NYC NOW - December 20, 2023: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: December 20, 2023

Get up and get informed! Here’s all the local news you need to start your day.

Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Wednesday, December 20th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. Lawyers and advocates are crying foul after a group of people held at Rikers Island on civil charges were locked up in an isolated cell 23 hours a day. WNIC's Jesse Edwards explains. Jail's officials this week confirmed that

nine men detained on civil charges from family court were held in a restrictive housing unit on Rikers from early November through December 1st. Legal aid lawyers say the detainees told them they were held 23 hours per day in isolated cells with only one hour of recreation time. Lawyers and advocates say that conditions amounted to solitary confinement under the United Nations definition. The news comes ahead of a pivotal vote in the city council today that would ban solitary confinement altogether. City jail spokesman Frank Dwyer did not say why the men were moved to the isolated unit. Jesse will join us later this hour with more on this story. New York State will consider paying reparations to the descendants of enslaved African people under a bill Governor Hokel signed into law.

W.N.C.'s John Campbell has more. The new law creates a nine-member panel that will study New York's history of slavery and whether the state should compensate descendants for the lasting damage via direct payments or other means. Hockel says New York owes those residents more than an apology. To those who think that even having this conversation is unfair or wrong, I say it'll be wrong not to have it. But Republicans are pushing back against the planned commission saying it's divisive and unworkable. The governor and top state lawmakers have six months to appoint the commission's members

who will then have a year to make recommendations. public hearings are expected in the process. The overall integrity of Fire Island is at risk. That's the message yesterday from two homeowners associations after the storm this week, washed away emergency routes and threatened to breach the Barry Island in some places. The group's called on Suffolk County and New York State to declare a state of emergency and renewed a plea for the Army Corps of Engineers to speed up emergency repairs. Governor Hockel's office did not immediately respond to the request,

This month, the governor and New York Senator Schumer and Gillibrand warned of catastrophic failure on fire island. It's cold out there. Wrap up. 31 and clear. Sunny, we warm up to 45 today. And then tomorrow's sunny and cooler at 41. Then on Friday, even cooler, we'll just stay in the upper 30s. 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. See you this afternoon.