NYC NOW - August 29, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: August 29, 2024

Hate crime in New York state is up by double-digits, according to a new report from state comptroller. Plus, WNYC’s Stephen Nessen went to East Harlem, and reports many people there are desperate for the MTA to complete the extension of the Second Avenue subway. And finally, WNYC’s Tiffany Hanssen talks with Albany reporter Jon Campbell about Gov. Hochul's pause on the congestion pricing plan and how it’s playing out in congressional campaigns in New York City’s suburbs.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Genevierre. Hate crime in New York State is up by double digits. That's according to a new report from state controller Tom DiNapoli. Hate crimes across the state were up 13% in 2023 compared to the year before. Nearly half of the incidents targeted Jewish people. The data show that most hate crimes were committed against people, representing a turn from previous years. when property crime was a more common offense.

In New York City, hate crimes included 72 felony assaults. Both Jewish and Muslim leaders reported a spike in attacks after the war between Israel and Hamas began in October. Governor Kathy Hockel's congestion pricing pause was welcomed news to drivers hesitant to pay a $15 toll. But the MTA says Hockel's move pauses several planned projects to the subway system, including the extension of the 2nd Avenue subway into East Harlem. More on that after the break.

The MTA says it needs the money from congestion pricing to extend the 2nd Avenue subway into East Harlem. But with the tolling program put on pause by Governor Kathy Hokel, it's not clear if or when the project will move forward. WMYC's Stephen Nesson went to East Harlem and reports many people there are desperate for the subway, but also opposed to paying more tolls. Brooklyn resident Keith Green rides the subway for his daily commute to East Harlem. The substance abuse counselor lives next to the Q line, which currently ends at 96th Street. That means he needs to find other transportation methods to get to his job, dozens of blocks farther north. It would have been perfect for you if they had a Q train all the way here. They had a Q train here, you know, but I don't want my convenience to be a burden on the rest of society because $15 is outrageous.

Green is like many people who live or work in East Harlem. They love the MTA's plan to extend the queue train under 2nd Avenue and connect to the Lexington Avenue line at 125th Street, but they aren't in favor of the funding source. Tolls from the now paused congestion pricing plan. I think that inflation is already at all-time high, and people just can't afford it. For now, Governor Hocco believes she's giving drivers some respite

from the planned tolls for drivers entering Manhattan south of 59th Street, But her indefinite pause also leaves a $16 billion hole in the MTA's construction budget. The transit agency says it can't sign a contract with a company to dig out the tunnel for the new line until it has the funding congestion pricing was supposed to generate. It's just the latest halt in the long saga of the 2nd Avenue subway, which has been promised to the people of East Harlem for nearly a century. To hold this hostage, you know, for us, to make us think we're getting. it and then to change and just say, oh, if you don't do this, then you won't have it. I think it's rotten.

That 70-year-old L.M. who lives in the neighborhood. Like Green, she wants the subway, but not the tolls. In fact, I'm going to get my car right now. Betsy and Andy Waters trekked up to 125th Street from Midtown to an MTA Information Center on the project, their Second Avenue stand. I'm fascinated with the whole construction of the subway. But Betsy is bummed to hear its future is in jeopardy. Yes, very disappointed. Well, if you consider the fact that they started this originally in the 1920s, 100 years later, hey, that's pretty good for New York.

There is some progress on the project. Governor Hokel gave the MTA $54 million from state reserves. But that's not nearly enough to cover its expected $7.7 billion price tag. It's still unclear if she'll be able to bring more trains to East Harlem without tolling drivers to help pay for it. That's WNYC's Stephen Nesson. Governor Hokel's pause on that congestion pricing plan is also injecting an extra wrinkle into some of the congressional campaigns in New York City's suburbs. New York Republicans were planning to hammer Democrats for the toll on drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street. Now, some are trying to figure out how to run on the controversy.

seal congestion toll that wasn't. For more, my colleague Tiffany Hansen talked with WMYC's Albany reporter John Campbell. The governor says she wasn't playing politics when she stopped congestion pricing from taking a fact. Is she telling us the truth? Well, I mean, you're right. The governor claims that $15 toll was just too much for New Yorkers to stomach at a time where cost of goods is up, inflation is high. But that said, there are huge political implications. That's just a fact. I mean, It's particularly true when it comes to congressional races. Most of the closest battles are in the New York City suburbs, and that's where tons of commuters live and where congestion pricing is very unpopular.

Congressman Pat Ryan is a Democrat from Ulster County in the Hudson Valley. He's been very critical of congestion pricing, and he himself took credit for the governor's pause, but he's not willing to say it was political. He spoke about that with WAMC, a public radio station in Albany. The governor's decision to listen to the people she represents and folks like me that were also channeling what we were hearing, I think she should be commended for it's in my mind how government should work. Now, his opponent is Republican Allison Esposito. She's a former NYPD deputy inspector. She ran for lieutenant governor last cycle.

She says the governor was playing politics, and she's among those who say congestion pricing should be scrapped permanently. Well, you're talking about these congressional races in the suburbs. Is congestion pricing still a major issue there? Democrats were pretty fearful that they'd just be blasted with campaign ads ripping them for the congestion toll. And that toll was years in the making. It was meant to fund those major upgrades to the transit system. But then the pause kind of took that off the table. But that said, it still has popped up on the campaign trail.

Here's an ad that Republican Representative Mike Lawler of the Hudson Valley ran, earlier this month. It starts with him narrating over images of kids having a water balloon fight, and he compares that to politicians trying to work together in Washington. I'd rather focus on getting things done. That's why I brought Democrats and Republicans together to stop the MTA's congestion pricing tax. So you heard it there. I mean, he's taking credit for the pause, even though Governor Hockel is a Democrat. His opponent, Mondare Jones, He's the former Democratic congressman. He says that's just nonsense.

And some of Lawler's fellow Republicans are taking a different tack. Anthony Di Esposito on Long Island, for example, he's been speaking out against the idea that the governor is going to bring back the toll in some form after election day. Have any of these strategies been working? Do we see the needle moving at all in these races? I reached out to Larry Levy. He's the executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra. He says Republicans,

have made bigger issues of other things like immigration policy and the economy. But he did say that Governor Hockel's decision to pause congestion pricing made it less of an issue on the campaign trail. That said, we're still more than two months away from Election Day. And that's a lifetime in politics. A lot can happen between now and then. That's WNYC's John Campbell talking with my colleague Tiffany Hanson. Before we go, some news for theater lovers and health care workers.

A new musical about the discovery of penicillin is debil. viewing off-Broadway and singing in the show are some New York City health care workers. It's called Lifeline, and it tells the story of penicillin founder Alexander Fleming. The city's health commissioner, Ashwin Vasson, says health care workers do their jobs daily, but rarely get this kind of spotlight. Lifeline sold out at the Edenberg French Festival and also features a full cast of professional actors. The show runs at the Signature Theater in Midtown through September 28th. Thanks for listening to NYC Now from WNWRF.

Catch us every weekday, three times a day. I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.