NYC NOW - December 18, 2023: Midday News

Episode Date: December 18, 2023

The heaviest rain has passed, lifting flood warnings in several areas, but flood watches and advisories remain in northern Queens, the five boroughs, Westchester, Long Island, and parts of northeast New Jersey. Also, over 1,500 New Yorkers with open clemency applications await Governor Kathy Hochul's decisions, with Legal Aid attorney Lawrence Hausman pushing for more clemency grants. Finally, we’ve asked some New Yorkers to share stories behind their favorite holiday recipes, like Leslie Singleton. On top of that, WNYC’s Michael Hill talks with our own, George Bodarky, series creator, to discuss our upcoming recipe and food tasting event at WNYC's Greene Space.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Monday, December 18. Here's the midday news from Lance Lucky. Well, some earlier flood warnings have expired across the tri-state, but a coastal flood warning remains in effect until 4 p.m. For much of northeast, New Jersey, that's Hudson, Eastern Bergen, Eastern Essex, and Eastern Union counties. And in New York, that flood warning for Staten Island. Island and Brooklyn, again, a coastal flood warning for Staten Island and Brooklyn. A flood watch

remains in effect for Northern Queens through the afternoon, along with the coastal flood advisory and flood advisory is also in effect for all of the immediate listening area in New York and New Jersey. There are more than 1,500 people in New York State with open clemency applications, hoping Governor Kathy Hokel will pardon or commute their sentences this month. Legal Aid attorney Lawrence Hausman has filed applications for nine prisoners. and says he hopes Governor Hokel ramps up the amount of clemencies she grants in the coming weeks. I just think that the governor's pardon power, which is an awesome power, could really be used to address the history of over-incarceration that I think we're living with today. Every December she's been in office, Hockel has granted clemency to a handful of people, including 13 last year.

Hockel's office says she's made the clemency application process easier since she became governor. She's granted 43 in all. her office says she's reviewing applications to ensure fairness and safety. Light rain right now fog and mist 59 degrees, that temperature falling toward 50 this afternoon and still raining. Looks like the rain will finally taper off by around 4 p.m. But lighter rain now, and those watches and coastal flood warning still in effect for the high tide this afternoon until 4. For WNYC, I'm Michael Hill.

With people gathering over food with family and friends to celebrate these holidays, we've asked some New Yorkers to share stories behind favorite recipes. My name is Leslie Singleton, and I live in St. Aubin's Queens. My family favorite recipes are oxtail. My background, my grandmother's from Jamaica. So I have Jamaican roots. My mother and father are both born here. So my recipe is not the traditional Jamaican recipe.

I actually have friends I work with. They came from all different places in Caribbean. So this is like a mixture. It has tomatoes and corn in it. My friend Sonia, she told me that part because her children didn't eat vegetables. Because she said to get them to eat vegetables, she adds tomato and corn to her. So I make this during Christmas usually. And if I make it any other time I tell the kids, you know, I'm cooking ox tail, then they'll come over.

It's just a favorite. Everybody just loves oxtail. I don't know if it's because of this. costly, so it's usually for special occasions. And when they know mommy's making it, I usually make a big part of it, and they'll come over and we'll get together, they'll eat. My daughter, she lives in Harlem, so she's like, okay, I wasn't planning to come. I said, well, you don't have to come, but I'm letting you know this is what I'm making, so if you don't come, and so usually after a while she'll Uber pull up, and she comes in and she eats and they hang out a while. So it's

It's like a nice meal. It's hearty. I guess with all of us growing up, we like the food, but we really don't pay attention. Our parents are making it. And we want to eat it, but we don't really want to do the work. So I made a copy of this recipe so that they can do it. Because they'll come over to eat. They don't want to do the cooking. I'm like, well, why don't you?

They're like, okay, it's all right. I'll just sit here. You go ahead and they'll talk to me while I'm cooking, but they're not really going any cooking. You know, I want them to know their roots. And sometimes I'll cook things like acion, codfish, you know, things like that you find in Jamaica home because I don't want them to forget it altogether. So they know that, you know, certain dishes are from their tradition.

Leslie Singleton is a resident of St. Albans, Queens, WNIC's Community Partnerships, that's talk with her as part of a collaboration with the Queen's Memory Project. Our Community Partnerships editor, George Bodarki has been producing this series, and he joins us now. George, good morning. Good morning, Michael. George, this is just one of several stories we've been sharing around family recipes. What would you say is the common thread here? It's a simple but I think profound one, Michael.

Family recipes carry a lot of weight. They not only bring us together, but also serve as powerful reminders of our roots and the chefs of cooking up these dishes. Well, they want to convey more than just a recipe. They want those eating the dishes to understand and embrace the history behind them. Sometimes it's the story of family relationships. Sometimes it's the history in which the dish itself is rooted, meaning the cultural history, and of course, sometimes it's a combination of both. Moreover, there's an undeniable comfort in these recipes.

They serve as edible time machines, if you will. They transport us to moments filled with warmth and nostalgia. These are not just meals, Michael. They're a comforting reminder of our mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, the people who have cared and loved for us, right? And what also strikes me is how universal these narratives are. Regardless of cultural backgrounds, the essence of these stories remains pretty much the same. It's a testament to the fact that beneath our diverse traditions, we share a common humanity. Family recipes, Michael, appear to reveal a thread that unites us all.

George, you've also been working with the Queen's Memory Project for this series. What's the connection there? Yeah, so I teamed up with a Queen's Memory Project a few months ago because the work, that we're doing very much aligns. They're essentially in the business of preserving personal histories that tell us the story of life in Queens, very much like the first-person narrative stories my desk works on in communities across our areas that you frequently hear on Morning Edition. And Queen's memory has been collecting stories around recipes for a cookbook project. So I've been joining them at events in Queens to talk with folks about their family recipes

and bringing the stories behind them to light, again, capturing the flavors of tradition, nostalgia and cultural heritage. George, I understand the Queen's Memory Project will be joining you Thursday night in the Green Space for some food tasting, recipe sharing, and storytelling. Tell us more about that. I'm so excited about this event, Michael. My mouth is watering, just thinking about it.

It's going to feature five food vendors, each with their own stories about preserving and sharing cherished recipes and to their culture. And, of course, they'll also be serving up food to taste. You'll be able to nibble on bites that reflect the great diversity of New York City, including Iranian-inspired baked goods, as well as Indonesian and Sudanese fear. Queen's Memory Project will be on hand.

We're encouraging folks who attend to bring photos of family cookouts, holiday feasts, or hand-written recipe card to have scanned for possible inclusion in a WNYC Community Cookbook or a future Queen's Memory Cookbook. And anyone who shares a recipe will receive a free spice courtesy of Burroup. overlap and barrel. It'll also be storytelling about family recipes and a pretty insightful conversation about food entrepreneurship. I hope everyone can join us. There's more information at WNYC.org slash the Greenspace. But Michael, before I scoot out of here this morning, I have a question for you. Do you have a story behind a favorite family recipe? It's macaroni and cheese.

And I've learned to, based on my mom's macaroni and cheese recipe and my wife's, and my daughters and my niece. I've combined everything, and I've listened to what my daughter has told me over the last year or so about how to really make macaroni and cheese. And essentially what I do is I make a sauce of butter, kefir and a little cassava flour and lots of shredded cheese, Gouda, Parmesan, and mostly sharp cheese and sharp cheddar. Consistency, make it with the consistency of the queso, and then pour all of that over half-cooked to three-quarter cooked noodles and stir it all. like a thick soup and then bake it a half hour to 45 minutes depending on the oven temperature. It was a, I finally perfected it, George, this past Thanksgiving.

I mean, to the point where when people were eating it at a celebration we had, people were eating and just said, this is the best macaroni and cheese you have ever made it. You made it? Yes, I did. I made that one. That sounds fantastic. I'll bring the wine. You bring the mac and cheese, Michael, dinner at your house.

WNIC's George Bodarky. George, come on over. Thank you. Thanks, Michael. 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.

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