Michael Benjamin
The Archive
Don’t fault Daniel Penny for trying to save others like the heroes on United 93
The only difference between Daniel Penny and the heroic passengers aboard United 93 is he’s been charged with manslaughter by a usually soft-on-crime Manhattan DA.
Progressives want to stop NY's new chief judge -- because he actually follows the law!
Gov. Hochul did the right thing in nominating Judge Hector LaSalle. With Judge LaSalle leading the Court of Appeals, New Yorkers will see justice done.
How Dems seized on a false claim that Zeldin refused to condemn white supremacists
Democrats this election cycle from New York to California insist that democracy is at stake and truth-telling is of paramount importance.
A vicious psych-al: Here's what happened to homeless man who attacked me in NYC
New York has become Dodge City, because of laws without consequences and judges who practice revolving-door-justice.
Judge Frank's ruling on NYC education budget is another blow to school accountability
Frank’s ruling sets a horrible precedent and will lead to a significant waste of money, but perhaps worst of all, it further erodes what little accountability remains in our school...
Public-school parents — like me — are thrilled Adams is expanding Gifted and Talented classes
As a New York City Housing Authority kid who entered a public-school gifted-and-talented class in the fifth and sixth grades, I’m elated that Mayor Adams is expanding access to G&T...
The true horror is urban violence, not Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars
On Sunday, much of America was disgusted when actor Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars – but not so much at the daily violence minorities suffer in...
I won't bend the knee to Twitter's sarcasm-challenged speech police
Twitter is an ass. Well, its “Karen” algorithm is an ass. Ten days ago, the social-media giant suspended my account for an allegedly “hateful” post. I had sarcastically responded to...
Mentally ill are a true danger on NYC's subways, action must be taken
The EDP situation on the subway is real and dangerous. It’s time to stop naming laws after crime victims without those laws being ineffective half-measures.
Gifted and Talented programs helped me and my family — de Blasio is taking away hope
Mediocrity has been the hallmark of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s nearly eight-year tenure at City Hall and he is leaving that mark on the city’s public school system by elimination...
Are you sure your kid can read? All too many US public schools won’t tell you the truth
Too many public schools not only fail to teach basic skills; they promote students with decent grades without ever alerting families to how bad things really are.
NYC DOE is just wrong on demanding in-school COVID-19 tests
On Monday, public schools in the city reopened for K-5 students who signed up for blended learning after shutting down on Nov. 19 when the citywide COVID-19 positivity rate surpassed...
New York's Democratic socialists want a revolution — but does anyone else?
Fresh off of surprising upset victories in this summer’s Democratic primaries for state Assembly and Senate, the city’s Democratic socialists are targeting the City Council primaries next year, when 35...
A note to Joe Biden: You ain’t Barack
Joe Biden finally made some news from his undisclosed location somewhere in central lockdown Delaware. He appeared Friday on “The Breakfast Club,” where he was interviewed by Charlamagne tha God. It...
I'm still commuting -- and seeing the signs of NYC's failure
Death and disease have been with humankind since we emerged from the primordial muck (or, depending on your truth, since Adam and Eve were deported from Eden), and our species...
Black voters may ‘save’ Biden in South Carolina — and then give up on him
By Saturday night, we will know if South Carolina is the firewall that ex-Vice President Joe Biden and the rest of the Democratic Party establishment needed to prevent Sen. Bernie...
City Hall still has no timetable for electronic ankle monitoring system
Despite having months to prepare, City Hall failed to put in place a program that could give back to judges a powerful tool to keep tabs on potentially violent defendants...
Pols could fix the 'no bail' law — if only they would read it first
Do legislators — including the head of the state Assembly — actually know what’s in the “no bail” criminal justice law? An interaction I had on social media this week...
African American community must stand with Jews against wave of assaults
New York’s epidemic of anti-Semitic attacks is horrifying. It’s also maddening that city leaders won’t address the elephant in the room — that the suspects in these heinous acts are...
The city needs more Gifted & Talented programs like the one that worked for me
When I read that Mayor Bill de Blasio’s diversity-advisory committee recommended dismantling gifted-and-talented education and screened schools entirely, I saw it as a defenestration. I grabbed my phone and tweeted...