WNYC

06/10/2022

NJ man pleads guilty to COVID-19 cleaning products scam: DOJ

He made more than $2.7 million selling unregistered pesticides he claimed could kill COVID-19, officials say.

06/09/2022

City drops mask mandate for children ages 2 to 4

“What's the rush? We are on the verge of being able to protect these children by vaccinating them hopefully within the next few weeks, and I do not understand the urgency to drop the mandate today,” says pediatrician Dr. Jesse Hackell.

The city still "strongly recommends" kids wear masks indoors.

06/09/2022

Ex-NYPD officer faces up to 4 years in prison for shooting at ocean

He faces between 16 months and four years in prison for the charge of criminal possession of a weapon charge, a felony.

06/09/2022

Planning to apply for an absentee ballot? You'd better 'think twice'

"If you fill out an absentee ballot application, you can not vote at the machines.”

More than 300,000 people applied for absentee ballots in the past two years only to vote in person instead. But now the law has changed.

06/09/2022

Congestion pricing continues to stall, three years after being announced

"Frankly, we know that the longer this takes to play out, the more chance there is that there would be political changes that would undermine the entire program.”

An environmental review assessment is the latest in a series of slowdowns.

06/09/2022

A groundbreaking Lou Reed exhibit offers rare sounds and unprecedented insights

"The great thing about the NYPL The New York Public Library and the collection being here is that anyone can walk right in, go to one of these computers and pull up the Finding Aid, and search through all the collection of tapes and videos, and cue up whatever they want to listen to."

"Lou Reed: Caught Between the Twisted Stars," at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, ranges from rare demos to personal and professional ephemera.

06/09/2022

Court rules city must conclude yeshiva investigation

A Department of Education investigation in 2019 found only two out of 28 yeshivas investigated in New York City were providing students with an education that was “substantially equivalent” to instruction offered in secular public schools.

"It is the State Respondents’ legal responsibility to ensure compliance with the compulsory education law."

06/09/2022

Keeping Score: How a divided Brooklyn public school campus is trying to unite through sports

Each of the four floors at the John Jay Educational Campus in Park Slope houses a different high school. This year, for the first time ever, students from all four played on the same volleyball team.

06/09/2022

City targeted same homeless New Yorkers over and over in encampment sweeps, data shows

Nigel Jagmohan says repeated contact with the city hasn't gotten him closer to housing—he was once promised a single-person room that didn't materialize.

He says the city throws out his possessions during visits, but every time, "I find more stuff."

“This is just bullying as municipal policy,” said Craig Hughes, a social worker with the Safety Net Project of the Urban Justice Center.

06/09/2022

After 9-year push, 'Beastie Boys Square' looks like sure shot on Manhattan's Lower East Side

"The Beastie Boys lived and breathed the Lower East Side as the Lower East Side lived and breathed the Beastie Boys," says City Councilmember Christopher Marte. "MCA, Ad-Rock and Mike D put this neighborhood on the hip-hop map."

The fight for the right to rename the intersection at Ludlow and Rivington as "Beastie Boys Square" is almost at an end.

06/08/2022

For more than a decade, there have been two sports programs at John Jay, a school building in Brooklyn. This year, they merged as an experiment in integration. For "Keeping Score," a four-part series, we partnered with The Bell to hear directly from students who are in the thick of it. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Nx7APh

06/08/2022

Trump children called to testify in New York AG probe

Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and former President Donald Trump are scheduled to testify in July.

Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and former President Donald Trump are scheduled to testify in July

06/08/2022

DiNapoli: NY schools failing on mental health training

“School personnel are often the first to notice if a student is having mental health challenges, and they need effective training to help them understand the signs and symptoms early on,” State Comptroller DiNapoli said. "Failure to do so can have devastating consequences."

A report released in the wake of the Uvalde massacre shows New York schools are not providing sufficient mental health

06/08/2022

Audio exhibit debuts at 13 community gardens, uncovering the climate shifts in Brooklyn backyards

Fifty seven New York City gardeners have shared their thoughts on climate change, and visitors to public gardens across Brooklyn can listen to the fears and concerns of those who dig in the ground every day thanks to a new art installation.

Urban gardeners are witnessing the incremental shifts of extreme weather unfolding in their crops. An oral history now documents their stories.

06/08/2022

NJ set aside millions to get people back to work, but records show most of it remains untouched

Tom Bracken, president and CEO of the NJ Chamber of Commerce, says the state's Return and Earn program, designed to incentivize unemployed people to return to work, is not working.

"170 employees brought back to work in a state where there are millions of job openings."

The state’s Return and Earn program launched in September to incentivize workers collecting unemployment to rejoin the workforce, but bureaucratic delays are slowing the distribution of money.

06/08/2022

Hochul: Congestion pricing is ‘not going to happen in the next year'

During Tuesday's gubernatorial primary debate, Governor Hochul said “an additional environmental issue” has been raised by the federal government that could derail congestion pricing.

The long-delayed plan to charge drivers entering into Manhattan conitnues to be long delayed.

06/08/2022

Guns, graft and ghosts: Hochul squares off against challengers

There was little consensus among the three candidates during Tuesday night's debate. Then the moderator asked about ghosts.

06/07/2022

Suspect accused of selling $40K worth of guns in NYC: DA Bragg

Officials say the suspect had five semi-automatic pistols and an AR-15-style assault rifle when he was arrested.

06/07/2022

Battle over voting rights for noncitizen residents in NYC elections officially enters courtroom

Lawyers made their case in court for the first time Tuesday six months after the law took effect.

06/07/2022

City follows through on budget cuts to schools with fewer students

Principals were still reviewing their new spending plans Tuesday.

Principals were still reviewing their new spending plans Tuesday

06/07/2022

In the final episode of Dead End: A New Jersey Political Murder Mystery, if a family as powerful and well-connected as the Sheridans gets such bad treatment, what does this say about the justice system in New Jersey? Listen here: https://bit.ly/38UUBr3

06/07/2022

Giant wind turbine ports prepare to transform NYC's coastal woodlands

Spurred by a recent $4.37 billion federal auction of more than 488,000 acres of offshore leases in the New York Bight, these wind farms will help New York realize its 2019 mandate to generate 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

The next two city sites under development are located in Staten Island along the Arthur Kill and are part of a larger plan to develop an offshore wind supply chain network in New York City.

06/07/2022

Queens Starbucks workers vote to unionize in a growing national wave

Workers planned to rally outside the MoMA on Tuesday night to confront Starbucks board chair Mellody Hobson — who’s being honored for her philanthropy — to call out the company’s anti-union tactics. Employees have described facing threats from managers regarding their pay, schedules and discipline in response to their organizing efforts.

Workers will rally at MoMA Tuesday night to confront the Starbucks board chair.

06/07/2022

Three leading Democratic gubernatorial candidates will debate tonight. Here’s what to look for.

For the first time in state gubernatorial history, male candidates will be taking on a sitting female governor. Kean University's David Birdsell says that means Jumaane Williams and Tom Suozzi will have to criticize without appearing to “mansplain to a sitting governor.”

This will mark the first time Gov. Kathy Hochul will participate in a gubernatorial debate.

06/06/2022

More Rikers detainees missing medical appointments, despite reform efforts

“The department keeps saying they’re just about to turn things around, the improvements are just around the corner,” says Veronica Vale, a supervising attorney at the Legal Aid Society. “But the numbers are getting worse."

City data shows the problem of missed medical appointments is only getting worse.

06/06/2022

‘This keeps me up at night’: Adams warns looming SCOTUS gun ruling could wreak havoc

The potential legal upheaval comes as the city has seen a steady decline in shootings over the last two months, but experts warn of a spike in gun violence that typically occurs during the summer.

The Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision as early as this week that could make it harder for New York to restrict concealed carry permits for firearms.

06/06/2022

Mental health professionals will accompany cops on some 911 calls in North Jersey

“Quite frankly, we’re not experts in the mental health field like these screeners are,” says New Jersey State Police Captain Robert Gates.

The program aims to change the way law enforcement statewide handles mental health crises, avoiding tense incidents that can end in police killings.

06/06/2022

City makes no moves on sprinkler mandates, almost six months after Bronx fire

After the Twin Parks fire in the Bronx, Mayor Adams and city leaders vowed to resurrect legislation that would require older apartment buildings to install sprinklers.

When fire safety bills were approved last week, an update on sprinklers was not among them.

Mayor Eric Adams said he would revisit sprinkler retrofits after the Twin Parks North West fire.

06/06/2022

With Albany legislative session over, focus shifts to the primary

Brace yourself New York — now that lawmaking is over, campaign season is about to kick into high gear.

Statewide elected officials and Assembly lawmakers are in full campaign mode.

06/06/2022

Amazon heads to court to defend against allegations of unfair labor practices on Staten Island

Amazon could be compelled to post more notices regarding labor rights and potentially fork over monetary damages.

The tech behemoth denies that if violated federal labor law.

06/06/2022

NYC’s plan for public internet paused under Mayor Adams

In fall 2021, the de Blasio administration announced a number of local businesses owned or led by women and people of color would help get New Yorkers connected to affordable broadband. Now the plan is paused, leaving the poorest New Yorkers hanging while the Adams administration decides whether to proceed.

In the meantime, more than a million New Yorkers are going without reliable internet access.

06/06/2022

NYC Parks greenlights city’s first public observatory. Now comes the paperwork.

An observatory dome, used by community college students for more than 40 years to see millions of light years away from Earth, is a half-mile closer to becoming New York City’s first public observatory.

In a last-minute scramble to prevent its demolition, local astronomers managed to hold on to the observatory, which can fit three people inside.

06/05/2022

Albany passes 'right to repair' law for electronics to confront 'monopoly' on repair market

The legislation, which still needs to be signed into law by the governor, is believed to be the first of its kind in the United States.

06/05/2022

Building trust between cops and community in Newark begins with talking about trauma

In a conference room in Newark, police officers and community members sat in a semicircle, discussing systemic racism, implicit bias, intergenerational trauma, and mass incarceration.

They talked about decades of distrust, and they talked about moving on.

Trauma to Trust is one of several programs across the country aimed at repairing relationships between police and community members.

06/05/2022

Queens Pride Parade returns to Jackson Heights after pandemic pause

While the parade was well stocked with politicians, several prominent political groups are still voicing displeasure with Mayor Adams and plan to boycott a pride reception Tuesday because of the mayor’s appearance. The groups decried the mayor’s hiring of several administration officials who’ve expressed or supported groups with anti-LGBTQ sentiments.

Several prominent political groups plan to boycott the parade because of Mayor Eric Adams' appearance, citing his hiring of several administration officials who’ve expressed or supported groups with anti-LGBTQ sentiments.