NYC NOW - December 13, 2023 : Evening Roundup

Episode Date: December 13, 2023

An investigation is underway into the death of a child at a migrant shelter on the Upper West side in Manhattan. Plus, the owner of a Bronx apartment building that partially collapsed earlier this week says he has no idea what caused the disaster. Also, WNYC’s Sean Carlson talks with Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani about proposed bills that would end property tax breaks for two of New York City's

Welcome to NYC now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. Having a child that young, having probably come from a country where they work really hard for him, and then to have this happen for your only child, it kind of doesn't have words to describe. We begin in Manhattan, where an investigation is underway into the death of a child at a migrant shelter on the Upper West Side. New York City officials say an 11-year-old boy was found unresponsive Monday with a shoelace around his neck. Deputy Mayor Anne Williams Isham says migrants are facing stressful conditions coming to the city. She's urging the Biden administration to do more to address the migrant influx.

Can't imagine making a trip here to the United States trying to get your children settled. This is why it's so important that the federal government should finish their job. The NYPD and the city's chief medical medical medical. examiner are investigating. The owner of a Bronx apartment building that partially collapsed earlier this week says he has no idea what caused the disaster. WNYC's David Brand has more. A limited liability company tied to landlord David Kleiner owns the building at 1915 Billingsley

Terrace. In a brief call with WNYC, Kleiner says he doesn't know what led to the collapse and is busy trying to relocate tenants made homeless by the disaster. But tenant organizers and city officials have been keeping tabs on Kleiner. Groups in the Bronx have organized tenants at several of his other buildings, citing poor conditions. Kleiner, who also goes by the name David David, has appeared on the public advocate's annual worst landlord watch list. In August, he agreed to a six-figure settlement with the city after failing to fix lead paint problems at 18 properties. Stay close. We'll be back after the break.

This week, New York State lawmakers introduced bills that would, end lucrative property tax breaks for two of the city's prestigious schools, Columbia University and New York University. WMYC's Sean Carlson talked with assembly member Zerramadani, who introduced the bills in the state assembly. Can we start with the history of these state tax breaks for the two universities? And we should note that many other states do have property tax exemptions for private and nonprofit institutions. So what makes Columbia and NYU different? So the origins of this tax exemption are not specific to Columbia and NYU. Rather, they were written in our state constitution for all institutions of higher education. The idea being that the state provide these institutions

with relief so that they can fulfill their mission. The problem is that Columbia and NYU have used that as a means by which to become some of the largest private property holders in all of New York City, with Columbia being the number one private property holder here, all whilst we are seeing a crisis of austerity afflict the city's public university. Now, these tax exemptions are part of the state constitution. So amending the constitution means voters would have to approve the change on a state ballot after the bills pass. So how many years do you think these bills take to pass realistically? You know, I think that the earliest we could pass this piece of legislation would be after two years,

given that a constitutional amendment requires passage in two consecutive legislative sessions. So this forthcoming one in 2024 as well as the one in 2025. But I have great belief in the possibility of us getting to that point because of how much support this idea actually generates. These bill announcements come shortly after the New York Times and the Hesinger report had an investigation that revealed that Columbia and NYU avoided $327 million in property taxes just this year. Has the state ever done its own analysis on how much in property taxes these universities were avoiding in past years? You know, the state has not commissioned that analysis, but we have independently looked at analysis separate from that of the New York Times and found that the figure is also exceeding $321 million per year. And I think it's important to note that private universities as a whole receive property tax exemptions

that total $659 million. Columbia and NYU account for nearly half of that. If this all works out, those property tax payments would divert to the city. University of New York, CUNY, the city's public university system. Why is that important? I think that's critically important because the city University of New York used to be the crown jewel of our city. And what we've seen in years past and in forecast for years to come is funding cut after funding cut after funding cut and a reality where only 8% of its buildings are in good repair. All of this while the university serves the working class of New York City and propels

almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League College is combined. This legislation, it singles out NYU and Columbia in particular. Do you anticipate any legal challenges or pushback because of that? I do not because the way in which we specify them is not through name. It's not through targeting of those institutions, particularly. It's through the fact that the threshold we mark is $100 million in property taxes per year. And NYU and Columbia and Colombia because of the scale of their property holding are the only two institutions that exceed that amount or even frankly come close to it because, you know, Columbia owns 274 properties in the city at least NYU at least 148. The next in line is Fordham, which owns a mere 13 properties.

We asked Columbia about this. They told us that the university is reviewing the legislation, but also added that the university provides economic benefits to the city as well as research, jobs and community space. Have you heard from either university at NYU or Columbia? We've heard a similar message from them as well as from NYU talking about the charitable giving that they have contributed. But if you compare that charitable giving to the amount of taxes that they should actually be paying, it is nothing but a drop in the bucket. And I think we have to understand that these universities have tripled their land holdings over the last 30 years. And every time they purchased a unit of property in New York City, they shrink,

the collective revenue pot of funding for all of our municipal services while they rely on those very services. That's assembly member Zulran Modani talking with WNYC's Sean Carlson. A new exhibit opened over the weekend at the Queen's Museum. WMYC's Ryan Kylath checked it out and brought us this preview. Step into the vast grand floor space of the Queens Museum and you'll find a room devoted to one huge installation. Three white paper mache Labradors, as tall as humans, are dancing up on their hind legs, holding leashes that scream from a 30-foot maypole. The dogs are joyous and kind of goofy. Paper-Mache trees and flowers surround the room. So what color is London white or some sort of off-white?

No, white. Just white. Okay. Meant to be white. London is the dog's name. She's a guide dog, and the tall white maple is a giant white cane. Very dark, black. The details for the nose and the eyes and the mouth. The real one's a dog. Yes, I understand. Thank you.

Thank you for the clarification. Bonnie Erickson and her husband Wade have come to see the opening. Wade is blind, so... We don't have to describe to these leaves. He appreciates a good detailed description. And then the green paint for the leaves itself are... And the artist does, too. 13 years ago, Emily Gossio was hit by a truck while biking.

and lost her sight. For her, the white cane is a symbol of freedom. It gave her autonomy and agency back. Gassio was an artist already, so she found a way to continue. So I associate the colors I use with memories. Green isn't just green. It might be the green of her family's sedan growing up. She calls an orange sun in the exhibit, the color of sunny side up.

Greens is actually my weak spot with colors for some reason. What's your strength? pinks, I think reds and pinks and blues. I have stronger memory associations with those colors. Gassio draws with a pad called this sensationalized blackboard that embosses lines she can feel onto heavy paper. And she colors with waxy crayon she can feel on the page. I'm Bonnie.

This is my hand. I'm Bonnie. It's nice to meet you. I love your art, and I've just been describing it, I hope, well. I'm Wade. Hi, thank you. Gossio spent the past year in residency at the Queen's Museum with studio assistants who helped her execute her vision. This is her first solo museum show. That's WNYC's Ryan Kyloth. Emily Gossio's show is at the Queens Museum until April 7th.

Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday, three times a day. I'm Jenae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.