NYC NOW - December 11, 2023: Midday News

Episode Date: December 11, 2023

last night in Queens. Also, a new report from the City Council estimates the city will bring in $1.2 billion dollars more in tax revenue this fiscal year than the Mayor Eric Adams's office projected. Plus, Governor Phil Murphy is trying to restart New Jersey's offshore wind industry, after the Danish company Orsted pulled the plug on two major projects. But how Murphy pivots away from Orsted and makes up for lost time will determine whether the state can reach its climate change goals by 2035. WNYC’s Nancy Solomon reports. Finally, as people gather with family and friends over food this holiday season, WNYC's Community Partnerships Desk is asking New Yorkers to share stories about recipes with special meaning. Meet Lisa Wade from Queens.

Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Monday, December 11. Here's the midday news from Lance Lucky. The NYPD is investigating a double hit and run that killed a pedestrian in Queens last night. Police say the man was crossing Hempstead Avenue at 223rd Street, about 8 p.m. when he was struck by a sedan heading west, then by an SUV going east. Neither driver stayed at the scene as the man needed life-saving medical attention. He has not yet been identified.

The city's Transportation Department has found multiple safety risks for pedestrians on Hempstead Avenue, a key truck route between Long Island and Queens. This year, more than 90 pedestrians have died in traffic crashes citywide. A new City Council report estimates the city will bring in $1.2 billion more in tax revenue this fiscal year than Mayor Adams' office projected. The difference is driven mainly by stronger person. income, property, business, and sales tax revenue. Adams ordered a 20% reduction in spending last month. City Councilman Justin Brennan, who chairs the Finance Committee, says the city must take a different approach.

The mayor has, the administration has focused too much relying on, you know, for-profit companies that have milked the city for millions of dollars when they could have been working with our nonprofit partners who, you know, I think are better suited to. serve. Adam said the city's shortfall was caused largely by mounting costs associated with migrants arriving in New York and to the end of federal pandemic aid. The city council's finance committee held an oversight hearing this morning to examine the mayor's budget cuts. 43 right now, some clouds, but sun, for the most part, this afternoon and 45, some gusty winds around 30 miles per hour. The winds diminish a bit overnight. Still rather blustery, though,

around the freezing mark. Sunny and 45 tomorrow. WNYC, I'm David First. Governor Phil Murphy is trying to restart New Jersey's offshore wind industry after the Danish company Orsted pulled the plug on two major projects. But how Murphy pivots away from Orsted and makes up for lost time will determine whether the state can reach its climate change goals by 2035. WNYC's Nancy Solomon reports. It was more trick than treat last Halloween when Orsted pulled the plug on two huge wind farms underway off. the coast of New Jersey. And Governor Phil Murphy let his displeasure be known, calling the largest wind developer in the world incompetent. One of their final excuses was they couldn't get a vessel,

which, okay, you would have thought that was the first thing they would have done when they won the solicitation to line a vessel up. So this is on them. Murphy quickly pointed to a $300 million payment or stead promised to the state and said he'd be fighting to get that money. But now the governor's office won't comment about plans to pursue the payment. Administration officials say they understand the wind industry is facing difficult economic conditions, and the governor is rushing to begin the bidding process for more offshore sites. That pleases State Senator Bob Smith, chairman of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee. We're doubling down.

The front office is currently looking for a new vendor, and we in the legislature will do everything we can to help this industry move ahead. to save our lives. The quickest path for New Jersey to produce wind power would be if Orsted were to sell their two projects to another company. But even if the state has to start from scratch, environmentalists like Ed Potosnik of the League of Conservation Voters are still bullish on the development of offshore wind.

There are going to be some stumbles, but the industry alone is bigger than any single project. And we need to keep fighting as we move forward for responsibly developed offshore wind for all the benefits it has for our communities like cleaner air and the good local jobs. Wind companies are facing rising costs and regulatory hurdles well beyond New Jersey. Chris Olith, who runs a think tank called Special Initiative on offshore wind, says Europe makes it much easier for projects to get off the ground.

Ollith says Europe has a much faster, unified permitting process. And here, we have multiple agencies and the need to conduct environmental. impact studies. Even though the federal government recognizes climate as a challenge, when you go through the permitting process under the National Environmental Policy Act, there is no requirement that climate change be considered. And so therefore, I think we miss a lot of the opportunity to give offshore wind the credit it deserves for the benefits it will bring. In New Jersey, there's been political opposition to the wind projects. Republicans made an issue of it in last month's election, but they ended up losing seats. John DeMayo is the minority leader in the assembly. He says they'll continue

to fight not just wind power, but Murphy's entire clean energy plan that calls for ending fossil fuel consumption by 2035. Yeah, there's a lot of work that needs to be done before this pie in the sky dream of the others is actually going to work. This energy master plan is incredibly expensive, and it's something that you just can't flip a switch on. Flipping that switch just got seriously delayed by Orsted. One of its two New Jersey projects already has its permits, a huge hurdle for any company. If Orsted decides to sell their projects to another wind developer,

New Jersey could see working turbines in a few years, but it could be a lot longer if Orsted doesn't sell. And they haven't yet revealed whether they will. Nancy Solomon, WNYC News. On WNYC, I'm Michael Hill. The taste of a particular dish has the power to evoke flavorful memories. As we gather with family and friends over food this holiday season, WNYC's Community Partnerships Desk has asking New Yorkers and all of us

to share stories about recipes with special meaning. My name is Lisa Wade, and I live in Addisley Park, Queens. The recipe that sticks out for me is salmon croquettes or salmon cakes, depending on where you're from. It was a breakfast, like a Sunday morning breakfast that we would have. My great-grandmother would make for me, and especially with grits. It was the best thing ever. We're from Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. So I share that love of rice.

What floods back for me, that memory, is me sitting in our dining room on a Sunday before church. so she made it very early and gobbling it up and just think about how good it is because it's usually very crispy and I like the crispiness of the salmon cakes. My great-grandmother died when I was 11, no, no, 15.

And she was particular about not sharing the recipe with me because she was a cook and she wanted me to get an education and she did not want me to cook in someone else's kitchen or living. So it's like a double-edged sword for me because I don't have a recipe so I just have to remember enough to make it.

And her pantry was very slim. Some things are hard to figure out what she made. I know the things I think I come very close or I actually surpass her. She didn't always use green peppers. Green peppers was my addition. It was onion, salt and pepper, a little flour, egg. She put it together and throw it in the skillet. The grits would already be, and I can make grits.

Grits are easier. And there would be a wonderful breakfast and hot sauce on the side. It's a tradition I'm passing on my side. son and my friends who bug me for it. It's just happiness because it's some of my southern lineage, you know, that I've brought to the north. So it makes me happy because of the memories of the South. It's about family. I always think of a lot of people around the table when I think of salmon croquettes. Salmon cakes really, for me. Lisa Wade lives in Addisley Park, Queens. W.M.C.'s Community Partnership's Des,

talked with her as part of a collaboration with the Queens Memory Project. Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. 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. We'll be back this evening.