NYC NOW - August 2, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: August 2, 2024

The NYPD says Joshua Dorsett, 22, will face an attempted murder charge for shooting at police responding to a 911 call. Plus, bicyclists and pedestrians are upset with the Port Authority because they can’t access the George Washington Bridge overnight. Also, WNYC’s Arun Venugopal checks in with a community fixture in Brooklyn who, like thousands others, is being priced out of her longtime Bed-Stuy neighborhood. And finally, the Hong Kong Dragon Boat festival returns to Queens this weekend!

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. The NYPD says a 22-year-old man named Joshua Dorset is now facing an attempted murder charge. They say he shot and injured two NYPD sergeants Thursday afternoon. According to police officials, Dorset entered a mahjong parlor on Canal Street shortly after 4 o'clock, waved a gun, and demanded women's purses. The two sergeants responded to the 911. one call and pursued him, and police say Dorset shot at them when he was stopped minutes later. Both officers were hit, one in the groin and the other in the leg, but both are stable and

expected to recover. Dorset's attorney declined to comment. You may have heard bicyclists and pedestrians can't access the George Washington Bridge overnight. A group of mostly New Jersey residents are calling the excuses from the Port Authority nonsense. WMYC's Charles Lane has more details. The Port Authority has a complex set of explanations for why the bike path closes for six hours every night. They range from bridge restoration to, quote, cleaning and maintenance. None of this makes sense to Casey Knight. He's a Fort Lee resident petitioning to open the bike path overnight. They're not articulate or intelligent enough to understand that what they're saying is impossible. Whatever the reason, the gates slam shut every night at midnight and don't open up again

until 6 a.m. There are a lot of people who just simply can't afford to drive a vehicle or to take an Uber into the city to work. And a lot of these people start at 5 o'clock in the morning because they're in essential roles in the city. Michael Digidio is a former security official for the bridge. He wouldn't go on tape, but he told WNYC that the path has been closing overnight for years, in part, because of security threat assessments. The Port Authority doesn't list that as a reason and has declined multiple interview requests. They did, however, add that the path might open up after restoration of the bridge is complete in 2030. New York City officials plan to offer free curbside composting across all of the city. They're gearing up to expand the program to three more boroughs. WMYC's Liam Quigley explains.

If you live in Brooklyn or Queens, you can already dump your food scraps into an official brown compost bin to be picked up at the curb. Officials say by early October, the program is expanding to the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Sanitation officials say they want to make composting as simple as possible. You just set out your organic waste bin on the day your recycling is usually collected. But the program isn't optional. Starting next spring, property owners could face fines if they don't separate their compost from the rest of the trash. If you live in the Bronx, Manhattan, or Staten Island, you can order a free composting

bin right now at nyc.gov slash curbside composting. You can also use any bin you want as long as it's 55 gallons or less and has a secure. A lifelong bedstye resident and community fixture is following so many others by leaving the area due to rising rents. More on that after the break. Tens of thousands of black residents have left bedstie Brooklyn in recent years. And now, a lifelong resident and business owner says it might be her turn. thanks to rising costs. WMYC's Arun Vannegapal has more on a community fixture who's been at the center of the neighborhood's life and its greenery. Hi, I'm DeBora Young, and I am the garden goddess.

DeBora Young has spent nearly all her 64 years playing in the dirt. She credits her family. Well, my parents came from North Carolina during the Great Migration, so, you know, everybody blacked down there pretty much was agricultural. Young was born in Bedstuy in 1960 and planted her first seed at age three, a morning glory. And that plant is still growing. Twelve years ago, she opened Seasons, a nursery and garden center. But more than a business. It's a place where neighbors are constantly dropping by. Hey, babe, how are you?

And where Young inquires into their lives. When she sits out on that street corner, it's like the Queen of England holding court. This is Stephen Sunderland, the manager. of her nursery. He was watering touch-me-nots nearby. She knows your grandchildren. She knows you got marriage. She knows where you live. But Young says her beloved nursery is now likely to close. The property owner wants to sell the site. They offered her dibs and a significant discount, but she says it's far out of her reach. The rents are ridiculous. I would have to sell plants and heroin and maybe put a pole up and have seasons after dark.

But Stephen out there in a thong and a pair of pumps. This corner of Bedstuy with its magnificent Victorian homes is lush. There are flower pots everywhere, in part because of people like Deborah Young. But she says the neighborhood is changing. Newcomers are different, less likely to embrace stoop culture or get involved in the Block Association. That was always my big fear about Bedstoy, that we would become like Manhattan. Hey, babe, how are you? Hi, huh.

Where you have a four-story building with five doorbells, and nobody knows the people that live under them, above them, next to them. That's how it is over there. Here, we're nosy. We want to know who you are. Her manager, Sunderland, says this is the most fun business he's ever worked at. He hasn't seriously considered life after seasons. and says its loss would have a profound impact on the neighborhood.

This is the village green for this area. And when this goes, the village green will disappear. Young says her lease concludes in December. That's WNYC's Arun Vanacapal. Looking for something interesting to do this weekend? Consider the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, which returns to Queens this weekend. The free two-day event takes place at Fleshing Meadows Corona Park.

Teams will race their custom-built dragon boats across Meadow Lake. You can also catch musical performances and martial arts demonstrations, learn arts and crafts, and try a variety of food. Organizers say the festival has been going on in Queens for over 30 years and stems from a tradition in China that dates back over 2,000 years. The races start at 9th Saturday morning and will take place rain or shine. And before we go, a quick heads up. An official heat emergency in New York City is now in effect through Monday. According to NYC, emergency management, cooling centers will remain open until then. The city is also under a code red alert, which means officials and nonprofit workers are stepping up outreach to unsheltered people

living on the streets. New Yorkers can find the cooling center nearest to them on the city's website or by calling 311. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Shout out to our production team. It includes Sean Bowdoch, Amber Bruce, Ave Carrillo, Audrey Cooper, Owen Caj. Laura Noam Kravitz, Jared Marcel, and Wayne Showmeister, with help from all of my wonderful colleagues in the WNYC Newsroom. Our show art was designed by the people at Buck, and our music was composed by Alexis Quadrato. I'm Jene Pierre. Have a lovely weekend. See you on Monday.