New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan, NYC Chief Climate Officer Rohit T. Aggarwala, New York Taxi Workers Alliance Executive Director Bhairavi Desai, Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi, Director of New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate Resiliency Jainey Bavishi, New York State Sens. Jeremy Cooney and Kevin Thomas, and Assembly members Zohran Mamdani and Jenifer Rajkumar are among several South Asian Americans listed in City & State’s ‘Power of Diversity: Asian 100.’ The list identifies “New York’s Asian American leaders from a wide range of backgrounds who are gaining political power and standing up for their communities,” says the New York City-based political journalism organization.

Fashion’s biggest night out drew some 600 celebrities, designers and creatives to the 2022 Met Gala Monday, in a star-studded evening that business leaders say sends the crucial message that the city is once again teaming with activity and economic opportunity.

NYC city council considers tax cut: The New York City Council is reportedly planning to dramatically cut the local hotel tax to encourage a faster recovery of the city’s US$100 billion tourism market.

New York City lawmakers are considering slashing tax obligations for hotel owners as they struggle to regain their footing after the pandemic hammered the city’s tourism industry.

By ERIN DURKIN, ANNA GRONEWOLD and DEANNA GARCIA

The hotel industry is still struggling to recover from the effects of the pandemic, and its lobbying group has an idea for the city to consider: lower the occupancy tax rate.

The New York City Council is so concerned about the sluggish recovery of the Big Apple’s $100 billion tourism market from COVID-19 that it’s considering dramatically slashing the local hotel tax to spur a faster rebound, The Post has learned.

You can see tourism’s return in the streets of NYC and data supports it, particularly on the business travel front.