Local progressive groups and unions spent two days rallying outside U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ Bay Ridge office, urging the Republican pol to reject President Donald Trump’s controversial “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

After a marathon voting session, the Senate on July 1 passed the domestic megabill 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. The bill is now heading back to the House, where Republicans are already divided over the impacts the bill would have on the national deficit, Medicaid spending, and more. If the bill is to pass in the House, Republicans can’t lose more than three votes, and are under pressure from Trump to pass the bill by July 4. 

The Senate version proposes cutting Medicaid by $930 billion over 10 years, which experts warn would put millions of low-income and disabled Americans at risk of losing or having restricted access to public healthcare resources including Medicaid, Medicare, Child Health Plus, and the Affordable Care Act. Cuts to Medicaid could also force rural hospitals and community health centers, which already operate on tight budgets, to close their doors. 

Malliotakis celebrated the bill’s first passage in the House in May, calling it a “a big win for hardworking taxpayers.”

While the legislation contains about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, it also allocates $350 billion for national security, including $46 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border wall, $45 billion for 100,000 migrant detention facility beds, and almost $30 billion towards Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Currently, ICE’s annual budget is around $10 billion. With the House vote looming, groups including Indivisible Brooklyn and 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers braved the wind and rain to rally against the bill. 

Lisa Raymond-Tolan, an organizer with Indivisible Brooklyn, urged Malliotakis to “stop the bill dead in its tracks” and vote in favor of her constituents.

According to the NYC Comptroller’s office, about 4 million New Yorkers rely on Medicaid for their healthcare coverage. In Malliotakis’ 11th Congressional district, which includes Bay Ridge, 222,383 people rely on Medicaid and Child Health Plus. Over 120,000 of her constituents, including children, seniors, and veterans, rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which also faces cuts of almost $300 billion. 

“We hope to sway her through humanity, through caring for her community,” Tolan said. “[The legislation] is going to be absolutely horrendous for her district and the entire country.”

Comptroller Brad Lander told the crowd that cuts to Medicaid would impact many Americans, regardless of party affiliation.

“Regardless of who they voted for in this past election — Republicans, Democrats, and Independents — everybody needs a hospital to go to when they get sick,” he said. “They need health care.”

Lander said voting “no” on Trump’s megabill was Malliotakis’s chance to get it “right.”

“Is [Malliotakis] willing to strip a trillion dollars out of Medicaid in order to give more tax breaks to the wealthiest? And let’s translate what that means. $1 trillion will strip healthcare from 12 million Americans. In New York State, that’ll be $13 billion for 1.5 million New Yorkers who will lose their health care,” Lander said.

Independent analysts have found that the bill’s tax cuts would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans, while saving low-income families just 1% on their taxes and middle-income Americans about 2.3%. 

Council Member Justin Brannan, whose district includes Bay Ridge, said legislation that would support the working and middle class wasn’t a radical idea.

“What’s radical is tax breaks for billionaires. What’s radical is endless wars. What’s radical is cutting the social safety net to fund more tax breaks for billionaires,” Brannan said. “That’s who Nicole is; she’s showing us who she is. Let’s not forget it!”

Troy McGhie, a Democrat running for Malliotakis’ seat in the 2026 election, told Brooklyn Paper he decided to run when it became apparent to him that Malliotakis didn’t represent her constituents.

“[Malliotakis] has chosen billionaires over babies, she’s chosen corporations over communities, and she’s chosen her career over her constituents,” McGhie told the crowd. “Remember that, because over the next 17 months, this is not going to be the only time that she sides with the billionaires over her constituents.”

In a statement, Malliotakis claimed that as far as Medicaid was concerned, the legislation would protect seniors, the disabled, children, pregnant mothers, and low-income individuals below the federal poverty level, while rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse.

“We ensure illegal immigrants do not benefit and ineligible fraudsters no longer steal from taxpayers and the able-bodied young adults work, learn, volunteer, or work part time, provisions that are widely supported by the vast majority of Americans,” Malliotakis said.

She also referred to the State and Local Tax deductions (SALT) she secured for tipped workers, senior citizens, and middle-class taxpayers.

“Tipped workers, senior citizens on social security, and middle-class taxpayers who will benefit from this SALT deduction that I secured in the legislation are not rich, and these benefits have a capped income to ensure low and middle-income earners are the ones who benefit. Failure to pass this legislation would have also resulted in the standard deduction and child tax credit being cut in half and a 22% increase for the average New Yorker.”  

July 2, 2025 By Shane O’Brien

The New York City Council has passed legislation introduced by Queens Council Member Julie Won and Brooklyn Council Member Shahana Hanif, aiming to combat immigration legal services fraud, whereby predatory actors exploit the fears of immigrant communities by offering false promises of legal services.

Legislators said the practice, known as “notarial fraud,” can result in victims paying thousands of dollars for legal services that often leave them worse off.

Advocates said the “long-standing issue” has worsened considerably with the influx of new arrivals in New York City.

Intro 980A, introduced by Won, doubles penalties for “egregious violations” of the city’s rules governing immigration assistance services. Egregious violations for prohibited conduct can include the unauthorized practice of law or threatening to report a customer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Won said she introduced the legislation after numerous constituents contacted her office to inform her that they had been victims of predatory immigration services and scammed out of thousands of dollars.

The law also increases fines for immigration assistance service providers that do not comply with applicable requirements, such as the requirement to execute a written contract with customers, the requirement to include specific language in signage and advertisements and the requirement to retain documents.

Under the new law, the civil penalty for offenses would be at least $5,000 and no more than $10,000 for a first violation, rising from $3,750 and $7,500, respectively. For each succeeding violation, the penalty would be a minimum of $10,000 and a maximum of $15,000.

For any violations related to guaranteeing particular governmental actions on advertisements, the civil penalties would be between $7,500 and $10,000 for a first-time violation and between $18,000 and $20,000 for any subsequent violation.

According to the law, any immigration assistance service providers who advertise services must post or include with the advertisement a legally required notice of the services they are not authorized to provide.

Won said the law would help combat a rise in fake lawyers and predatory providers.

“It is deplorable to overcharge and mislead desperate community members searching for a legal pathway to citizenship,” Won said in a statement. “With the passage of Int. 980-A, fake lawyers and predatory providers will now receive double the civil penalties for serious violations of NYC’s laws for Immigration Assistance Services.”

Hanif, meanwhile, introduced Intro 205A, which will require the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Mayor’s Office of Ethnic and Community Media, and other appropriate agencies to work collaboratively to educate immigrant communities about common immigration-related scams.

The education and outreach campaign will be conducted in all designated city-wide languages and temporary languages.

The campaign will also include guidance on how to identify and avoid common fraudulent schemes, information on credible immigration legal service providers, and how to report fraud using DCWP’s complaint mechanisms.

Hanif stated that federal immigration policies have created fear and anxiety among New York’s immigrant communities, adding that bad actors often seek to exploit that anxiety. She said data from the DCWP highlights that the problem has increased significantly in recent years.

“The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies have generated anxiety and confusion among immigrant communities. Bad actors often exploit these vulnerabilities through fraudulent practices, charging high fees and sometimes even sabotaging ongoing immigration cases,” Hanif stated.

Both Won and Hanif stated that the measures target the most significant laws passed in the US to target “notario fraud.”

“Today NYC is passing the most comprehensive and aggressive laws in the nation to protect immigrants from ‘notario fraud,’” Won said in a statement Monday.

Council Member Shekar Krishnan, who co-sponsored both pieces of legislation, said the laws would have a huge impact on communities in the diverse immigrant neighborhoods of his district, including Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Woodside.

“This legislation will protect them from scammers, allow them to navigate the legal system more easily, and ensure they get quality legal assistance,” Krishnan said in a statement.

Council Member Sandra Ung, who also supported the legislation, said the laws would help protect immigrant communities against people who view heightened anxiety as an opportunity to exploit vulnerable members of the community.

“They offer so-called immigration ‘services’ that are deceptive at best and outright fraudulent at worst, charging people thousands of dollars for promises they can’t keep and paperwork that won’t help,” Ung said. “Regardless of immigration status, all New Yorkers deserve access to legal services that are trustworthy, transparent, and grounded in a real understanding of the law.”

A number of immigration services also praised the Council for passing both pieces of legislation, including Catholic Migration Services, which provides a wide range of services to immigrants of all faiths.

Magdalena Barbosa, the organization’s senior vice president and director of legal services, applauded the Council for passing the legislation.

“The New York City Council understands that now, at a time of unprecedented fear and anxiety in immigrant communities, is the time to act to ensure immigrants understand the dangers of working with notarios and the importance of higher penalties to deter bad actors,” Barbosa said.

Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani made a show of force in a Wednesday rally with powerful labor unions that now support his campaign after some of them backed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s failed primary bid.

Leaders and members of the unions — The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council (HTC), 32BJ SEIU, the New York State Nurses Association, and the Central Labor Council — gathered at HTC’s Midtown headquarters on July 2 to celebrate Mamdani’s decisive win in ranked-choice voting the previous day. Two of those unions, 32BJ and HTC, endorsed Cuomo in the primary and held an event at the same location with him just a couple of weeks ago, but have since switched to endorse Mamdani in the November general election.

Mamdani, a Queens Assembly member, said he believes his win with 543,344 votes — the most that any Democratic mayoral primary candidate has received since 1989 — is “a mandate to make this city affordable.” He won by 12% of the vote over Cuomo — nabbing 56% in the third round of ranked-choice to Cuomo’s 44%.

“I say the word mandate because this was the most votes any movement has received in 36 years in mayoral elections,” Mamdani said. “A mandate because we won this election by 12 points after just three rounds. And a mandate because New Yorkers deserve nothing less than a city where they do more than just struggle, a city where they can return to the dreams that brought them here in the first place.”

Mamdani won the primary by turning out young voters, first-time voters, and those who casted their ballots for President Trump in last year’s presidential election. He brought them together with a clear and concise message centered on lowering ballooning costs spread by a massive volunteer operation fanned out accross the five boroughs.

Unions see Mamdani as key ally 

HTC President Rich Maroko said labor is now coalescing around Mamdani because his priorities align with their own: a focus on fighting for fair contracts and making the city more affordable for union members.

“First and foremost, he has made crystal clear that whenever there is a struggle, whenever there is a dispute between labor and management, he will be on our side,” Maroko said. “As mayor, he will be our ally. And labor and working New Yorkers, they need allies like Zohran in City Hall.”

Manny Pastreich, president of 32BJ, said his members are “excited” about Mamdani’s “big, bold ideas” to make the city more affordable. He said the union is backing Mamdani also because of his personal immigrant story and dedication to defending newcomers, who make up most 32BJ members, from Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

“Zohran, your message, your life story, what you stand for, has deep meaning for 32BJ members,” Pastreich said. “At this moment when the political winds on immigration are blowing hard into our face, we know that we can count on you to have your feet planted very firmly.”

Changing winds of mayor’s race

Mamdani pulled off his win without the backing of most major labor unions in the primary. He earned the support of District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal workers’ union in the Democratic contest, as its second choice behind City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, but most other powerful labor groups lined up behind Cuomo.

However, since Cuomo’s crushing defeat at the hands of Mamdani last week his labor supporters have been quick to abandon him to back Mamdani instead. If Cuomo ultimately decides to actively campaign in the general election as an independent, a decision he is still weighing, he will do so without labor standing behind him.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, an influential figure in New York political circles, urged Cuomo to sit out the general election on Wednesday.

The unions have also quickly picked Mamdani over incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is attemping to secure four more years in City Hall on his own independent ballot line. Adams was endorsed by most of the major labor unions in his successful 2021 campaign.

But the mayor is reportedly courting support among the city’s business community and real estate industry, whose leaders are scrambling to find an alternative to Mamdani.

REP. DAN GOLDMAN has introduced an amendment forbidding new funds from blocking statutorily authorized oversight of immigration facilities.  

The post Goldman introduces amendment for immigration jail inspections appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

A collection of topical political cartoons from various artists curated by the Brooklyn Eagle editorial staff.

The post Cartoon Sketchbook: July 2 appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.