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Amazon’s latest round of sweeping layoffs hit hundreds in New York

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 22:37:19 +0000

Amazon’s latest round of brutal layoffs included several hundred employees in New York, The Post has learned.

Some 135 corporate Amazon employees who worked at 1140 Broadway received pink slips in January, according to a state Department of Labor filing this week.

Another 165 Amazon workers in New York were axed, with the government records expected to hit the system within the coming weeks, a source familiar with the filings told The Post.

Amazon laid off 135 employees who worked at 1440 Broadway. Google Maps

They’re all part of 16,000 layoffs announced last month. In October, the e-commerce giant slashed another 14,000 corporate jobs — part of a restructuring plan stemming from investments in artificial intelligence and what experts described as over-hiring during the COVID pandemic.

The company’s CEO Andy Jassy has slashed nearly 10% of Amazon’s workforce in a three-month span.

Last year, he said new tech could create new job opportunities – though he also admitted it could bring “efficiency gains” by helping to reduce the overall workforce.

“We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today,” Jassy wrote in a memo in June.

Amazon is shedding some 300 jobs in New York as part of the 16,000 job reductions it announced in January. REUTERS

“In the next few years, we expect that [AI] will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company,” he added.

Amazon did not announce the locations it targeted for layoffs, so the government filings are the only indication of where the losses took place.

The company declined to comment on the Department of Labor filings.

Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy, has said that Amazon “will need fewer people” as it rolls out artificial intelligence. Getty Images for Amazon Web Services

“We’ve been working to strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy,” senior vice president of people Beth Galetti wrote in a January blog post.

New York took a big hit last year with nearly 1,000 job losses at nine Amazon locations in the city.

The latest cuts are smaller and likely focused on tech roles, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told The Post.

“Amazon has tried to establish a strong presence as part of the New York tech community and this layoff is a dent in those plans,” he said, adding that “many other NYC tech players will likely aggressively focus on this opportunity to add great tech talent.”

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Malcolm X was Assassinated in New York City

admin — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 19:50:35 +0000

“Whatever hand pulled the trigger did not buy the bullet.”

This first appeared in Lit Hub’s Literary History newsletter—sign up here.

On Sunday, February 21, 1965, a little after 3pm, as he was preparing to address his Organization of Afro-American Unity in New York’s Audubon Ballroom, the controversial civil rights leader and revolutionary Malcolm X was shot dead by members of the Nation of Islam, the religious sect X had broken from the year before. He was 39.

“In the aftermath, rivers of ink spilled across New York City’s many newspapers,” wrote Ted Hamm. The legendary journalist Jimmy Breslin was callous and dismissive; Langston Hughes “somewhat cryptic.”

James Baldwin, who was in London at the time, famously shouted at the reporters who found him after his friend’s death: “You did it! It is because of you—the men that created this white supremacy—that this man is dead. You are not guilty, but you did it. …Your mills, your cities, your rape of a continent started all this.”

Later, Baldwin told the story this way:

There we were, at the table, all dressed up, and we’d ordered everything, and we were having a very nice time with each other. The headwaiter came, and said there was a phone call for me, and Gloria rose to take it. She was very strange when she came back—she didn’t say anything, and I began to be afraid to ask her anything. Then, nibbling at something she obviously wasn’t tasting, she said, ‘Well, I’ve got to tell you because the press is on its way over here. They’ve just killed Malcolm X.’ The British press said that I accused innocent people of this murder. What I tried to say then, and will try to repeat now, is that whatever hand pulled the trigger did not buy the bullet. That bullet was forged in the crucible of the West, that death was dictated by the most successful conspiracy in the history of the world, and its name is white supremacy.”

“I was certainly saddened by the shocking and tragic assassination of your husband,” Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote to Betty Shabazz, X’s wife, after the murder.

While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had a great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem. He was an eloquent spokesman for his point of view and no one can honestly doubt that Malcolm had a great concern for the problems that we face as a race.

More than sixty years later, some details about the assassination remain unclear. But Malcolm X has endured as a cultural icon, death being, in the end, not quite enough to silence him.

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Hochul backs biometric safeguards for New York gambling

admin — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 19:48:10 +0000

The chairman of the New York State Gaming Commission has voiced support and applauded Governor Kathy Hochul for her commitment to protecting New Yorkers, as she outlined more than 200 initiatives, including gambling-related measures.

Amongst the many topics in the address, Governor Hochul has highlighted how online sports betting has become immensely popular and has stressed young people need to be protected from the harmful effects of gamified sports betting. She has also laid out how she would approach this going forward.

Shortly after her address, Brian O’Dwyer, the chairman of the NYS Gaming Commission, said: “The Gaming Commission fully supports and applauds Governor Hochul’s commitment to protect New Yorkers, including safeguards to prevent underage individuals from gambling and employing innovative tech to identify and help those who may be experiencing gambling harms.

“The Commission will consider actions to prevent underage access, including the possibility of biometric requirements for account access and real consequences for those who share their legal accounts with underage individuals.

“We will also continue to work with OASAS to implement the latest technology into the online sports wagering process to best position access to help for those who need it.”

Governor Huchul plans to bring in several gambling-related measures

Within the announcement, she says she “will direct the Gaming Commission to explore effective ways to ensure young people are not illegally downloading betting apps, creating accounts, or using the accounts of others, including the use of biometric approaches.

“These actions will protect young people from the harms of online betting, which include significant financial loss and addictive behavior.”

She has also set her sights on curbing gambling addiction in the state, as the address outlines how she will take “comprehensive action to strengthen prevention, treatment, and harm reduction around problem gambling through evidence-based practices and supports, as well as implementing a data-driven approach to identify and address long-term trends.”

This includes advancing legislation to ensure treatment for addiction disorders are covered by insurance, integrating gambling recovery services into 16 recovery community and outreach centers, establishing a Gambling Health Institute that equips organizations statewide with the tools and training they need to address problem gambling, creating a specialized certification for peer advocates who have lived experience with gambling harms, amongst several other changes. In December 2025, Hochul already outlawed online sweepstakes casinos with new enforcement and penalties, signing Senate Bill 5935 into law.

Featured Image: Via Governor Kathy Hochul’s YouTube

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Jimmy Kimmel reads New York Post cover story about himself for Vanity Fair photoshoot

admin — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 09:28:11 +0000

At least he has good taste in newspapers.

Jimmy Kimmel, who was suspended from his late-night show in September over his inflammatory comments about Charlie Kirk’s killer, is featured in next month’s Vanity Fair holding the very edition of The New York Post that trumpeted his on-air return.

The late-night host was photographed holding the Sept. 23 newspaper featuring his grinning face — and the headline, “What a joke!” — while sitting atop Los Angeles’ El Capitan Theatre where his show is filmed.

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is featured in next month’s Vanity Fair holding the very edition of The New York Post that trumpeted his on-air return. Norman Jean Roy / Vanity Fair.

The Post’s front-page story exclusively reported that Kimmel would be back on ABC, though the country’s largest owner of its local affiliate stations wouldn’t air his show after he refused to apologize for his false suggestion that Kirk’s assassin was a pro-Trump Republican.

Sources told The Post that Kimmel negotiated his return to the airwaves directly with Disney CEO Bob Iger and his No. 2, Disney Entertainment Co-Chair Dana Walden, and that he was set to clarity his comments in his monologue but would not issue a mea culpa, as both he and his bosses “didn’t think he did anything wrong.”

Kimmel prominently features in a Vanity Fair article about Hollywood “at a crossroads.” The issue is set to hit newsstands Dec. 2.

The article, which is already available online, consists of a series of vignettes about Hollywood’s movers and shakers — including Paramount Skydance boss David Ellison, celebrity stylist Law Roach and Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

The Sept. 23 front page of The Post featuring his grinning face.

In the piece, Kimmel revisits what Vanity Fair calls a “good news day” — namely, the day Disney-owned ABC put him back on the air after a brief hiatus.

“This September, in the face of censorship, Kimmel unwittingly became a beacon that united everyone from anti-fascists to Ted Cruz,” Vanity Fair wrote. “Soon there were calls to boycott Disney and protest an administration that would dare take away an American’s right to laugh — and to free speech. Perhaps as more rights come under attack, Americans will remember this moment of collective power.”

Kimmel was briefly suspended over his inflammatory comments about Charlie Kirk’s killer. via REUTERS

The longtime TV host was suspended from “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for six days over his tasteless commentary about Kirk’s killer.

Iger and Walden benched the late night star as they faced scrutiny from Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr, President Trump and major affiliate stations Nexstar and Sinclair.

President Trump, next to Erika Kirk, posthumously awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk in October. Getty Images

Meanwhile, Kimmel’s A-list friends like actor Ben Stiller, comedians Wanda Sykes and Marc Maron, rivals Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert — and even former President Obama — backed Kimmel publicly.

Over 1.7 million users also canceled their Disney+, Hulu and ESPN subscriptions following the suspension.

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RAISE Act New York faces opposition from Trump, AI industry super PAC

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 17:18:04 +0000

New York is 3,000 miles away from the tech hub of Silicon Valley, but in recent weeks, the state has inserted itself into the center of a fierce debate around artificial intelligence regulation.

A bipartisan super PAC called “Leading the Future” announced last week that it will target Alex Bores, a Democratic congressional candidate who has openly championed AI safety legislation in New York by promoting the the Responsible AI Safety and Education (RAISE) Act. The bill would require large AI companies to publish safety and risk protocols and disclose serious safety incidents.

“They don’t want there to be any regulation whatsoever,” Bores told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday. “What they’re saying is the fact that you dared step up and push back on us at all means we need to bury you with millions and millions of dollars.”

Leading the Future (LTF) launched in August with more than $100 million in funding, and aims to elevate “candidates who support a bold, forward-looking approach to AI,” according to a release. The group largely represents the view of the Trump administration, that federal AI laws should preempt regulations implemented by specific states, an effort mostly meant to undermine big blue states like California and New York.

The super PAC is backed by high-profile names in tech, including OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, venture firm Andreessen Horowitz and AI startup Perplexity.

“LTF and its affiliated organizations will oppose policies that stifle innovation, enable China to gain global AI superiority, or make it harder to bring AI’s benefits into the world, and those who support that agenda,” the group said in the release.

Bores has served as a New York State Assembly member since 2023, and previously worked at several tech companies, including Palantir. He launched his congressional campaign for New York’s 12th district in October after sitting Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler announced he would not run for reelection.

As an assemblyman, Bores co-sponsored the RAISE Act.

“I’m very bullish on the power of AI, I take the tech companies seriously for what they think this could do in the future,” Bores said on Monday. “But the same pathways that will allow it to potentially cure diseases [will] allow it to, say, build a bio weapon. And so you just want to be managing the risk of that potential.”

Assembly member Alex Bores speaks during a press conference on the Climate Change Superfund Act at Pier 17 on May 26, 2023 in New York City.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

The RAISE Act passed in New York’s state assembly and senate in June. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has until the start of the 2026 session to decide whether to sign it into law.

On Nov. 17, LTF’s leaders Zac Moffatt and Josh Vlasto announced they plan to spend millions of dollars to try to sink Bores’ congressional bid. In a statement, they accused Bores of pushing “ideological and politically motivated legislation” that would “handcuff” the U.S. and its ability to lead in AI.

The bill is “a clear example of the patchwork, uninformed, and bureaucratic state laws that would slow American progress and open the door for China to win the global race for AI leadership,” Moffatt and Vlasto told CNBC in a statement.

Moffatt has more than two decades of experience in digital and political strategy, while Vlasto previously served as press secretary to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and chief of staff to former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Politico was first to report LTF’s effort to target Bores.

Bores has capitalized on LTF’s announcement as a fundraising opportunity, urging voters to donate to his campaign if they “don’t want Trump mega-donors writing all tech policy,” he wrote in a post on X.

“I am someone with a master’s in computer science, two patents, and nearly a decade working in tech,” Bores told CNBC in a statement last week. “If they are scared of people who understand their business regulating their business, they are telling on themselves.”

What is the RAISE Act?

The RAISE Act applies to any large AI company, like Google, Meta or OpenAI, that has spent more than $100 million in computational resources to train advanced models.

It would require these companies to write, publish and follow safety and security protocols, and to update them as necessary. Violators could be subject to penalties of up to $30 million.

The companies would also have to take steps to implement safeguards to prevent their models from engaging in “critical harm,” like assisting in the creation of chemical weapons or large-scale, automated criminal activities. “Critical harm” is defined in the bill as the death or serious injury of 100 people or at least $1 billion in damages.

Under the RAISE Act, large AI companies would not be able to release models that would create “unreasonable risk of critical harm.” Bores said the bill’s opponents have pushed back fiercely on that part of the legislation.

“That’s designed to basically avoid the problem we had with the tobacco companies, where they knew that cigarettes caused cancer but denied it publicly and continued to release their products,” he said.

The RAISE Act would also require AI companies to disclose notable safety incidents. If a model is stolen by a malicious actor, for instance, its developer would have to disclose that incident within 72 hours of learning about it.

“We just saw two weeks ago, Anthropic talk about how China used their model to do a cyber attack on U.S. government institutions and our chemical manufacturing plants,” Bores said. “Shockingly, they didn’t have to disclose that. I think that should be law and be required for every major AI developer.”

Anthropic, an AI startup valued at around $350 billion after recent investments, published a blog post earlier this month detailing what it called “the first documented case of a large-scale cyberattack executed without substantial human intervention.” Anthropic said it believes the threat actor was a Chinese state-sponsored group.

Bores told Tech Brew that he drafted the initial version of the bill in August of 2024 and sent it to “all of the major developers” for feedback. He put together a second draft in December, and solicited another round of red lines.

The RAISE Act was published in March, and amended in May and June.

“I worked really closely with a lot of people in industry to get the details right,” Bores told Tech Brew.

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives on the South Lawn of the White House on November 22, 2025 in Washington, DC.

John Mcdonnell | Getty Images

LTF’s decision to target Bores over the RAISE Act is emblematic of a broader debate around whether AI should be regulated at the state or federal level in the U.S.

Some lawmakers and tech executives have argued that a “patchwork” of state AI policies will hinder innovation and put the U.S. at risk of falling behind its adversaries like China. But others, including Bores, have said that the federal government moves too slowly to keep up with the rapid pace of AI development.

“What’s being debated right now is, should we stop the states from making any progress before the feds have solved the problem? Or should we actually work together to have the federal government solve the problem?” Bores said.

Aside from New York, states including California, Colorado, Illinois and others have their own AI laws that are either already in effect or will be starting early next year.

Last week, President Donald Trump advocated for a federal AI standard in a post on his social media site Truth Social.

“Investment in AI is helping to make the U.S. Economy the ‘HOTTEST’ in the World, but overregulation by the States is threatening to undermine this Major Growth ‘Engine,'” Trump wrote. “We MUST have one Federal Standard instead of a patchwork of 50 State Regulatory Regimes. If we don’t, then China will easily catch us in the AI race.”

The White House also began drafting an executive order that would target state AI laws by launching legal challenges and withholding federal funding, CNBC reported on Thursday. But a day later, the Trump administration put a hold on that effort, according to a report from Reuters.

The White House didn’t provide a comment for this story.

Earlier this year, a proposed amendment to Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” would have enacted a 10-year-long suspension on state-level AI laws. That provision ultimately failed and was not included in the legislation, but the Trump administration recently revitalized the effort.

The White House is working to see if a moratorium on certain state AI laws could be included in one of the major must-pass bills that Congress is pursuing.

“What we’re seeing in AI is natural, states are stepping up and moving quickly,” Bores said. “We should eventually have a federal AI standard. I strongly agree with that.”

WATCH: AI industry-backed super PAC picks first target

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Mamdani cites Kalshi forecasts amid surge toward New York Mayoral victory

admin — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 15:18:37 +0000

At a rally in New York City on Monday night, Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani referenced Kalshi’s latest predictions that have the Democrat set for a landslide victory when New Yorkers go to the polls on Tuesday (November 4).

The 34-year-old state assemblyman is aiming to become the youngest mayor in over a century in the Big Apple.

Having already outflanked former governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democrat primary in recent months, the Uganda-born democratic socialist is well-placed to complete his rise to the top job in the biggest city in the United States.

“When I walked the length of Manhattan just a few days before the election, hundreds of New Yorkers marched alongside me,” Mamdani said.

“And when we strode into Times Square under a billboard with (Kalshi) odds that showed Cuomo’s chances of winning at nearly 80 percent, we knew that the so-called experts were set to get it wrong yet again.”

Mamdani continued to detail the odds on the Kalshi prediction market, which remain firmly in his favor.

“When you see the Kalshi odds that have our chances of victory in the 90s, know this: you are reading the same things that Andrew Cuomo read when he went to sleep each night in June, believing that his victory was promised,” Mamdani said.

BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani references his Kalshi odds on stage

Kalshi is mainstream. pic.twitter.com/hLCzqLL7G2

— Kalshi (@Kalshi) October 27, 2025

President Trump warns New Yorkers against Mamdani

The Kalshi prediction market on the New York City mayor election currently gives Mamdani an 89% chance of succeeding Eric Adams to lead NYC over the next four years.

Kalshi prediction market chart showing Mamdani leading the NYC mayoral race with 89% odds. Credit: Kalshi

Conversely, Cuomo – standing as an independent – is given just an 11% chance of landing a late shock.

If Mamdani is elected, he would become the first Muslim mayor in NYC’s history.

His prominence and wide appeal to the electorate come from his focus on bread-and-butter issues that have resonated with New Yorkers. He has been firm and focused on cost-of-living essentials, conveying the message that he will address rent and food prices, as well as resonating on salary levels.

Cuomo has attacked his rival on matters of crime and safety, while also suggesting Mamdani does not have the requisite experience to lead New York at this stage of his career.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has warned that he will not look upon Mamdani’s election favorably if that is how the vote plays out.

He told CBS on Sunday, “It’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there.”

Trump on Mamdani: “I think I’m a much better looking person than him, right? It’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there.” pic.twitter.com/SyS0GwHfgQ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 3, 2025

Mamdani has rejected the Communist label applied to him by detractors.

Beyond the main Kalshi market on the mayoral race, the same platform is running various related lines on the NYC vote.

For Mamdani’s margin of victory, he is currently given a 23% chance of winning by 24 points or more, and a 54% chance of securing at least 50% of the vote.

Image credit: Dmitry Shein / Kalshi

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48 Hours Without A.I. – The New York Times

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 15:45:57 +0000

new video loaded: 48 Hours Without A.I.

A.J. Jacobs went 48 hours without interacting with artificial intelligence. That meant more than just avoiding generative A.I. tools like ChatGPT – he did his best to not interact with any products that used any kind of machine-learning algorithms in their production, marketing or distribution. This was more limiting than expected; Jacobs needed to find ways around using electricity, running water and more. The 48-hour experiment revealed just how embedded artificial intelligence already is in our daily lives.

By A.J. Jacobs, Edward Vega and Melanie Bencosme

October 29, 2025

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» 300+ pledge to boycott the New York Times’ op-ed page over their anti-Palestinian bias.

admin — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 01:30:15 +0000

Over 300 writers, scholars, and public intellectuals have pledged to not contribute to the New York Times’ Opinion section until three demands have been met. The demands address the anti-Palestinian bias in the paper’s op-ed pages, which have been a frequent target of criticism during Israel’s genocide and war. The writers are withholding their labor until the Opinion pages take “accountability for its biased coverage and commits to truthfully and ethically reporting on the U.S.-Israeli war on Gaza.”

The group of “writers of conscience” include Rima Hassan, Rashida Tlaib, Kaveh Akbar, Sally Rooney, Tareq Baconi, Viet Thanh Nguyenm, Greta Thunberg, Elia Suleiman, Plestia Alaqad, Hannah Einbinder, Andreas Malm, Isabella Hammad, Mohammed El-Kurd, Rupi Kaur, Jia Tolentino, Alana Hadidm, China Miéville, Ghassan Abu-Sittah, and many more.

Lit Hub’s Jonny Diamond and Dan Sheehan are among those who signed this collective commitment as well.

Almost 150 past Times contributors have signed the pledge, and the coalition also includes a number of Palestinian solidarity groups like Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG), the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), and the Palestinian Feminist Collective (PFC).

The pledge condemns the “paper’s decades-long practice of acting as a bullhorn for the Israeli government and military,” its “anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian biases,” and makes three demands:

1. The newsroom must conduct a review of anti-Palestinian bias and produce new editorial standards for Palestine coverage.

2. The newsroom must retract the widely debunked investigation “Screams Without Words.”

3. The Editorial Board must call for a U.S. arms embargo on Israel.

There is more detail in the group’s longer statement.

For Palestinians, the consequences of Western media bias can be lethal. The pledge’s statement opens with a quote from Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat, who wrote, “Language makes genocide justifiable. A reason why we are still being bombed after 243 days is because of The New York Times and most Western media.” Shabat was assassinated by Israel months after writing this.

“We owe it to the journalists and writers of Palestine to refuse complicity with the Times,” the statement concludes, “and to demand that the paper account for its failures, such that it can never again manufacture consent for mass slaughter, torture, and displacement.”

The full statement and list of signatories are on boycottdivestunsubscribe.com.

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New York councilman Anand Shah indicted on 18 charges related to illegal gambling

admin — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 22:02:18 +0000

A councilman for New York’s Prospect Park has been indicted on 18 charges related to an illegal gambling ring.

Council President Anand Shah has been indicted on 18 charges related to allegedly participating in an illegal gambling ring, including several counts of money laundering and racketeering in the first degree and second degree charges of official misconduct, extortion, and third-degree tampering with public records. Readwrite has contacted the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office to confirm whether the indictment charges are correct.

Shah is about to end his third term as a Democrat councilman, while currently seeking support for another three-year council term ahead of the general election on November 4. According to his attorney, Michael DeMarco, Shah intends to defend his innocence.

Diagram released by investigators showing the hierarchy of suspects in an organized crime and illegal gambling ring tied to a New York councilman indicted on 18 charges. Credit: New Jersey Attorney General’s Office

The councilman is scheduled to appear in front of state Superior Court Judge Ralph Amirata in Morristown on October 24 for his post-indictment arraignment, where he is expected to formally enter his plea. After being arrested back in April, Shah was held at the Morris County jail for seven weeks before being granted release by a judge.

The councilman’s alleged involvement in the illegal gambling ring

The alleged illegal gambling ring is said to have hosted unlicensed poker games and used an overseas sportsbook to place unlicensed sports bets. These activities are alleged to have brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars, laundered through shell companies.

Allegations have been brought against 42 defendants, including Shah and members of the Lucchese crime family. A 78-page indictment document outlines the complete charges against all the co-defendants.

Today we’ve charged 39 people, including a sitting councilman. The message is clear – we are bringing every resource to bear to crack down on violent criminals, including organized crime.

If you break the law, if you hurt New Jersey, you will be brought to justice. pic.twitter.com/AgjjlEOQgY

— Attorney General Matt Platkin (@NewJerseyOAG) April 11, 2025

In terms of what punishment Shah could face if found guilty, the second-degree misconduct charge along could result in a 10-year prison sentence, while others could lead to substantial fines.

Other allegations levelled against Shah in the document include: claiming that the councilman “threatened to inflict bodily injury” on “multiple victims” owed money from the gambling activities; allegedly falsifying a financial disclosure statement; and not paying gross income taxes, a third-degree crime, for six straight years between April 2019 and 2025.

In July, Shah wrote on Facebook that he had been released from Morris County Jail on May 30, following his detention since April 9, 2025. His Attorney Michael P. DeMarco, Esq. said in a statement at the time: “Mr. Shah is deeply grateful for the Appellate Division’s decision and eagerly anticipates his day in court, where he will vigorously defend against the State’s charges and clear his previously unblemished name and reputation.”

Featured image: Anand Shah via Facebook

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New York assembly member wants to block sportsbooks from limiting bettors

admin — Sun, 05 Oct 2025 05:42:50 +0000

A New York assembly member has filed a bill that would block sportsbook operators from limiting bettors depending on the size or frequency of their bets.

Democrat Assembly Member Alex Bores filed the bill, dubbed A9125, on September 26. It aims to prevent sports betting operators from limiting sports bettors based on the size and frequency of their deposits and bets, or banning them entirely based on their success rate. The bill has now been referred to the Committee on Racing and Wagering. With the New York legislative session now closed until January, the bill won’t progress until then.

If the bill is passed, it would amend state law and mean that sportsbooks cannot limit or block users because they gain financially from their wagering activity. There would be exemptions in place to cover occasions when suspicious wagering activity is suspected or when there are indications of gambling addiction or related harm.

Whenever an authorized sports bettor is limited or banned, the bill would require the operator to provide written notice and explanation to the user within 24 hours.

Sportsbook legislation in New York

Bores’ attempt to level the playing field for bettors in New York follows on from another bill filed in April, which saw fellow Assembly Member Robert Carroll seek to introduce a limit on how much gamblers can wager within 24 hours. Known as A7962, the bill would implement a maximum total wagering amount of $5,000 and a maximum number of deposits of five per 24 hours per customer.

The bill has not progressed since being introduced and will now need to wait until the new year, in the same as as Bores’ A9125, thanks to the closed legislative session in New York.

Such bills echo similar efforts made in Connecticut that aim to establish maximum wager limits for online sports betting.

Featured image: Unsplash

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