Welcome back to The Weekly Wrap, our Friday roundup of stories that explain the problems oppressing people in cities and elevate the solutions bringing us closer to economic, environmental and social justice.

After our staff retreat last week in Gloucester, Virginia’s historic Holly Knoll, we’re back and rejuvenated in our work to bring you more solutions for liberated cities. Let us know what coverage you’d like to see from us over the next year.

Coalition Could Sue to Reinstate NYC Congestion Pricing

Following Gov. Kathy Hochul’s surprise announcement that she will be pausing congestion pricing in New York City mere weeks before it was set to go into effect, the MTA says planned accessibility upgrades to the subway will be delayed or downgraded.

The plan to toll vehicles entering Manhattan under 59th Street was passed in 2019 and was set to go into effect at the end of June, expected to bring in $1 billion of revenue a year for the MTA which would help facilitate $15 billion in bonds for long-term repair and construction.

The City reports that a legal agreement the MTA reached in 2022 to make nearly all subways accessible by 2055 will be delayed. The delayed accessibility upgrades could factor into lawsuits against Hochul’s scuttling of congestion pricing, according to NYC Comptroller Brad Lander. On Wednesday, Lander promised a lawsuit if the plan did not go into effect on June 30 and said disabled New Yorkers could have legal standing for a class action lawsuit. Other attorneys planning lawsuits have argued that Hochul’s indefinite pause of the program is violates the language of the 2019 law and is illegal.

Justice Denied For Tulsa Race Massacre Victims

Over 100 years after the Tulsa Race Massacre, the two remaining survivors’ chances of seeing justice have narrowed. CNN reports the Oklahoma Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit which argued that three of the survivors should receive reparations for the 1921 massacre, wherein a white mob destroyed 35 city blocks and murdered around 300 Black residents of what was known as Black Wall Street. Survivors made their case for financial compensation under the city’s public nuisance law, but the state’s supreme court said that the law did not allow for the redress they were seeking. The court acknowledged that the “grievance with the social and economic inequities created by the Tulsa Race Massacre is legitimate and worthy of merit.” Of the three survivors who filed the claim in 2021, only two are still alive. One of them, Viola Ford Fletcher, told CNN, “I would’ve gotten an education, to where I could get a better job, especially being a nurse” if the massacre hadn’t happened.

Baltimore Property Tax Reduction Gets Pushback from Unions

A proposal to cut Baltimore’s property tax rate is receiving pushback from unions and activists who have formed the “Baltimore City is Not For Sale” coalition, The Baltimore Banner reports.

The proposal floated by elected officials, building owners and a fiscally conservative think tank would reduce the city’s property tax rate over the next seven years, nearly cutting it in half by 2031. Proponents of the tax cut believe it would lower homeownership costs and incentivize development, potentially bringing in new residents. But if those residents don’t arrive and replenish the tax base, the costs to the city’s general fund would be enormous, leading to likely cuts in services.

Among the opponents to the tax cut are the firefighters union, which says the cuts would lead to firehouses closing. Analyst Chris Meyer with the Maryland Center on Economic Policy said the city would need to gain 325,000 residents in seven years for the plan to pay for itself, which he called “fantasy.” According to the Banner, among the largest donors to a ballot campaign for the tax cut were real estate developers and landlord trade groups.

Consumer Agency Proposes Limiting Who Sees Medical Debt

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed a rule to remove medical debt from credit reports. The rule would prohibit lenders from using medical debt when making loan decisions and prohibit credit reporting companies from sharing medical debt information with lenders.

In a statement, CFPB president Rohit Chopra said medical debts “have little to no predictive value when it comes to repaying other loans.” The practice of sharing medical debt information was originally outlawed by Congress in 2003, but an exception was made by federal agencies. The CFPB said that closing that loophole would lead to 22,000 additional mortgages issued a year.

A 2022 CFPB report found that $88 billion worth of medical debt existed on credit reports. The three major credit reporting companies — Experian, Transunion and Equifax — reached a deal with the federal government that year to remove medical debt from its credit reports.

NYC Could be Largest City To Vote on Ceasefire

New York City could soon be the largest city in America to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, The Forward reports, eclipsing cities including San Francisco and Chicago. A draft of the language hasn’t yet been shared with the city council, per the Forward, but 18 members of the 51 member body have already called for an end to fighting.

According to the New York Post, some council members are already angry over being asked to choose sides, though a U.S.-sponsored ceasefire resolution was passed by the United Nations Security Council this week. (The U.S. previously vetoed three U.N. ceasefire resolutions.)

Meanwhile, the U.N. documented 5,690 “grave violations by the Israeli army against children, adding it to a list of nations that harm children. A damning new U.N. report also found Hamas-led militants committed war crimes by attacking civilians on Oct. 7, including children, and that Israel had committed “crimes against humanity,” including “extermination; murder, gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys; forcible transfer; and torture and inhuman and cruel treatment.” It also found Israel had killed at least 14 Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 under the Hannibal Directive, which the army said it would stop following in 2016.

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Curated by Aysha Khan

MORE NEWS

• Evanston sued for paying hundreds of Black residents $25,000 in reparations. The Washington Post

• A bill signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis will curb the power and excesses of Florida’s HOAs. The Guardian

• Gov. Hochul considering banning people from wearing masks on NYC subways. Gothamist

• A hotshot corporate lawyer got angry about illegal evictions in Dallas — and then did something about it. Texas Monthly

• More cities are banning right turns on red in response to rising pedestrian deaths. NPR

EVENTS

• Tuesday, June 11 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern: Next City is hosting a webinar that will delve into the final push to allocate remaining funds from the American Rescu Plan Act (ARPA) and explore the enduring impacts of this significant investment in local governments. Register here.

• June 21-25: City Parks Alliance and Seattle Parks and Recreation will host Greater & Greener, a conference exploring parks as city-building tools, in Seattle this month. Register here.

• Tuesday, June 25 at noon Eastern: The Coalition for Smarter Growth will host a discussion about its “Blueprint for a Better Region” in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Register here.