NYC NOW - August 7, 2024: Midday News

Episode Date: August 7, 2024

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander says money the city spends on lawsuit settlements should come from the budgets of the accused agencies. This comes after a WNYC investigation revealed a former Rikers Island officer is facing 24 sexual assault allegations. Meanwhile, a play based on injury attorneys Cellino and Barnes is back off Broadway. WNYC’s Ryan Kailath reports. Also, a block in Crown Heights has won Brooklyn’s “greenest block” contest organized by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Plus, for the first time, talking drones warned New Yorkers in flood-prone areas about severe weather on Tuesday. These drones are typically used by police to disperse crowds. Finally, while heavy rain has mostly stopped, officials reported overnight flash flooding in New York City and the surrounding area. WNYC’s David Furst speaks with New York State Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray about the city’s response.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Wednesday, August 7th. Here's the midday news from David First. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander says money that the city spends to settle lawsuits should come out of the budgets of the agencies accused of wrongdoing. He was responding to a WNYC investigation that found one former officer at Rikers Island. is facing two dozen allegations of sexual assault. Those allegations are part of more than 700 lawsuits filed against the Department of Correction by women who say they were abused while detained at the jail.

That is an agency that has a real problem with accountability. And unfortunately, in this case it sounds like women's bodily autonomy and lives are put at risk as a result. The Department of Corrections says it can't comment on pending litigation. In total, the lawsuits against the agency are seeking more than $14.7 billion in damages. 800-888-88-8-8-8. Well, if you recognize that number, you might be the target audience for a play that is back off-Broadway. As WNYC's Ryan Kyloth reports, it's a ripped from the headlines tale about New York's most famous personal injury attorneys. You know the names. But do you know the story?

First stage in 2018, this dark comedy about Salino and Barnes, the injury attorneys who are ubiquitous on bus and subway and TV ads, is on again at the Asylum Theater in Manhattan. Co-directors Wesley Taylor and Alex Wise say it delves into the real-life conflict that led the pair to split up into separate firms in later years. Hollywood come knocking yet? Not quite yet. Give it time. We just started. Yeah, sometimes you're afraid of getting too big, you know.

The director said some of the best feedback they've gotten is that the play is a tight 75 minutes. No intermission. A block in Crown Heights is once again Brooklyn's greenest block after winning a borough-wide contest organized by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Lincoln Place between Nostrand and New York Avenues came in first place, repeating victories in 2022 and 2019. But this year, the contest had a few new categories, including, rookie of the year for first-time contestants. Brooklynite Jackie Bowling led the effort on Agate Court and Bedford-Stuyvesant, which won that title.

We have the group chat called the Agate Court Group Chat, right? So I told everybody that I've entered everybody into this contest. Now we've got to get to work, all right? Other honorees include Bedstey's Green Acres Community Garden, which won Best Community Garden Streetscape. Meanwhile, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a drone. Yes, New Yorkers living in flood-prone parts of the city got to hear a talking drone yesterday. It was the first time the city used drones to warn residents about severe weather.

The NYPD has been using drones for dispersing crowds and spotting drownings. 65 degrees. We're expecting a chance of rain during the day today. Right now, just going up to a high of 72, so much cooler than yesterday. Tonight, a continued chance of showers with a low of 67. This is WNYC. Stay close. There's more after the break. The rain has mostly stopped, but we're still dealing with the aftermath after overnight flash flooding hit New York City and the surrounding area. Joining us now to discuss how the state government has been responding is New York State Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner, Jackie Bray. Commissioner Bray, let's start with an overview. What are we seeing right now as far as

flooding is concerned? Yeah, good morning, David. Thanks for having me. So as you said, we saw some flash flooding overnight in New York City. Right now, all of those waters are receding or have receded. And we're looking pretty good, at least for the next couple of days. Looking pretty good. But talk to us about the roads. How safe is it right now for people if they're trying to leave the house and head out this morning. Yeah, the roads are generally safe downstate, Westchester and Nassau, New York City. There are some places where the roads are still closed because the water is taking a little longer to recede. You know, we always say turnaround don't drown. If you see water on a road, particularly water that's moving, turnaround, avoid those areas.

There were some rescues yesterday on highways in New York City. Can you tell us more about that? and whether that happened in other parts of the state as well? Yeah, absolutely. So there were rescues, particularly on the Henry Hudson. Folks got stuck in fast-moving water, and the FDNY and the NYPD swift water teams went out to assist those motorists. Everyone's fine. We had some stranded folks in Nassau, some in Westchester,

but the major story of this storm was northern Manhattan and the Bronx. The Bronx got over five inches of rain. that's really dangerous territory for us. Governor Hockel said yesterday that the MTA would be using pump trains and other debris clearing measures to make sure that the New York City subways were up and running. Has that been necessary yet? Those assets were deployed. But, you know, because the Bronx has mostly elevated trains, when it comes to a storm like

this, we know we're going to get drenched somewhere, but we can't pinpoint where until it happened. And so we got lucky in terms of our trains. given that the Bronx system is so elevated. Well, Commissioner Bray, this may just be the beginning of the difficult weather this week, right? As the remnants of Tropical Storm Debbie are expected to come through. Yeah, that's spot on. So this was, you know, the pre-show, I would say.

Oh, boy. Debbie's going to show up Friday late night and hang out with us until Saturday night. Right now, it's tracking a little bit northwest of the city. when we see it, but we've got, you know, a 40 to 70 percent chance of flash flooding during the day on Saturday for about a third of New York State. So we are not done yet by any measure. How should we be preparing for that? Yeah, three things. Most important things, stay alert, stay aware, you know, keep your radio on, keep your television. If you haven't signed up for alerts on your cell phone, do sign up. Number two, know what you're going to do if you face a flash flood. You know, know, how do you get to higher ground? Where are you going to meet your family if you have to leave your home quickly? And number three, there are easy, quick things you can do right now to make sure that you

and your house are a little bit more prepared. Do you have enough medication if you had to leave your home for a few days? Do you have a go bag ready? Have you cleaned out your own, you know, drains, the drains in front of your home? Have you thought of those things today so that when we get hit on Saturday, you're a little bit better prepared to withstand it. Okay, well, thank you for giving us this to-do list today. New York State Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray. Thanks for joining us. Thanks so much, David. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WMYC. 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 evening.