LIRR riders get trains back at midday, but the catch-up will be messy, and thunderstorm timing could turn platforms and sidewalks into a slow grind. The bigger tension sits in the courts: advocates are demanding answers after a woman gave birth while waiting to be arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court, and immigration court watchers are tracking what ICE does next at 26 Federal Plaza under a federal order meant to curb courthouse arrests. Expect a day where systems restart, but nobody feels reset: missed shifts and rescheduled appointments in the morning, wet commutes and tighter security posture later, and more questions than clarity about how safely the city moves people through transit, custody, and courtrooms.

Morning starts hot and bright, climbing quickly into the upper 80s with a high near 89°F, then easing into the upper 70s this afternoon as a steady west wind around 14 mph takes some edge off the heat. That wind will also push grit and heat across open platforms and make it harder to hear announcements during the LIRR restart. Rain and thunderstorms are likely from mid-afternoon into the evening (around a 60% chance), with brief downpours that can flood curbs, slick crosswalk paint, and slow buses and bikes even if trains keep moving. Tonight turns mostly cloudy and damp, dropping into the upper 50s to low 60s with a 10 to 15 mph northwest wind, the kind of cool that feels sharper if you get caught in wet clothes on the walk home.

LIRR service resumes around noon Tuesday after a late-night deal between the MTA and the unions ended a three-day strike, putting the region’s busiest commuter railroad back on the board but not instantly back to normal. Queens, with 24 LIRR stops from Far Rockaway to Long Island City, will feel the restart as a reset of routines: riders who improvised with longer trips and missed connections now have to re-sync work schedules, child care pickups, and transfers that were scrambled for days. Even with trains rolling, expect uneven crowding as people pile back onto familiar lines at once, plus the practical drag of a system restarting under pressure.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked ICE from making arrests at NYC immigration courthouses, but a day after that decision, advocates say a Honduran man was detained after a hearing at 26 Federal Plaza when masked agents took him after he left a routine hearing on the 12th Floor. That sequence is now the story visitors will be living inside the building: what the order means in practice, where enforcement is happening, and whether people showing up for hearings and check-ins can do so without risking detention the moment they exit.

Legal aid groups and advocates are calling for city and state investigations after a woman, Samantha Randazzo, gave birth inside a Brooklyn criminal courtroom while waiting to be arraigned. The coalition says she was arrested Thursday, May 14, on allegations including drug possession and trespassing after police found her on the roof of a NYCHA building; while waiting for arraignment Friday, her water broke and she later gave birth on a courtroom bench. Their demand is immediate and operational, not abstract: what medical response protocols exist for people in custody, what decisions were made as she labored, and whether court conditions and staffing can handle a crisis without turning it into a public failure.

LIUNA Local 731 is recruiting applicants for paid construction apprenticeships through the New York Department of Labor, an “earn while you learn” on-ramp that matters because it changes who can enter a sector that still pays for training time. For New Yorkers looking for steadier wages without taking on upfront tuition, the immediate outcome is concrete: an open application window for a pathway into construction work as major city redevelopments promise years of building. In a week defined by service breakdowns, it is one of the few items on the board that expands access rather than narrowing it.

Willets Point Commons has opened in Queens, delivering the first two buildings in a long-planned redevelopment that is expected to create a new neighborhood over time. The affordable complex totals 880 units and is part of a larger plan for 2,500 income-restricted apartments, along with a new school, a hotel, and a soccer stadium by the start of the next decade. The near-term impact is simple and rare in New York housing: residents are expected to begin moving in later this month, which means the project has shifted from promises and renderings to keys and leases.

The city is extending for an additional year a policy that lets New Yorkers apply directly to vacated affordable apartments rather than routing those openings back through Housing Connect, the centralized lottery system. That shifts leverage toward applicants who hear about vacancies early and can move fast, while shrinking the number of units that cycle through the public-facing lottery during the extension.

A new affordable housing lottery opened on the Gowanus waterfront for a nine-story development with units starting at $903, the affordable piece of a larger two-tower project enabled by the area’s rezoning. The site replaced a former parking lot near the now-demolished Green Building, another marker of how quickly the corridor is being remade. For renters, today’s utility is practical: a fresh application window with a defined starting price point, and another signal of where the city is setting the floor for “affordable” in a fast-changing neighborhood.

Two detainees died on Rikers Island within roughly a day of each other, according to the Department of Correction, adding to the grim churn of crisis and oversight around the jail complex. The department said Rajpattie Ramkellawan, 41, died Monday after an alleged medical emergency around 11:15 a.m.; Umais Khan, 40, was found unresponsive Tuesday in his cell, and staff attempted to revive him before he was pronounced dead around 11:20 a.m.

In Midtown, police said a 56-year-old woman died after falling into an uncovered Con Edison manhole, plunging about 10 feet. The case is a street-level reminder that infrastructure hazards can be sudden and lethal, and it forces a basic question that matters to anyone walking the city today: how an opening became uncovered and what protections were supposed to prevent it. Expect attention on the site and on whatever inspection or work trail follows, as riders and pedestrians move through a city where one missing barrier can turn an ordinary block into a danger zone.

In Queens, a search was underway at Rockaway Beach after a report of a 17-year-old boy missing in the water near Beach 73rd Street and Shore Front Parkway, with FDNY officials saying they received the report around 3:30 p.m. As the weather turns more unsettled later today, the risk at the waterfront becomes less forgiving, especially if winds and storms complicate visibility and surf conditions.

Preschool enrollment is essentially flat, with overall applications for both pre-K and 3-K virtually unchanged, dropping by less than 1% compared with last year. Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani is highlighting what he calls better options for NYC parents as the city reads stagnating numbers for what they suggest about demand, access, and family decision-making. For households building fall plans now, the practical takeaway is not a rush but a contest over fit: which programs families can actually reach, afford in time and logistics, and trust with a daily schedule.

Macy’s announced its July 4 fireworks will return to the Hudson River for a special 2026 edition marking the 250th anniversary of the United States and the 50th anniversary of the company’s fireworks display, and this year’s show will include fireworks from both the Hudson and the East Rivers. Details on viewing areas and logistics are still to come, but the practical point is planning: once the city releases specifics, expect crowding in parks, road closures, and transit impacts that will hit families and workers who treat the holiday as a movement problem as much as a celebration.

That’s Today in New York.