The striking nurses are aiming to force hospitals to ensure minimum staffing ratios.Credit...Vincent Alban/The New York Times · On Thursday at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, a man cut himself with a makeshift knife and barricaded himself in a blood-spattered room with a patient and a security guard. He was killed after the police said he had rushed them with the weapon. The strike began at 6 a.m.

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

The three-day strike in 2023 resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at Mount Sinai and Montefiore. The pact also included staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, ...