NYC NOW - December 21, 2023 : Morning Headlines

Episode Date: December 21, 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 WMYC. It's Thursday, December 21st. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. Just as New York City is dealing with a dire housing shortage, a WNIC review finds that over the past two years, plans to build 2,600 apartments were scrapped. WMIC's David Brand has more.

Developers and city agencies, agencies yanked or scaled down their housing plans at least 17 times in the face of opposition from council members and communities. That led to a reduction of more than 2,600 proposed apartments since the start of 2022. The plans faced a range of obstacles. Sometimes local leaders said there weren't enough low-income apartments. Other times, neighbors just didn't want a tall building going up. But a new city law will soon set affordable housing benchmarks for every section of the city to help feel more development. Weeks after a protest over a teacher who expressed support for Israel turned chaotic,

the principal of Hillcrest High School in Queens is leaving. He announced his departure in a letter to the school community yesterday. The city education department says the superintendent will announce his replacement. Hundreds of students took to the eastern Queens schools' hallways, November 20th, and what officials had started as a smaller demonstration targeting the teacher but turned chaotic as other kids joined in. The Education Department says it's suspended several students in the aftermath. City Schools Chancellor David Banks called the, quote,

targeting of the teacher completely unacceptable. The holidays can be tough on our mental health, so we reached out to a handful of professionals in the field to get their guidance. Elizabeth Lacey is a clinical social worker and therapist in Manhattan. She says one strategy is to stay involved in our community. volunteer for things, even it's just a few hours a week and something that matters to you. You know, it connects you with other people who care about the things you care about. For more strategies on how to deal with stress, visit our news website that's Gothamist.

36 and clear now. Winter begins today. And then today's forecast sunny and 41 for a high. This is WNYC. It's going to be a nice. other cold nights or bundle up. 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.