City Journal

Incisive commentary on urban policy, politics, and culture. Published by @ManhattanInst and edited by @BrianACity.

[City Journal @CityJournal]

Last year, in the aftermath of Los Angeles’s devastating wildfires, Gavin Newsom promised to speed up “critical” wildfire-prevention projects.

Nearly 100,000 acres of land have been “fast-tracked” for fire management. So far, state-approved groups have completed projects covering less than 1 percent.

@christopherrufo @Shawn_Regan @kennethschrupp's latest: https://t.co/Et3kAYS7qy

[Brandon Fuller @fuller_brandon]

A candidate who interned for an alleged Al Qaeda front & lied in court to protect the Blind Sheikh just won a congressional primary in New Jersey with 27% of the vote. No major opposition. $0 from AIPAC. The Democratic Party has lost control of its own coalition.

@Jesse_Leg and @Danielle_shap in @CityJournal https://t.co/GEqs6cviHf

[City Journal @CityJournal]

A House Appropriations Committee bill would route ~70% of school safety funding to school-based mental-health efforts—even though no evidence suggests that the education system can treat mental-health conditions better than clinical settings can.

The funding was traditionally used for physical security, violence prevention, discipline, and emergency preparedness.

@CarolynGorman_'s latest: https://t.co/co4tijifIF

[Jesse Arm @Jesse_Leg]

The nomination of Al Qaeda front volunteer Adam Hamawy as the Democratic nominee in New Jersey's 12th Congressional district is less a story about one controversial candidate than a story about a Democratic Party that increasingly lacks a central authority capable of policing its own fringes.

Where Republicans have a clear power center in President Trump that can reward, punish, and discipline candidates, Democrats have become a decentralized coalition of activists, interest groups, donors, and elected officials, making it harder to stop awful figures from advancing through primaries and reshaping the party from within.

My latest for @CityJournal, with my @ManhattanInst colleague @Danielle_shap.

https://t.co/m06ailgZ78

[City Journal @CityJournal]

New York City’s ability to address quality-of-life problems is increasingly constrained by staffing shortages. Compared with 2019, the city has 20% fewer traffic-enforcement agents and 46% fewer special officers assigned to homelessness.

Read more from @adamlehodey: https://t.co/PCmJPoK8ot

[City Journal @CityJournal]

Today, @elonmusk became the world’s first trillionaire.

SpaceX’s historic IPO raised nearly $75 billion, resulting in a total valuation of $1.77 trillion and setting the record for the world’s largest stock market debut.

The numbers have left some observers bewildered. But investors are not buying SpaceX for last year’s earnings, or even next year’s. They are buying a company they believe will help unlock entirely new industries in the future.

It is, in effect, a multitrillion-dollar bet on humanity’s continued ability to push the limits of technology—this time beyond our own atmosphere.

@PolicyEngineer’s latest: https://t.co/SAwgPinnun

[City Journal @CityJournal]

In data centers, New York found a useful villain that could take the blame for rising electricity costs. If @GovKathyHochul signs the data-center bill, its one-year moratorium would take effect immediately—and the slowdown would almost certainly extend beyond 12 months.

@PolicyEngineer explains: https://t.co/0qamJnzLt3

[Rafael A. Mangual @Rafa_Mangual]

Incredible special episode of the @CityJournal podcast this week. A must-watch!

[City Journal @CityJournal]

https://t.co/I37ZvabG09

[Leor Sapir @LeorSapir]

NEW: Zhenya Abbruzzese (@segm_ebm) joins me for a special @CityJournal podcast to discuss pediatric transition advocates' leading piece of evidence: the Utah review.

Conflicts of interest, omission of harms, failure to conduct formal synthesis, and more. Full interview 👇

[City Journal @CityJournal]

In California, funding for wildfire and forest programs has fallen from a peak of $1.1 billion in 2022 to $620 million in 2026. @GavinNewsom’s proposed budget for the coming year would reduce it even further to $457 million.

Read more from @christopherrufo, @Shawn_Regan, and @kennethschrupp: https://t.co/Et3kAYS7qy

[City Journal @CityJournal]

The DSA may draw the attention of the IRS—likely with good reason.

As a 501(c)(4), the DSA must "operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community."

It’s hard to argue that a street-level security force geared toward disruption, confrontation, and resistance to law enforcement exists primarily to “further the common good.” Tactics such as blocking traffic with bicycles, training activists to escape physical holds, forming umbrella phalanxes to confront “fascists,” and conducting “takedowns on intersections” bear little resemblance to traditional social-welfare activities.

Instead, they suggest preparation for a broader “national uprising”—one of the organization’s stated directives.

Full report: https://t.co/1rxDFJhR4k

[City Journal @CityJournal]

A subgroup within the DSA is preparing for a “national uprising against federal agents and police brutality.”

The Red Rabbits Security Commission is training cadres in tactics like armed and unarmed self-defense, blocking intersections, and fighting “fascists” with umbrellas.

@thestustustudio 🧵

https://t.co/1rxDFJhjeM

[City Journal @CityJournal]

A recent panel, an introduction to the Red Rabbits’ nationally approved training, marked the commission’s first major public-facing appearance.

During the event, local chapters described a range of security preparations including martial-arts sparring, evacuation planning, wound-packing, radio communications, the use of umbrellas and signs to shield participants from and block “fascists,” and even chemical-exposure training, in which participants practiced being pepper-sprayed.

[City Journal @CityJournal]

@GovPressOffice This is what your own employees told our reporters. Are you disputing the data that was given to us by your own agency?

[City Journal @CityJournal]

@GovPressOffice This is what your own employees told our reporters. Are you disputing the data that was given to us by your own agency?

[City Journal @CityJournal]

Starting last year, Gavin Newsom “fast-tracked” land, now totaling nearly 100,000 acres, for fire management.

So far, state-approved groups have completed projects covering less than 1 percent.

@christopherrufo @Shawn_Regan @kennethschrupp investigated: https://t.co/TulkXBDzE5

[City Journal @CityJournal]

Fire expert Gabriel Mann says there is a plan to prevent wildfires in California, but “it keeps getting stalled, primarily because of state bureaucracy that blocks all of this work.”

“See the color of this stuff behind me? It’s ready to burn.”

[City Journal @CityJournal]

It's been more than a year since this post, and projects covering less than 1% of "fast-tracked" land have been completed.

[Governor Gavin Newsom @CAgovernor]

This year has already seen some of the most destructive wildfires in California history, and we’re only in March.

That's why I'm proclaiming a state of emergency to fast-track critical forest management projects needed to protect our communities most vulnerable to wildfire.