Ralph R. Ortega

@RalphOrtega

Editor-in-Chief of City and State New York, former Daily News reporter, proud father of four, lover of all things Star Trek.

New York

Joined May 2009

699Following

1KFollowers

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Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 15

Editor’s note: Remembering a New York City tabloid, shut down before its prime cityandstateny.com/opinion/2025/0… via @CityAndStateNY

RalphOrtega's tweet card. As one former New York Newsday staffer put it, politicians today are fortunate the paper isn’t around “to torture them.”

Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · 46 m

“There’s been a notable change and unusual clarity about who's in charge at City Hall. The power struggles have ended, and Randy Mastro is running the show.” cityandstateny.com/personality/20… via @CityAndStateNY @SahalieD

RalphOrtega's tweet card. Roughly 100 days in, the first deputy mayor has torpedoed projects, tried to put ICE back on Rikers Island and strong-armed City Council members into an actually somewhat functional relationship.

Ralph R. Ortega Retweeted

Sports Illustrated@SInow · 7 h

Hulk Hogan has died at the age of 71, per @TMZ

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Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 22

RIP Ozzy! Ozzy Osbourne dies at 76 just weeks after ‘farewell’ show nydailynews.com/2025/07/22/ozz…

RalphOrtega's tweet card. Osbourne was a heavy metal pioneer as the lead singer of Black Sabbath and just played a farewell show in Birmingham, England.

Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 22

Jessica González-Rojas launches state Senate campaign with high-profile endorsements cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/… via @CityAndStateNY @petersterne

RalphOrtega's tweet card. She is challenging state Sen. Jessica Ramos, whose decision to endorse former Gov. Andrew Cuomo upset her progressive supporters.

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Ralph R. Ortega Retweeted

Sophie Krichevsky (she/her/hers)@skrichev13 · Jul 21

"In her eyes, focusing too much on what’s next is the easiest way to lose the plot," @AJeffNY writes of @sarahana in his latest cover story. More here: cityandstateny.com/personality/20…

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Holly Pretsky@hollypret · Jul 21

Sliwa once again says he’s not the Trump candidate, says they’ve had a love hate relationship

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Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 21

Census has long struggled with staffing shortages. Employees say Trump is making it worse govexec.com/workforce/2025… via @GovExec @seanthenewsboy

RalphOrtega's tweet card. Voluntary separation incentives and the government hiring freeze have left remaining staff on the hook with more work.

Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 17

Eric Adams now loves going on Fox News cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/… via @CityAndStateNY

RalphOrtega's tweet card. New York City’s mayor has largely ditched MSNBC to spend more time on Republicans’ favorite cable news network this year.

Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 17

Pittsburgh is only metro in U.S. where buying a home is cheaper than renting cityandstatepa.com/policy/2025/07… via @CityAndStatePA @justin_sweitzer

RalphOrtega's tweet card. A new rental report from Realtor.com shows that Pittsburgh stands out among metropolitan areas in the U.S.

Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 16

Is NYC’s housing engine finally restarting? New residential permit filings jump in second quarter cityandstateny.com/policy/2025/07… via @CityAndStateNY @SKastenbaum

RalphOrtega's tweet card. Building permits are up 43% year-over-year as the new 485-x tax break takes effect. Most projects are capped at 99 units – just below the wage trigger in the new program.

Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 16

Connecting housing vouchers with New Yorkers in need of homes cityandstateny.com/nyn-media/2025… via @CityAndStateNY @NYN_media

RalphOrtega's tweet card. Anthos|Home co-founder and CEO Laura Lazarus on finding creative housing solutions with existing resources.

Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 16

Suit: Thomas Donlon’s first NYPD conflict? Cops’ aggro social media use cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/… via @CityAndStateNY @SahalieD @hollypret

RalphOrtega's tweet card. The former interim commissioner alleges his attempts to root out corruption were blocked or ignored by City Hall – starting with a conversation about how police were tweeting.

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Elmo@elmo · Jul 15

On Sunday, Elmo’s X account was briefly hacked by an outside party, in spite of the security measures in place. We strongly condemn the abhorrent antisemitic and racist content, and the account has since been secured. These posts in no way reflect the values of Sesame Workshop…

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Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 16

Surprised?

BBen Max@TweetBenMax · Jul 15

“[Mamdani's] policies sound similar to Bill de Blasio’s, but he’s a lot more pleasant to be around,” Ms. Wylde said. nytimes.com/2025/07/15/bus…

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Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 15

Must-see TV... w/ @errollouis

IInside City Hall@InsideCityHall · Jul 15

Join us tonight at 7p for @errollouis' interview with @andrewcuomo

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Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 15

González-Rojas files to run against Ramos cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/… via @CityAndStateNY @petersterne

RalphOrtega's tweet card. Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas previously called state Sen. Jessica Ramos’ decision to endorse Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral race “disappointing.”

Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 14

“Zohran is a rizzler. He’s the most charismatic politician since Barack Obama.” cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/… via @CityAndStateNY @SahalieD @Annie_McDonough

RalphOrtega's tweet card. If Andrew Cuomo was more of a rarified cardboard box, Adams is a true street campaigner.

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Annie McDonough@Annie_McDonough · Jul 14

Lots of musical chairs this election cycle, including in what would be mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani's ex-Assembly district if he's elected mayor. There's already at least one person ready to run for that seat – former Assembly candidate Mary Jobaida, who registered today.

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Ralph R. Ortega@RalphOrtega · Jul 14

Former LG Betsy McCaughey and former NYPD Commish Ray Kelly launch anti-Mamdani IE cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/… via @CityAndStateNY @Annie_McDonough

RalphOrtega's tweet card. A website for a related nonprofit was selling hats and t-shirts telling New Yorkers to say “NYet” to “Mamdani-ism.” But there’s some confusion about where the nonprofit stops and the political...