NYC NOW - August 27, 2024: Midday News

Episode Date: August 27, 2024

Prosecutors say Rikers Island Correctional Officer Anthony Martin Jr., accused of sexually assaulting at least two women in jail, was arraigned Monday on allegations that he lured a woman to his Springfield Gardens home by pretending to be a TV producer and then raped her. Meanwhile, eligible New York families have until Tuesday, September 3rd, to apply for a new food benefits program providing up to $120 per child in EBT benefits. Plus, the U.S. Open saw a record-breaking 75,000 fans at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on opening day. Finally, the state is investigating potentially toxic air in 100 blocks around Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal. WNYC’s Sean Carlson speaks with Jack Riccobono of Voice of Gowanus and Walter Hang, founder of Toxics Targeting, for more details.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Tuesday, August 27th. Here's the midday news. I'm Junae Pierre. Prosecutors say a Rikers officer accused of sexually assaulting at least two women in jail raped a different woman in Queens back in March. Anthony Martin Jr. was arraigned Monday on allegations that he lured the woman to his Springfield Gardens home by saying he was a TV producer casting for a new show.

Here's WMYC's Samantha Max. The Queen's DA's office says Martin Jr. got in touch with the woman on social media and that she went to his house expecting to meet other producers and prospective cast members. But prosecutors say when the woman got there, Martin Jr. was alone. Martin Jr. has pleaded not guilty to rape and other charges and could spend up to 25 years behind bars. He's out on bail while he awaits trial and has been suspended without pay. Martin Jr. hung up when reached my phone and his attorney declined to comment. Eligible families in New York State have until September 3rd to apply for a new food benefits program this season.

The summer electronic benefits transfer program provides up to $120 per child in EBT benefits that can be used on groceries. That's to ensure families have access to food all year round and not just during the school year. who receive SNAP or temporary assistance benefits or are certified for free meals through Medicaid or the National School Lunch Program can apply online. Low-income New Yorkers have a new tool to help them access important benefits. The city's Money in Your Pocket Guide compiles eligibility and application details for dozens of government programs, including food assistance, rent discounts for older people and free meals. Mayor Adams says too many residents aren't accessing benefits that they qualify. I remember that son. We work hard for your money and we're going to make sure you get your money.

These are your dollars. These are tax dollars that you pay that comes back to you through the services. The guide is now available online at the city's website, nyc.gov. More people than ever before are heading to Queens to watch the U.S. Open this week. The United States Tennis Association says nearly 75,000 fans flooded to the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center for opening day Monday. That's the biggest one-day crowd in open history. And there's plenty of time for even more record-breaking attendance at one of tennis's biggest events. The tournament runs until September 8th. A look at your forecast now, 80 degrees, mostly sunny skies.

You can expect highs in the upper 80s. It'll be mostly clear tonight with a low around 72 degrees. And mostly sunny skies ahead again on Wednesday. It'll be a bit warmer with a high around 95. Stay close. There's more after the break. On WNYC, I'm Sean Carlson. For years, advocates in Brooklyn have warned against the pace of development in the neighborhood around the Gowanus Canal. Now the state is investigating 100 blocks in the neighborhood for potentially toxic air. For more, we're joined by Jack Recobono, a Gowanus resident, and the father of three children who either attend or attended PS-32, which has been flagged for toxic air.

He's also a member of the advocacy group Voice of Gowanus. We're also joined via Zoom by Walter Hange, founder and president of the environmental data firm Toxix Targeting, which works with Voice of Gowanus. Hello, Dio both. Welcome. Hey, Sean. Thanks for having us. So, Jack, let's start with you for folks who are not familiar with Gowanus. Can you just describe the neighborhood for us and tell us what drew to live there and decide to raise your family there?

Yeah, absolutely, Sean. I've lived in that area for about 10 years, and it's honestly been rapidly changing over the last decade. It used to be a real industrial hub, and that's the source of a lot of the contamination problems that we're going to talk about today. But it's also like a very vibrant community. A lot of artists move there for the workplaces that they could find. You know, it's a great community. People really care about each other.

There's a lot of old-time residents who are still in the area. And so it has a kind of, you know, real neighborhood feel. Walter, your firm has been looking at the data out of Gowanus. Can you tell us about the chemicals you're finding there and how consistent. concerned residents should be? So as Jack noted, the Gowanus Canal was this heavily industrialized area. It's now been redeveloped. And the problem is that New York State did not require the cleanup of more than 50 giant

contaminated properties. These are called brownfields where tax incentives were offered to try to get the responsible parties to do the cleanup. up and the number one compound that's been identified now in literally dozens of homes, businesses, a church, schools is triclural ethylene. It's a very common industrial chemical. It's a potential human cancer-causing agent, and it's highly neurodegenerative. So it's causally associated with Parkinson's. And it's so persistent in the environment that it's, It's literally coming up out of the ground and it's penetrating into the indoor air of these buildings.

And this is just coming to light literally in recent months. And that's how come this huge study is now underway. Walter, how did those chemicals get there in the first place? So basically these were old, you know, industrial sites, like 514 Union Street, which is where this whole saga began, thanks to WMYC, which broke. the story more than a year and a half ago. This was an old industrial, you know, facility. And so now at that site, they monitor trichlorithylene at 86,000 micrograms per cubic meter. The allowable amount is two. That shuffleboard club had 43 micrograms per cubic meter in the indoor air. And if you look in this area, there are just so many sites with documented tributtal.

chlorathylene, and we're just trying to get our arms around the problem, and we're going to try to require these sites to be comprehensively cleaned up, and that hasn't been done for the last 20 years. Jack, as we mentioned, your children have all gone or currently go to PS32, where some cancerous vapors were found. Tell us about the situation there. Yeah, I mean, you know, what's scary is there's a number of schools that have been tested in the Guana's area, and, you know, we have a sister school, PS-372, the children's school that is now undergoing emergency mitigation efforts because of what these agencies found in the air there. At PS-32, they found an elevated level in one area. And, you know, for us, we're really concerned, obviously, for our children, but also for future

residents. And in Gowanus, you know, it's a drainage area. It's basically an area which gets a tremendous amount of water draining down into it. And with climate change, we have increased elevated rainfall and a lot of flooding problems. And basically, that water is moving this contamination around underneath the ground. So this contaminated groundwater is a huge issue for us. You know, we really want the state and the feds at the EPA to get a handle on the contaminated groundwater and stop the spread of contamination. Walter, is there a way to develop in a neighborhood like Gowanus in a way that doesn't potentially endanger residents' health? Absolutely. You've got to clean up the pollution before you redevelop the site. I mean, that's how come New York's laws are so incredibly

strict. And the most important thing is that according to the state guideline, quote, mitigation is considered a temporary measure implemented to address environmental experiments. related to soil vapor intrusion until contaminated environmental media are remediated, close quote. So we need comprehensive cleanup, and that is focal's responsibility. They're the ones that are granting these restricted residential cleanups that leave so much pollution in place. And this whole matter, again, got going because of the shuffleboard club. And there's a coalition letter at Toxistargeting.com calling on the governor to put a moratorium on all new brownfield approvals until we get our arms around the scope of the problem and figure out how to remediate these sites so they don't threaten public health. Jack, what does voice of Guana's want from the state and the city?

Well, you know, I want to speak as the head of the Health and Safety Committee at the PTA at PS32. too, you know, because we have been involved with the agencies and trying to push them for additional action, you know, and we really feel like, of course, immediate mitigation is needed just to make sure the air is clear in the short term. And then additional investigation. I mean, if you find something toxic, you need to look at the source. Where is it coming from? We want them to comprehensively test the groundwater and the soil and then create a plan for how they're going to actually clean up that contamination. And, you know, we're just sick of it.

These agencies do not have any credibility with us right now. If, you know, this toxic contamination coming into 3K and pre-K classrooms does not wake up these elected officials, I do not know what will. That was Toxic's targeting founder and President Walter Heng and Gawanas resident, Jack Rickabono. He also works with the advocacy group voice of Gowanus. Thanks so much to both of you. Thanks for having me. Thank you. In a statement, the DEC said the department is committed to the Gowanus community and the comprehensive cleanup of more than 50 sites in the neighborhood along with the EPA and State Health Department.

The department says it's available to answer questions from community members and is inviting residents to go to its website or attend a September 19th community availability session at PS 372. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday three times a day for your top news headlines and occasional deep news. and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. More soon.