💸🚇🍼 New Year, New Laws! How 2026 Will Hit Your Wallet in NY & NJ 🎉📜

The J3M Report

01 Jan 2026 — 6 min read

The Nibble

📰 New Year, New Laws! How 2026 Will Hit Your Wallet in NY & NJ

Civic Spotlight:

🗽 New York’s 2026 Health Care Win: Life-Saving Care Without the Sticker Shock

📌 What's up

🍿 The Nibble 📰

Please NOTE: The New York City Department of Sanitation announced that Thursday, January 1, 2026, there will be NO trash, curbside composting nor recycling collection on the holiday. Residents who normally receive Thursday trash, curbside composting, or recycling collection may place their material at the curb Thursday evening, for collection beginning Friday December 26.

1/1/2026 Alternate side parking and meters are suspended

💸🚇🍼 New Year, New Laws! How 2026 Will Hit Your Wallet in NY & NJ 🎉📜

A new year isn’t just about gym memberships you won’t use — 2026 brings a wave of new laws in New York and New Jersey that will affect your money, your commute, your phone, your business, and even your kids’ social media feeds.

Here’s the no-nonsense, reader-friendly breakdown 👇

🗽 NEW YORK: Pay Raises, Paperwork & Powerful Protections💰 Minimum Wage Boost

$17/hr in NYC, Long Island & Westchester ⬆️
$16/hr everywhere else
Inflation indexing begins in 2027 📈

👶💳 Families Get a Bigger Boost

Child Tax Credit:
- Up to $1,000 per child under 4 🍼
- Up to $330 per child ages 4–16
NEW BABY Benefit 🎁
- $1,800 one-time payment for families on public assistance at birth
- Helps cover diapers, clothing & safe-sleep items

🏢📂 LLC Transparency Act (Jan 1)

LLCs formed in or authorized to do business in NY must disclose beneficial owners to the NY Department of State 🕵️‍♀️
⏱️ New LLCs: 30 days to file
⏳ Existing LLCs: must comply by Jan 1, 2027
👉 Yes, more paperwork — but aimed at cracking down on shell companies 💼

💼💰 Secure Choice Savings Program (March 18)

Most private employers with 10+ employees
If you don’t offer a retirement plan, you must register
State-run Roth IRA option for workers 🏦
Auto-enroll, employee-funded, portable

🚇💳 Transit: Tap & Pay (and Pay More)

Subway & bus fare: $3.00
Express bus: $7.25
LIRR & Metro-North: ~4.5% increase
Bridges & tunnels: +20¢–60¢ 🚗
🪦 MetroCard officially dies after Dec 31, 2025 — OMNY only

📱🧒 SAFE for Kids Act

Social media platforms cannot use addictive algorithms on minors 🧠
No late-night notifications (12 AM–6 AM) without parental consent 🌙
Big shift for Big Tech 👀

🛑✂️ Subscriptions: Easier to Quit (Finally!)

Effective Jan 1

Canceling must be as easy as signing up
No more “call us,” “email us,” or hidden maze-clicks 🧩🚫

🛍️ Retail Returns = Clear & Fair

Large retailers (500+ employees) must:
- Clearly post return/refund policies
- Offer at least 30 days for returns or exchanges 🔄

⚡🏢 All-Electric Buildings (with a caveat)

Most new buildings under 7 stories must be all-electric
No gas heat or appliances 🔌
⚠️ Enforcement may be partially delayed due to ongoing legal challenges

🚴🍕 Delivery Workers: More Protection

Paid within 7 days of pay period 💵
Itemized pay statements required 🧾
Tips requested before or at checkout 💝
Certified, safe e-bikes only (workers can’t be forced to buy them)

📅 Many provisions effective Jan 26, 2026

🌭 Street Vending Decriminalized (March 9)

Misdemeanor penalties repealed
Replaced with civil fines only
Big win for small vendors 💪

🚗⚠️ Driver Point System Overhaul (Feb 2026)

License suspension threshold drops to:
- 10 points in 24 months (was 11 in 18)
Higher penalties:
- Reckless driving: 5 → 8 points 🚨
- Cell phone use: 5 → 6 points 📵
- Speeding (≤10 mph over): 3 → 4 points

🏠⚖️ Appraisal Discrimination Ban (Jan 1)

Explicitly bans racial or demographic bias in home appraisals
Stronger enforcement against undervaluation 🏡

⚕️🕊️ Medical Aid in Dying

Allows terminally ill adults (6-month prognosis) to request life-ending medication
Law is enacted; implementation continues into 2026, with full availability expected mid-year for many providers

🟡 NEW JERSEY: Wages Up, Gas Costs Up, Veterans Win

💵 Minimum Wage Increases

$15.92/hr for most workers
Seasonal & small employers: $15.23
Farm workers: $14.20 🌾
Long-term care workers: $18.92 🏥
Tipped workers: $6.05 cash wage (+ tips)

⛽ Gas Tax +4.2¢

Starts Jan 1
Funds NJ’s Transportation Trust Fund 🚧

🎖️ New Cabinet-Level VA Department

Veterans get a dedicated Department of Veterans Affairs
Military operations handled separately
More focus on housing, healthcare & benefits ❤️

🗽 Civic Spotlight: Keeping You Informed🗽

🏥💙 New York’s 2026 Health Care Win: Life-Saving Care Without the Sticker Shock 💉🎗️🧢

Starting January 1, 2026, New York will roll out three major health insurance reforms designed to remove financial barriers to critical care 💥. Health insurers will now be required to cover medically necessary EpiPens with an annual out-of-pocket cap of just $100 💉—a huge relief for families managing severe allergies as prices have skyrocketed over the years. The state is also expanding breast cancer screening and diagnostic imaging coverage, including mammograms, ultrasounds, and MRIs 🎗️, ensuring patients don’t delay follow-up tests because of cost. Early detection saves lives—and now, it won’t come with a bill.

In another patient-first move, insurers in the large-group market must cover scalp-cooling systems during chemotherapy 🧢❄️, helping reduce hair loss and emotional distress for cancer patients. Without coverage, these systems can cost $1,500–$3,000 per treatment cycle—now, that burden shifts off patients’ shoulders. As Kathy Hochul put it, New Yorkers shouldn’t have to choose between their health and their wallet ❤️. These changes mark a powerful step toward more humane, affordable, and preventive health care across the state.

🤔What's up👀

🎬 Events 👋

Motzei Shabbos 1/3, 1/10 and 1/17

Tuesday 1/6

Flatbush Annual Campaign | Tuesday, January 6, 2026 click here

Sunday 1/11

Flatbush Breakfast P'eylim Lev L'achim | Agudah Of Ave L Bais Binyomin | 9:30 am

Tuesday 1/13

Sunday 1/25

Mosdos Veretzky Dinner | Cocktail Buffet 5:30-7:30pm Program 7:30PM | The Club 1101 Ocean Parkway | Click here for more info.

🎤Lectures 🎤

Thursday 12/25

How to Bentch Children| Rav Daniel Osher Kleinman | Agudath Israel Bais Binyomin | 2913 Avenue L | 8:30 pm

Shabbos 1/3

👩For women only 👩 | Tzivie Strimber | Young Israel of Midwood | 1694 Ocean Ave | 3:15 pm

Sunday, 1/4

What to do if one is C”V carrying on Shabbos… (Reshus Harabim, Carmelis, Makom Petur…) | Rav Zev Smith | Agudath Israel Bais Binyomin 2913 Avenue L (off Nostrand Ave) | 8;30 pm

Thursday 1/8

Mila Controversies 2.0| Rav Daniel Osher Kleinman | Agudath Israel Bais Binyomin | 2913 Avenue L | 8:30 pm

⌛Ongoing🗓️

Monday’s & Wednesday’s

HaRav Kahn Shlita | Shiur on Tehillim with Medrash and Meforshim | 10:40am | Kol Halashon 718-906-6400 press star (*) | Live stream click here.

Thursday’s

Parsha In-Depth with Meforshim | Rav Yerachmiel Frankel | Knesses Bais Avigdor | 1720 Avenue J (Btw E17 & E18) | 11:30 am

📖Learning and Cholent🍲😋 | Bet Shaul U'Miriam | 2208 Ave. S | 8:00-10:00pm🏆

📜 Mishmar | Agudah of Madison | 2122 Ave. S (Ave S & East 22) | 10:00 pm

📖Parsha Ha’Shavua | Rabbi Frand | Y.I. of Midwood | 1694 Ocean Ave | 9:00 pm

Motzei Shabbos

Navi Shiur - Sefer Daniel| Rabbi Yisroel Reisman | Ahi Ezer Cong | Corner Ocean Parkway & Ave S | 730 pm

🚫 No sponsorship here - just cool, pure info for you! 😎 I'll always give you a heads-up when something is sponsored!

🙌 THANK YOU!

We appreciate you reading the J3M Report today! 🗞️
If something caught your eye 👀 or helped you out 👍, spread the word to someone in the J3M community 🏡🧑‍🤝‍🧑 — good info is meant to be shared! 📤

Have an event, fundraiser, store 🛍️ (with amazing service, deals, or products!), lecture 🎤, or production 🎬 or anything else you think is of interest that you want to share? Email us at newsletter@thej3mreport.com

Our newsletter? 📰 Brought to you by the magic of ChatGPT’s AI 🤖✨

For sponsorship opportunities please contact us at newsletter@thej3mreport.com