MNY Politics Roundup #3

Primary voting info // Plaudits // Events // A Poll // Requests for Events!

Happy June, everyone, here’s what’s going on in my political corner of New York City. I went on a podcast recently, and I bet some of you might like it!

Primary elections are this month—you can still register (maybe):

• The primary elections are on June 24, and early voting is June 14-22.

• If you are not registered to vote, you still have time. Your application must be received by the Board of Elections by June 14 to vote in this primary.

• If you are already registered, and you want to change your address, you still have time. (This means you would show up in a different election district, vote for different city council members, etc.) Your change of address must be received by the Board of Elections by June 9.

• If you are registered to vote, but not with the party whose primary you’d like to vote in, you are out of luck for this year. Your deadline to switch parties was February 14 (per ELN §5-304(3)). If you register with a different party, it will be effective as of July 1.

Note: every December, the New York State Board of Elections publishes a political calendar for the following year, which contains all relevant voting deadlines and other information. Here’s the 2025 calendar.

Register to vote here, and read more about NYC’s upcoming primary voting logistics here (h/t Zachary Thomas).

Plaudits

🏆 Andrew Rose and the Fractal Tech team. They are one of the most civically oriented businesses around, and are a great example of an enterprise that doesn’t merely grow, but has a grander vision of New York City as part of that growth; they help people level up in life. (And if you’ve been to some of my events, you’ll see that FT generously allows me the use of their space.)

🏆 Tal Roded is on the plaudits list for the third time in a row. He has now written five posts, and I look forward to him reaching the sort-of magical number of ten. He’s a recent model of what starting an NYC politics blog from scratch looks like, and he’s also a new member of Manhattan’s Community Board 3!

🏆 Email or DM me nominations! Who do you want to see here? Who is knitting healthy civic, social, and political fabric in New York City?

Events & Things to Do

🗓️ Subscribe to the Maximum New York events calendar here.

• Maximum New York will be at the NYC Civic Fair this Tuesday, June 3, from 6:00-8:00pm in DUMBO. Come see me and Tong! (h/t Sachi Takahashi-Rial)

• Maximum New York is co-sponsoring a mayoral debate watch party spearheaded by Abundance New York this Wednesday from 6:30-9:30pm. I will not actually be there, because I will be teaching a cohort of Foundations of New York City, but you can talk to Zachary Thomas if you have any MNY-related questions! He’s the designated MNY guy of the evening, and an esteemed Foundations alumnus.

• MNY’s June gathering is on Saturday, June 21, from 2:30-4:30pm. I’ll have a few guests give short talks, and then we’ll adjourn to socializing. If you haven’t voted in the primary election by the 21st, you can also come to discuss your ballot options.

• The Rent Guidelines Board will be having several public hearings throughout the month of June. The RGB is in charge of setting the rates by which approximately 1 million rent regulated leases may change, and their final vote is currently scheduled for the end of June. I think it’s worth going to one of these hearings with a safari attitude—just go see what you can see, don’t worry about understanding everything, and don’t feel pressure to agree with anyone. Maximum New Yorkers are going to these, so let me know if you don’t have anyone to go with. And if you want to know what the RGB does, and how our rent regulation system works, ask me to throw one of these in your part of the city!

• EVENT SOON TO BE ANNOUNCED: INTERVIEW WITH A LANDLORD! How does housing look from the owner’s perspective? Soon you’ll have the opportunity to hear it in interview format with me. My questions will be tough and fair. It will be a good time, and you don’t want to miss it. After this event there will be a second one following the same format, but with a tenant advocate. If you’re interested in being interviewed for the tenant event, let me know.

🎓 The Maximum New York Lyceum will launch early this summer, with more details coming in the next week or so. I’ve finally zeroed in on the first iteration’s form. 5-10 individuals will create a 10-minute presentation on their policy area of choice. The presentations will be absolute bangers, and they will all be presented in one superb evening later in August or September. Each presentation must create a memetic payload that moves NYC policy forward in some measurable way. We will meet several times between June and August to hone the research behind the presentations, and the presentations themselves.

RFEs: Requests for Events

Knitting together social fabric is one of the most high-value things someone can do for the political future of New York. Here are some events I would like to see. If someone wants to host these, I would help get them off the ground and would love to attend. If you haven’t hosted an event like these before, no problem! You’ll be a pro in no time, and at the center of a healthy, growing political ecosystem.

• Host a salon to read Theodore Roosevelt’s The Duties of American Citizenship aloud with your friends. It’s my favorite American political speech, and there’s something transformative about reading a speech aloud with your friends—after all, that’s how speeches are supposed to be experienced! I can supply pamphlets, and will be happy to help discuss the larger historical and political context of the speech, which was delivered in 1893. TR was a great New Yorker, and had a whole history in New York City before he went on to the presidency.

• Host an evening where you and your friends (or your company!) review city and state bills relevant to your industry/interest. Are you a technologist? Invite your friends over and see what AI bills are pending at the city and state level. Do you want more housing to be built? Are you interested in criminal justice, criminal procedure, and what’s going on at Rikers? Well, get the gang together and see what the evolving policy landscape looks like, and see what you want to do about it. I’ll help you find all the legislation, and will help you read/interpret it too. Just make sure to have snacks.

• Suggest your own! Ask for help!