NYC NOW - December 6, 2023: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: December 6, 2023

Get up and get informed! Here’s all the local news you need to start your day: Mayor Adams says City Hall didn't keep a list of construction projects to fast-track for fire inspections. Meanwhile, a new set of City Council bills set to be introduced would allow more off-the-books street vendors to work legally and avoid hefty fines and jail time. Plus, Governor Hochul's plan to replace the Lincoln Correctional Facility in Harlem with affordable housing is making progress.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Wednesday, December 6th. Here's the morning headlines from David First. Mayor Adams says City Hall didn't keep a list of construction projects to fast track for fire inspections. WNYC's Elizabeth Kim reports that's despite evidence of the list in a federal probe into his mayoral campaign. Adams attributed reports. on the list to quote disgruntled fire officials who were demoted and are suing the city for

alleged retaliation. But he acknowledged his administration as trying to cut red tape for certain projects, including office buildings. We're dealing with a real crisis in office spaces. How do we get people back into our office spaces? There's a whole list of things that come into making a smart decision. Emails obtained by WNYC show City Hall's order to fast track an inspection of a Hudson Yards office building came at the expense of two schools, multiple apartment buildings, and a Baruch College facility that had scheduled their fire inspections months earlier. A new set of city council bills set to be introduced this afternoon would allow more off-the-books

street vendors to work legally and avoid hefty fines and jail time. Mohamed Atiyah is the managing director of the nonprofit street vendor project, which helps craft the legislation. people want to formalize the business. They want to work with the system, but sometimes the system doesn't allow them to. The most sweeping change would remove a decades-old cap on the city's highly coveted and restricted vendor permits and licenses. Atia says the changes would help customers too.

He says they can feel more secure. Their halal carts and taco stands are being regulated if they're operating with permits. He says the need for reform is especially urgent because the number of street vendors grew during the pandemic and keeps growing as more migrants arrive in the city. Governor Hockel's plan to replace the Lincoln Correctional Facility in Harlem with affordable housing is taking shape. She announced the details of the proposal selected for the site yesterday. The $90 million project is called Seneca, and units will be available to households earning

between 80 to 100 percent of the area median income. They will require a 5 percent down payment to purchase. The project will go through an environmental. review and public comment before its approval. 37 degrees. It will be mostly cloudy today. There is a chance of rain and snow showers, a high of 42 this afternoon. Tonight, mostly clear skies with a low around 30. It's WNYC. 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. afternoon.