NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Columbia University Cuts a Deal with the Trump Administration, NYC Public Schools Smart Phone Ban, Mental Health Services for Domestic Violence Survivors, Buffalo’s 2021 Mayoral Race and Heat Tips

Episode Date: July 24, 2025

Columbia University has struck a deal with the federal government that ends multiple civil rights investigations and restores access to research funding. Plus, New York City will move forward with its ban on smartphones in public schools this fall. Also, domestic violence survivors can now access mental health services more easily in shelters. Meanwhile, the mayoral contest in Buffalo four years ago, has lots of parallels to the current race in New York City. And finally, some tips to deal with the heat and humidity this weekend.

Columbia University cuts a deal with the Trump administration. New York City Public Schools will officially ban smartphones this fall. Mental health services for domestic violence survivors. Buffalo's 2021 mayoral race. And heat tips for the weekend. From WMYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Jenae Pierre. Columbia University says it struck a deal with the federal government

that ends multiple civil rights investigations and restores access to hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding. The university will pay more than $220 million over alleged discrimination on campus, including claims it failed to address anti-Semitic harassment. Columbia says it did not admit wrongdoing, but has already begun reforms, including new disciplinary policies and anti-Semitism training. An independent monitor will oversee compliance going forward. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a resolution.

request for comment. New York City will move forward with its ban on smartphones in public schools this fall. The measure was approved Wednesday by the city's panel for educational policy. The ban puts the city in compliance with a recent state mandate. It requires students to keep their phones, tablets, and smart watches turned off and put away all day. Exceptions are allowed for emergencies, medical needs, and some educational use. The city is putting $25 million toward helping schools' store devices, and contact families in emergencies. Mayor Eric Adams says the move will help reduce distractions and improve student mental health. New York City officials say domestic violence survivors can now access mental health services more easily.

That's thanks to the expansion of an initiative that puts clinicians in most of the city's DV shelters. WMYC's Brittany Crickstein has the details. Agisha Wilson moved into a DV shelter with her two kids earlier this year. She says the experience was much better than she expected. One of the bright spots, her weekly therapy sessions with a licensed therapist named Edith Salmaron. They made me feel comfortable. They made me feel empowered. You know, they made me, they helped me forgive myself for the things that I felt so guilty for for all these years.

Survivors at DV shelters used to have to wait months or even up to a year to be connected with a therapist. They also often had to travel to another facility. and maybe another borough. Now, therapists and other mental health services will be available at 41 of the city's 54 DV shelters. That's up from nine just two years ago. City officials say the nearly $6 million effort is already showing results,

with most participants reporting improved sleep and relationships with their families. To learn more about resources for survivors of domestic violence, read the story at our news site, Gothamist. A mayoral contest in Buffalo, years ago has lots of parallels to the current race in New York City, and there might be a few lessons to learn from it. More on that after the break. Picture this. A political heavyweight tries to strut through a primary but loses to a Democratic socialist. Democratic party leaders

are split on embracing the upstart, and deep-pocketed developers and business leaders, they all pour money behind an incumbent who's running without a major party line. Sound familiar? Well, I'm actually referring to the 2021 mayor's race in Buffalo. That race for City Hall had lots of parallels to the current contest in New York City. Buffalo's incumbent mayor was Byron Brown. He was running for a fifth term, and everyone expected him to win. So in his run, we can see elements of both Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams. That's WMYC's Jimmy Vilkine.

He followed the race between Brown and India Walton, a housing activist and first-time political candidate. She ran far to the mayor's left and was backed by the Working Families Party and the Democratic Socialists of America. So she's the Zeran Mamdani figure in this story. And in fact, that year, Mamdani actually went up to Buffalo to help out on Walton's campaign. Walton's campaign won Buffalo's Democratic primary that year. Bob McCarthy worked for the Buffalo News for nearly three decades, and he covered the race.

He says Brown, the incumbent, didn't take Walton's. seriously. He didn't do anything. He never saw her as a threat. In the meantime, her people were mobilizing and winning, and they were able to work the dynamics of a low turnout primary and win pretty convincingly. He says after that primary win, everyone assumed Walton would have a clean shot to City Hall. After all, there was no Republican on the ballot. Here's my colleague Jimmy again. But Brown didn't give up. He ended up launching a very long shot right-in campaign. So in that way, he's kind of like Eric Adams, now challenging Mom Dani on these third-party lines. Both Buffalo and New York City are Democratic strongholds for the most part.

So the key challenge for India Walton was to reach out beyond her progressive base, the one that blasted her through the primary. But she didn't succeed. She says a part of her campaign's ultimate demise was that we were just woefully unprepared. We didn't think about what was going to happen between June and November ahead of time. And when primary day got here, it was like, holy crap. We actually did it. On the other hand, Brown, the incumbent mayor, was able to leverage his position to get unions on board.

He also pushed city workers to vote, too. And by November, he won the race by more than 20 points. Democratic nominee Zeran Mamdani is taking notes from Walton's failure in Buffalo. Jimmy says Mamdani has already started reaching out beyond his base. He reached out and met last week with business. executives, he's talked to big elected officials, and critically, he's already won over some of Cuomo's supporters, including big unions and Congress member Adriano Espiat. Now, what happened in Buffalo doesn't mean a loss for Mamdani. In fact, there are some key

differences. Jimmy says the Buffalo primary had a very low turnout. And that wasn't the case this year in New York City. We actually saw the biggest turnout in 35 years. And Cuomo even says that he lost not because of a small turnout, but because Mamdani brought out. out new voters. And then you also have to consider that there are multiple candidates in the field in New York City. There's Curtis Lee with a Republican, Cuomo, Adams, and Jim Walden is an independent. You know, in Buffalo, it was a one-on-run race. And given the split right now in New York, polls show that Mamdani is in the lead. That's WMYC's Jimmy Vilkine. The New York metro area has been feeling some relief compared to how hot it's been these

last few weeks. But starting Friday, it'll be really hot and humid again. Construction workers, police officers, and street vendors all have no choice but to remain outdoors and deal with the heat. And the same is true from many camp counselors. Ian Freed works at the Pierce Country Day Camp on Long Island. He says one big mistake he sees people make is waiting until it's already scorching hot to start drinking more water. If I know that it's going to be really hot on Tuesday, I start drinking extra water Monday night, Monday afternoon, right? You've got to train your body to make sure that, you know, it's ready a little bit in advance. Kate Stigman is also a counselor at the day camp to a group of girls.

She says, if you have kids, you need to entertain while also keeping them cool, try this twist on an old classic playground game. They were calling it duck, duck water bottle, but like basically like drip, drip splash or duck goose. They always ask to like do it to us and we're always like, we could, we could, use the hydration, we'll take it. It's also good to avoid drinking caffeine and eating heavy meals when it's super hot outside. And of course, take breaks in the shade when you need it. Temperatures are expected to reach the upper 90s starting Friday with a high of almost 50% humidity, which will make it feel so much hotter. So try to stay cool and protect yourself from the heat.

Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.