NYC NOW - August 19, 2024: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: August 19, 2024

Get up and get informed! Here’s all the local news you need to start your day: The number of evictions and booted cars surged in New York City in 2023. As WNYC’s David Brand reports, that meant big business for the city’s marshals. Meanwhile, former U.S. Representative George Santos is expected to plead guilty to federal fraud charges on Monday. Santos faces a 23-count indictment for identity theft, credit card fraud, and stealing campaign funds in a conspiracy to mislead donors. Plus, as a thank you to loyal riders after a summer of service issues, New Jersey Transit is offering free rides for a week starting August 26th.

Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Monday, August 19th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. The numbers of evictions and booty cars in New York City both surged last year as WNYC's David Brand reports. That meant big business for the city marshals. According to data from the city's department of investigation, city marshals earned just under $20 million in

23. It was their most profitable year on record and nearly $8 million more than they made in 2022. Marshals are private contractors with the power to evict tenants, boot cars, and collect debts on behalf of creditors. They get to keep a portion of the assets they seize, and they

earn fees for evictions and car booting. The highest earning marshal took home nearly $2 million. A spokesperson for the Marshalls Association says they save the city money and enforce civil judgments in person. which can be dangerous. George Santos is expected to plead guilty to federal fraud charges this afternoon.

The Associated Press reports the plea deal is happening three weeks before the former Queens and Long Island Republican Congress member was going on trial. Santos is facing a 23-count indictment for identity theft, credit card fraud, and stealing campaign funds, and a conspiracy to mislead donors. Before he was elected to the House in 2022, Santos made national headlines for fabricating large parts of his personal biography. His colleagues expelled him from Congress after less than a year on the job.

In October, Santos' campaign treasurer pleaded guilty to helping him falsified documents to get a loan and faces up to four years in prison. Santos and his attorney did not respond to multiple WNYC request for comment. After a summer of very problematic service, NJ Transit riders are getting free rides for a week beginning August 26th.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy told Picks on politics yesterday. It's a way to thank loyal riders and to apologize for the delay and cancellation issues. We have to find some way to end the summer on a grace note to tip our cap and thank the hundreds of thousands of commuters who have had to put up with a really, really tough summer. Commuters who already bought August monthly passes will automatically get 25% off their September passes. 71 and cloudy now, chances of showers. and thunderstorms ahead of a cold front could get rough this afternoon, mostly cloudy and low 80s.

Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you this afternoon.