Welcome to Fun City.

“Fun City” isn’t just a sardonic, subversive nickname for New York City accidentally coined by vertically gifted former Mayor John Lindsay in the 1960s, as New York slid into decrepitude.

Now, it’s also a weekly email about New York City and state politics and history!

Every City Council seat is about to turn over, and the city’s going to have a new mayor, new comptroller, new borough presidents and a new Manhattan D.A. Local news reporters are stretched too thin to cover both campaigns and policy, in depth.

I’ll use this space each week for an investigation or explanation of a current local political issue, whether it’s a guide to what to watch in a local election, a roadmap to understanding the key special interests or lobbyists galvanizing or blocking legislation in the city and in Albany, or providing historical context for some of the city’s bizarre political rituals and deeply…idiosyncratic characters.

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About me

I’m Laura Nahmias. For the last two years, I’ve been a member of the Editorial Board at the Daily News, where my colleagues and I wrote daily opinion pieces on city, state, national and world issues. Before that, I wrote POLITICO New York’s daily Playbook, and covered New York City and state politics.

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