dismiss the bribery and corruption charges against the mayor. One of those who stepped down was Danielle Sassoon, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, who said in a letter to Ms. Bondi that the case was well-founded in facts and law. The administration's rationale for dropping the case has shifted over time. At first, the Justice Department's acting No. 2 official, Emil Bove III, who has led the bid for dismissal, said the reasons had nothing to do with the legal merits of the case. Instead, he said, i...

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As a G.O.P. Congressman Takes Aim at Hochul, a Democrat Eyes His Seat Representative Mike Lawler, Republican of New York, is contemplating running for governor next year. Beth Davidson, a Democrat, hopes to win his swing seat in the Hudson Valley.  By

The City Council's conservative Common Sense Caucus met privately with border czar Tom Homan on Thursday to reinforce their support for stepping up deportations of "criminals" in the city, and called on Mayor Eric Adams to take executive action to get rid of the city's sanctuary protections. But one member of the caucus, herself an immigrant from China, was not at the meeting. City Council Member Susan Zhuang, a conservative Democrat who represents the council's first Asian majority district in Brooklyn, expressed a different, more personal perspective on the issue. "I am an immigrant. No one can ever tell me about the challenges faced by newcomers to New York and to this nation," Zhuang wrote in a text, when asked why she wasn't at the meeting. She also said that she had a scheduling conflict. "Decent hardworking people should be left alone. We need them. Not every immigrant is a criminal. Find the criminals and deport them, yes. But le...

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Conservative influencer Ashley St Clair,  who recently grabbed headlines by claiming she secretly gave birth to Elon Musk 's 13th child, has finally broken her silence. Speaking to the New York Post from her swanky Manhattan pad on Saturday, February 15, the 26-year-old commentator spilled all the details about her alleged romance with the Tesla and SpaceX boss. According to her, their relationship started in the DMs. Elon Musk allegedly slid into Ashley St Clair's DMs According to Ashley St Clair, the two first connected in May 2023 on Elon Musk's platform X (formerly Twitter), which he bought for a casual $44 billion in 2022. "Musk was very funny. He was smart. He was very down to earth. It started with X interactions and he slid into my DM's. I think it was a meme," she recalled. At first, she didn't think much of it—she was only mildly interested in him because of his high-profile Twitter takeover . She admitted th...

It's part of the lore of New York City: a place where immigrants from around the world come to try their luck. Their influence is everywhere: from a slice of pizza to the immigrant-owned bodegas blasting bachata music. But in recent months, as the national sentiment continues to be divided on immigation, the mood in New York has also shifted. The city's embattled mayor, Eric Adams, has agreed to collaborate with the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants living in the country without legal status, marking a significant change for a city that has historically welcomed families from around the world. Since the 1980's , New York has been a sanctuary city. That means it limits police cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Adams, who had been facing corruption charges, has lately been warming up to the president: there was a dinner at Mar-a-Lago back in January, right before Trump's inauguration. Last week, the Department of Justice demande...

More and more people from the New York political world are publicly calling for the mayor to step down or be removed. • New York City public advocate Jumaane Williams, who would take over as mayor if Adams resigns or is removed, said Friday that he hoped Adams would resign, noting that "he cannot be the mayor of this city and govern this city the way it needs to be governed." • Queens state senator John Liu called on Governor Hochul to "come to the defense of your constituents" and remove Adams if he doesn't resign. • "Mayor Adams has put this city and all of our people in jeopardy to save himself," Brooklyn borough president Antonio Reynoso also said Friday. "Governor Hochul must end this chaos and remove Eric Adams — now." • On Thursday, Representative Nydia Velazquez called Sassoon's claims "damning" and added that "NYC can't be led by someone under Trump's thumb and willing to sell out New Yorkers...

Andrew Wilkow's discusses the possiblity of illegal aliens voting in New York with Rep. Claudia Tenney in the video above. Wilkow: I realize this is the city and not the state, but I did see a story out of Albany that there is consideration of the state's anti-discrimination laws that could spread this throughout the state. And it won't just be green card holders. It will be people in the country illegally because they want to add national origin as now a protected class. Tenney: Yeah, you can just assume that anything that's gonna happen in New York City is going to happen in the rest of New York. And that's what they're trying to do. That's why this case was brought in, you know, the New York State constitution says every citizen shall be entitled to vote in every election. It doesn't say non-citizen. It doesn't say any of those other things. It specifically says citizen. So, the Democrats are clearly trying to go through the court s...

CNN  â€"  Danielle Sassoon, who resigned from her position as Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, oversaw all investigations into federal crimes in the Southern District of New York, including the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams that the Trump administration has directed be dropped . Related article Acting US attorney in New York and two other prosecutors quit after being told to drop Eric Adams case Sassoon, the acting US attorney for the district, wrote in her resignation letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi that the New York mayor’s attorneys “repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo” to help Trump on immigration if the case was dropped. “I remain baffled by the rushed and superficial process by which this decision was reached, in seeming collaboration with Adams’s counsel and without my direct input on the ultimate stated rationales for dismissal,” Sassoon wrote. In the first prosecution of a sitting mayor in t...

NEW YORK — New York City's business community is trying to make a deal on congestion tolls with the city's most famous businessperson. President Donald Trump pledged during his campaign to kill the new fee to enter Manhattan's business district during his first week in office. But even as he continues to publicly toy with plans to eliminate federal approval of the $9 tolls, he's hesitating — thereby creating an opening for a persuasion campaign to either box him in or bargain. The Partnership for New York City, a leading business consortium that includes CEOs of Pfizer and Tishman Speyer, is trying to salvage the policy known as congestion pricing by using classic Republican arguments about taxes, cutting red tape and states rights. "In every respect, this is a policy that President Trump and the Republicans should be supporting," Kathy Wylde, the industry group's leader, said Monday on WNYC . And so on one of the most contentious issues i...

Last winter, Eileen Kelley received a notice that her landlord was not going to renew her lease when it expired in a few months. After eight years in the East Village, a neighborhood in Manhattan she had come to love for its street markets and parks, Ms. Kelley, 29, confronted the sudden possibility that she might have to leave. But scrolling through TikTok just before her lease ended, she found a video that introduced her to a new, renter-friendly law called " good cause eviction ." Passed by New York State last spring , the legislation prohibits landlords from forcing renters out of their homes just because their lease term is over. The law felt like it could be a lifeline. Ms. Kelley, who works in financial services, told her landlord that she wasn't going to leave. After months of back and forth over email, she finally received a new lease, securing her apartment until at least this coming September. "I was like, 'Wow, the system does work for us,'...

{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}} A member of the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang arrested Tuesday during sweeping immigration raids in New York City was trying to buy grenades, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Wednesday. Noem had joined federal immigration authorities Tuesday in New York City for the sweeps, which officials said were targeting violent criminals in major cities and elsewhere. On Wednesday, Noem addressed the arrest of who she described as a "ringleader" of the Tren de Aragua gang during an appearance on "Fox & Friends." {{#rendered}} {{/rendered}} "He had just been a part of a gun weapons exchange and was trying to buy grenades," Noem said. "Why would anybody in this country need to buy a grenade and go out and perpetuate violence?" NOEM SAYS 'WORST OF THE WORST' ARRESTED IN NYC RAID TARGETING CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS A Venezuelan migrant arrested ...

Metro Man killed in NYC apartment fire as woman, child rushed to hospital: NYPD An early-morning Brooklyn apartment fire left one man dead and two others – including a young boy – in the hospital, police said. Authorities responded to a 911 call about a blaze that broke out in a four-story brick building on 80th Street near Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge at about 3:40 a.m., according to the NYPD. When cops and firefighters arrived, they found an unconscious 37-year-old man whom EMS rushed to NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn. A Brooklyn fire left one man dead and two people – including a child – injured. Seth Gottfried A woman and young boy were brought to the hospital afterward, police said. Seth Gottfried But the victim did not make it, police said. Cops also found an injured 34-year-old woman and a 2-year-old boy, and brought them both to the same hospital in stable condition. The FDNY is investigating the fire’s cause, and the medical examiner will determine the man...

Metro CEO killed in upstate NY skiing mishap: ‘An immense tragedy’ The founder and CEO of a prominent Capital District law firm was killed in a skiing mishap at an upstate ski mountain on Saturday, police and the firm said Sunday. Kevin Colwell, 53, head of the Albany law offices of Colwell Law Group, died after being found severely injured near the Sagamore Trail at Gore Mountain around 11 a.m., state police said in a release . Colwell was identified on Facebook by the firm he founded. Kevin Colwell, 53, founder and CEO of Colwell Law Group, was killed skiing upstate on Saturday, state police said. WNYT “This is an immense tragedy for all of us at the Colwell Law Group,” Jennifer Stevens, chief operating officer at Colwell, said in a statement. “Kevin built not just a business, but a family, and the loss of his presence is felt deeply by all who had the privilege of working wit him.” Police said the injured Colwell was spotted on the slopes, and died despite life-savi...

Metro NYPD chief offered $700 for ‘best dressed’ female underling — then retaliated against cop who refused to participate: suit An NYPD chief held a “best dressed” contest for female subordinates at a precinct holiday party – and then retaliated against an officer who refused to participate, according to a lawsuit.  Manhattan North Commander Ruel Stephenson allegedly offered a $700 prize to “the best dressed woman” at the precinct’s Dec. 13, 2023 Christmas party at the Glen Island Harbor Club in New Rochelle, according to the Manhattan Supreme Court filing. Lt. Mariela Matos-Leo, who works at the 24th Precinct, which shares a building with Manhattan North, skipped the shindig because Stephenson had allegedly been begging her for weeks to attend, making her feel like he had “his sights on making her the conquest” of the event, she said in court papers. The suit filed Friday alleges that Ruel Stephenson, the commanding officer of Patrol Borough Manhattan North, sexuall...

Metro Bird flu hits NYC zoos: 3 Queens Zoo birds dead from virus, 12 at Bronx Zoo being tested Bird flu has hit the zoo. Over a dozen ducks and wild birds at the Queens and Bronx zoos have died, likely all due to the avian flu sweeping the country. Three ducks at the Queens Zoo died after contracting the virus, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates both zoos. Nine wild birds and three ducks from the Bronx Zoo died and are being tested after possible exposure to the avian flu. Brigitte Stelzer Officials are awaiting test results on nine wild birds and three ducks that all died at the Bronx Zoo and may have been exposed to the disease. Vulnerable bird species were moved to protected areas of the parks in recent weeks, the society said in a statement to The Post. “We implemented steps at our four zoos and aquarium to limit exposure of our animals to wild birds, mainly species of waterfowl, known to be significant carriers of avian influenza,” it ad...