WPIX

New York City held its 82nd annual Columbus Day Parade on Fifth Avenue, drawing tens of thousands of participants and an estimated one million spectators to celebrate Italian American heritage and mark the anniversary of Christopher Columbus' 1492 arrival in the Americas. Several stretches of Fifth Avenue and side streets were closed for the event.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a longtime critic of Columbus, did not attend and skipped three related events over the weekend. Andre Dimino, president of the Italian American One Voice Coalition, criticized the snub, recalling Mamdani's 2020 campaign to remove a Columbus statue in Astoria while posting a photo of an obscene gesture toward it. Dimino argued Italian Americans are being disrespected by a mayor in such a prominent position. Mamdani has reportedly said he will host a separate Italian American heritage month reception at Gracie Mansion at a later date.

A nor'easter bringing high winds and rough seas is prompting flood preparations along the Jersey Shore, particularly in low-lying bayside communities like Seaside Heights. Residents living along Barnegat Bay have begun moving outdoor furniture, vehicles, and equipment ahead of expected bay flooding, with some areas already seeing water intrusion. Local officials say they are monitoring the storm closely and are prepared to order evacuations in vulnerable areas if conditions worsen.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has declared a state of emergency across eight counties, including Ocean, Middlesex, and Monmouth, as the storm approaches. Officials point to lessons learned from Superstorm Sandy in 2012 as shaping the region's current storm readiness, with emergency management teams and first responders on standby. The situation underscores recurring flood risks facing shore communities during seasonal coastal storms.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that New York City is leading a lawsuit, alongside Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Santa Clara County, King County and the Public Rights Project, against a Trump administration "public charge" rule set to take effect Friday. New York Attorney General Letitia James is separately leading a second suit joined by 22 states and Washington, D.C. The rule gives immigration officers broader discretion to deny green cards or visas to lawful immigrants based on use of programs like Medicaid, SNAP and housing assistance, alongside factors such as age, health, finances, education and skills. Plaintiffs argue it abandons a century-old "primarily dependent" standard, was issued without required notice-and-comment, could strain emergency rooms and local economies, and may deter even U.S. citizen family members from seeking benefits.

DHS says the rule promotes self-sufficiency and does not automatically deny applications for benefit recipients; it estimates over 950,000 people could disenroll or decline enrollment, a figure plaintiffs call understated. The policy revives a similar first-term Trump effort that was blocked in court and later rescinded under Biden. Cases filed before Sept. 18 are exempt, and USCIS is introducing a revised Form I-485, with the prior version no longer accepted after Friday.