This morning's commute won't be as ugly as yesterday's, when the season's first major snowstorm featured snow, ice, freezing rain and sleet. But it will be icy and cold.

The weather has already caused countless traffic accidents and contributed to 2 deaths, on Long Island and in Westchester.

On Long Island, a ...

REPORTER: City Council Speaker Christine Quinn says New York renters need a break. The Manhattan democrat is expected to lay out the council's budget priorities during today's state of the city speech. Included is a proposal that would give about 1.1 million renters a $300 tax credit.

QUINN: What that means ...

REPORTER: There's less than a week left before a special election for 2 open city council seats and candidates in Staten Island and Brooklyn are working to get out the vote. 10 council hopefuls in central Brooklyn's 41st district gathered earlier this week at an informational forum for voters. Most ...

The number of homeless families seeking shelter in New York City is increasing. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez has more.

REPORTER: About 3,000 families showed up at a homeless intake center during the first 4 months of this fiscal year. The number is a 24% increase over the same period last year.

REPORTER: The ...

REPORTER: Parent advocates and elected officials have called on the Bloomberg administration to pause before re-organizing the school system this fall. The city comptroller and Manhattan Borough president support mayoral control of the city's schools, but say Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein moved too quickly. Pat Boon of the ...

Dubai Ports World says its deal to sell off major port operations in six US cities may fall apart.That's because the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is demanding compensation for improvements they made to the Port Newark Container Terminal.

In a letter to the Port Authority, DP World ...

New York car owners are frosted over the city's insistence of keeping alternate side of the street parking rules in effect, even though their cars were trapped in mounds of frozen snow. Mayor Bloomberg was not sympathetic. He says cars need to be moved so that snow plows can clear ...

New York assemblyman John Lavelle represented part of Staten Island for more than 5 years before his death last month. His son, Daniel Lavelle hopes to keep the seat in the family. He told a local paper, the Staten Island Advance, that he plans to run for his father's post.

Lavelle, ...

REPORTER: The city has approved a plan to renovate the parks of Randall's Island using money from private schools. Under the plan, 20 private schools will pay at least $52 million to fix up existing sports fields and build new ones. In return, the schools will have exclusive rights to ...

REPORTER: The day after the winter storm, dozens of schools are opening late this morning - and some are closed. The main roads are plowed, sanded and salted. But some secondary roads are still covered with ice and snow, and don't have all lanes cleared. City Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty ...

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is delivering the State of the City address this hour, laying out the council's budget priorities. She's proposing a $300 tax credit for the two-thirds of city residents who rent. Quinn says renters haven't benefited from the tax relief enjoyed by the city's homeowners.

QUINN: In ...

Transit advocates are calling on the city to steer more money toward the extension of the 7 subway line to Manhattan's West Side.

The MTA says it will not pay for any cost overruns during the project, and transit advocacy group, the Straphangers Campaign, says that makes sense since the MTA ...

REPORTER: The Archdiocese of New York has closed an East Harlem church more than 2 weeks before the expected closing date after 6 parishioners were arrested for trespassing. The parishioners had staged a sit-in to save "Our Lady Queen of Angels." The church was founded more than 120 years ago ...

A controversial plan to use for private school funds to refurbish public parks on Randall's Island was approved by a city committee this afternoon.

The only dissenting voice was Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who called the plan a sweetheart deal for the Randalls Island Sports Foundation and a blow to ...

Transit advocates are calling on the city to cough up more money to ensure the number 7 train gets extended to Manhattan's west side.

REPORTER: Construction is scheduled to begin this year. But the MTA is now telling the city it won't be held responsible for cost overruns. And the city ...

Crime is on the rise in the city's public schools. Major school felonies are up 21% in the current fiscal year, according to an early draft of the mayor's annual management report of city agencies.

City Hall blames the increase on a rise in grand larceny reports and a few more ...

A railroad industry group wants to develop the first national safety standards for dealing with dangerous train platform gaps. The American Public Transportation Association says that could accelerate change toward safer rail platforms.

The Federal Railroad Administration has also said it will study the idea of developing national standards. The issue ...

REPORTER: Today, a city panel votes on a plan to refurbish the parks of Randalls Island by using funds from 20 private schools. Students from those schools would get preference on some of the sports fields. But Jane, an 11th grader at the Dalton School, says she's opposed to the ...

REPORTER: A winter storm has dumped about 1 to 3 inches of snow and freezing rain on the New York City metro area. Most of the precipitation has been sleet. New York City Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty has some advice for those on the roads today.

DOHERTY: Some of the roadways, ...

REPORTER: Governor Eliot Spitzer may receive a bouquet of red roses on this Valentines Day. But the sender doesn't have romantic intentions. In an effort to soothe relations between the governor's office and the Legislature, Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno wants to send Spitzer flowers. Bruno, the most powerful Republican ...