NYC NOW - August 7, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: August 7, 2024

New York City Mayor Eric Adams says the Law Department is reviewing allegations of sexual assault in Rikers Islands Jails, even though the department is responsible for defending the city when it faces lawsuits. Plus, WNYC’s Liam Quigley reports there may be some obstacles in the mayor’s fight for a “trash revolution.” Also, WNYC’s Karen Yi spent time with some families deciding whether they should leave New York City as they struggle to find affordable child care and housing. And finally, Ms. Lauryn Hill and the Fugees cancel most of their tour dates, including a show in their home state, New Jersey.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. Mayor Eric Adams is doubling down on his assertion that the New York City Law Department is the agency that should investigate more than 700 allegations of sexual assault by staff at the Rikers Island jails. That's despite the fact that the law department is responsible for defending the city when it faces lawsuits. A WMYC investigation found one former officer at Rikers Island is facing two dozen allegations of sexual assault. We asked the mayor whether a culture at Rikers could have allowed hundreds of incarcerated people to be sexually assaulted. I can't answer that if there's a culture at Rikers Island that's allowing this to happen. That's with the review, even with the law department.

That's the review that would have to be put in place. The Department of Corrections says it doesn't comment on pending litigation. By the way, be on the lookout for a special episode of NYC Now dropping this Saturday. It's a deep dive story about two dozen women who are now suing the city of New York. They claim they were sexually assaulted while held at the Rikers Island jail by a correction officer many knew as Champaign. Turns out, the city had no record of an officer who went by that name. So we went looking for answers. Come back Saturday to hear what we found.

The Adams administration is promising a trash revolution in New York City, and it all rotates around getting piles of trash off the sidewalks and into containers. But one Manhattan block reveals some obstacles in the mayor's fight to clean up the streets. WMYC's Liam Quigley has more. East's 10th Street between 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue is a vibrant but challenging stretch. Nearly a thousand residents call this narrow block home, and they produce a lot of garbage. More than 50,000 gallons a week, according to the sanitation department.

Barbara Weiss has lived here for almost five decades. She says she's seeing more trash and more rats. It's terrible to see them when they've been poisoned. I've had to euthanize a couple of rats because I can't stand to see them suffer. Larry DeBono is a super on the block, and he deals with his fair share of trash in the 31-unit building that he oversees. It's not easy, man. You know, it's a lot of, you know, young kids, which I don't mind. But the garbage here is crazy. It's increased, you know.

The city wants to fight the rat population by requiring all the trash to go into containers. Starting in November, the city is requiring buildings with fewer than 10 apartments to use bins to put out their garbage. But sanitation officials say larger buildings, like the one Dubono works at, will eventually use large dumpster-like containers, not small, bins situated on their blocks. But East 10th Street poses a challenge. The street is lined with parked cars, row houses, and restaurants. Installing large containers would mean losing parking spots. That's a contentious issue for residents like Barbara Weiss. I don't like the idea of more parking spaces being taken up because we've had enough spots with the restaurant sheds and the city bike

stations. The sanitation department released a report last year that deemed containerization on this block not viable. It's cited the need to use 25% of the curb space for containers. But sanitation officials say they've since revised their plan to minimize the number of parking spots that would be affected. In the meantime, Larry De Bono is already using plastic bins. But space on the sidewalk is tight, and without indoor storage, he says he has no choice but to keep the stinky containers in his building's vestibule. It doesn't look good, you know, so they're going to try to do something about because the smell and it's in the lobby, you know, people see it. The full container rollout will get underway next spring in Upper Manhattan.

But it could be a while before residents in De Bono's building can enjoy a breath of fresh air in the lobby. There's no specific date for when the trash revolution will be fully realized on East 10th Street. That's WMYC's Liam Quigley. More and more families are leaving New York City. They say it's just too. expensive to raise a family in the Big Apple. That's after the break. New York City families with young kids are increasingly leaving the five boroughs

in search for affordable child care and housing. It's a tough decision for parents who want to raise their kids in a diverse metropolis or for those who grew up here and want the same for their children. WMYC's Karen Yee spent time with some families deciding whether they should pack up and leave. Hello, town. We're chonky. Caroline Furman's five-month-old daughter is just waking up from a long nap. The family is in their rent-stabilized, two-bedroom apartment in Washington Heights.

But they say is in dire need of repairs and no longer safe for their kids. There was like a fire, the landlord doesn't take care of it, the electrical needs upgrading. Furman's oldest son, who is now three, is in a daycare next door, where they pay $1,300 a month. The plan was for their oldest to start in the city's free 3K program in the fall, right as their daughter would need daycare. We're like, we can, we can swing one daycare bill. There's this like delicate kind of house of cards that you build up. It's like your budget and you move one of them and everything comes crashing down. But this spring, Furman was one of the hundreds of families who were denied a 3K spot because

there were no more seats available in her neighborhood. My whole body like went cold. I had like full shock. Maybe this was dumb on my part. Making all these life decisions based on this promise of free, quality child care. With the additional expense of paying for two kids in daycare, she and her husband, who are both performing artists and educators trained at Juilliard, started seriously considering leaving the city. Affording childcare and the prospect of trying to find another apartment that likely won't be rent-stabilized just isn't sustainable.

One, two, three, four, over the top, six, seven. We love New York. We were always saying, this is where we stay. This is where we belong. And, yeah, it was the first time I felt kind of rejected by New York City. 39-year-old Furman isn't alone. A report earlier this summer by the Fiscal Policy Institute found a troubling trend. While families with young children make up about 14% of the city's population,

they account for 30% of those leaving the five boroughs. They're twice as likely to leave as families without young. young kids. Emily Eisner co-authored their report. These are people we need to sustain New York's economy. These are working class, middle class, people leaving who are doing essential jobs, teachers, nurses, child care providers. 30-year-old Umi Khan and her husband grew up in Queens. They attended New York City public schools, got their degrees at CUNY and now teach in the public

education system. They live in Flushing and her parents also live in the borough. Pretty much a queen's girl for my whole life. But next year, the couple plans to leave the city with their three and four-year-old sons. I kind of like almost go on like depression mode because like I grew up here and I don't want to leave my home. Why am I being pushed to leave my own home? Kahn says they used to pay $3,800 a month for child care for their kids. And even after her children were eligible for 3K and pre-K, they still needed to pay extra for additional hours of care to cover the workday.

and the summers. We want our kids to be raised here. We want our children to grow up the way we grew up, you know, but essentially it's becoming impossible. Khan isn't sure where she'll go, maybe Pennsylvania, Connecticut, or New Jersey, all top destinations for families fleeing the city. The growing cost of child care is increasingly becoming a point of contention

among elected officials and a growing political issue. Rebecca Bailen leads New Yorkers United for child care, a new organization for parents fighting for affordable options. The other kind of beautiful thing that pre-K and 3K has given New Yorkers is the sense of possibility. And God help the person who tries to take it away. The Adams administration made cuts to the city's 3K program, even as parents were left on wait lists or matched with seats too far from their homes. Adams and the city council agreed to overhaul the program, offering longer hours for working families and promising to do more outreach. But for some families, it's too late.

Ooh, pretty flowers. 35-year-old Tamara Shepard is counting flowers with her two-year-old in Prospect Park. It's late July, and in just a few days, she'll finish packing up her apartment, load everything in a truck, and move to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Trying to say it like the logo is Lancaster. Not Lancaster. In their new life outside the city, Shepard and her husband will be homeowners. Their mortgage will cost less than the rent on their apartment.

She'll also be able to afford a Montessori program for her son after two years of juggling a full-time job and caring for him at home. I just want to be able to give him the best life possible, and there's a lot of things about New York in terms of diversity and just really getting to see people of all backgrounds, all cultures, all religions. I think in terms of keeping an open-minded child, I think that's the best. But it's just not. not possible for us.

Shepard says in Pennsylvania, they won't have to navigate the city's increasingly tight housing market if they want to have a second child. Back in Washington Heights, Furman's partner is booking extra voicing lessons, and they're considering maybe taking out a personal loan or crowdsourcing from their friends and families to afford the next year of rent and child care costs. There's just a growing thing in the back of my head. It's like, maybe, maybe I have to leave. I've really, like, poured my heart and soul into the city.

She wonders whether the city is still meant for families like hers, and whether she'll eventually have to join the exodus of those leaving New York. Karen Yee, WNYC News. Before we go, some disappointing news for fans of Miss Lauren Hill and the Fugees. The New Jersey hometown heroes have pulled a plug on a spate of concerts later this summer and fall, including one in the Garden State. Hill was billing the shows as anniversary celebrations for her iconic 1998 album, The Mis Education of Lauren Hill. The tour had been scheduled to start this Friday in Tampa, Florida.

Now, all 18 U.S. shows are canceled. However, tickets are still available for several European shows in October. No reason has yet been given. Thanks for listening to NYC Now from WMYC. I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow. Thank you.