NYC NOW - August 7, 2024: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: August 7, 2024

Get up and get informed! Here’s all the local news you need to start your day: Officials in Hackensack, New Jersey, are warning residents and drivers to stay off the roads due to extreme flooding. Meanwhile, Amtrak will begin repairing tunnels beneath the East River later this year, which could spell trouble for commuters. WNYC's Ramsey Khalifeh reports. Plus, more pregnant New Yorkers are receiving help from doulas, but significant gaps in access to these support services remain.

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 morning headlines from David First. Officials in Hackensack, New Jersey, have been warning residents and drivers to stay off the roads because of extreme flooding. The city fire department says nearly half the city of Hackensack is flooded in an overnight post on the social media site X. agency is asking people to avoid Hackensack entirely if possible. Otherwise, fire officials say residents should not drive onto any flooded roads. Amtrak's tunnels beneath the East River are used

by hundreds of trains per day, but they're also in bad shape, and crews will begin repairing them later this year. WNYC's Ramsey-Khalifa reports that could spell trouble for commuters. Amtrak says it will begin major repairs on its tunnels between Penn Station and queens this fall to fix damage from flooding by Sandy in 2012. To fix them, Amtrak says they'll shut each of them down one by one over the course of the next three years. That means trains in and out of Penn Station will only be able to use three tracks beneath the East River instead of four.

Amtrak says the work will hardly affect service, but with one of the tubes closed, there's less space to reroute the trains if there's a delay or emergency. The MTA says it's planning to minimize any disruptions the work will have on L.I.R. service. More pregnant New Yorkers are receiving help from doulas, but WNYC's Caroline Lewis reports that there are still big gaps in access to these support services. A new city health department report finds that white New Yorkers are still far more likely than other groups to use doula services, despite city efforts to create more equal access. There are also geographic disparities. Nearly 10% of New Yorkers giving birth in Brooklyn used a Dula last year

compared to less than 2% of Staten Islanders. But a citywide Dula initiative is working to bridge the gap. The program has connected about 2,000 families with Doola's since 2022, and the majority of families are black. A state law that took effect in March also now requires Medicaid to cover Dula services. This is WNMIC. Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC.

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