NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Daniel Penny Trial Update, Paid Prenatal Sick Leave, Gen X Nightlife, and Family Recipes

Episode Date: December 3, 2024

A Manhattan jury is deliberating the case of Daniel Penny, a former Marine accused of fatally choking subway rider Jordan Neely. Meanwhile, starting January 1, pregnant New Yorkers in the private sector will receive 20 hours of paid prenatal leave. Reporter Lee Helland joins WNYC’s David Furst to discuss “sensible” nightlife spots popular with Gen X and Millennials. Finally, WNYC highlights Zach Rothman Hicks from Queens, who shares the story behind his favorite family recipe.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jared Marcel. A case that has sharply divided New Yorkers is now in the hands of a Manhattan jury. Former Marine Daniel Penny is accused of fatally choking fellow subway rider Jordan Neely on an F train last year. Penny faces charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Jurors are also considering whether Penny's actions were justified given the circumstances. Witnesses say Neely was shouting about being hungry and thirsty and that he was willing to die or go to jail. Penny then wrapped his arm around Neely's neck and pulled him to the ground, holding him down for about six minutes.

If convicted, Daniel Penny can spend up to 15 years in prison. This is a developing story for the latest. Visit our news website Gothamist. Pregnant New Yorkers will soon be entitled to paid sick leave for prenatal care. Governor Kathy Hockel is launching a public. awareness campaign touting the new policy. I want to make sure that every single mom in New York has fully covered, fully paid prenatal leave time so she can make those important appointments. If you're pregnant or trying to become pregnant, you'll be allowed to take 20 hours

paid time off for checkups, testing, and other prenatal appointments. This is in addition to normal paid leave and the state's family leave program. It applies to pregnant New Yorkers who work for private. employers. The state estimates about 130,000 women per year will be eligible. The new policy takes effect January 1st. Up next, want to hit the clubs but still be in bed early, a new nightlife trend is catering to people just like you. That story after the break. You're listening to NYC now. If you're looking to enjoy New York City's nightlife without staying out until sunrise, A new trend of early evening clubs might be for you.

Reporter Lee Helen spoke with my colleague David First to share her experiences at one of these sensible nightlife spots. So tell us about this experience. Who is going to these clubs? Who is this designed for? It's a lot of Gen Xers and millennials like me who are interested in kind of reclaiming that part of New York City culture, but have some limitations. You know, we have to get up the next day. and take our kids to soccer practice. It's really catering to people who want to enjoy that without the negative side effects.

Okay, so you've tried this. You went out and did one of these early late night options? Yeah, so after hemming and hawing about it for a few months, I was like, I got to try this. So there's an outfit called Matinee Social Club, and they throw parties throughout the city from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. And so it's a dance party. It's like a DJ, spinning tunes, just like my old days, but early. And I went around Halloween. It was a costume party at a club called The Stranger in Midtown, which is a lot of buzz right now. And I didn't really know what to expect, but I actually ended up having a blast. These parties sell out, like within hours. They're like very popular right now. Well, let's hear more about your night out

or your evening out. How did this compare to clubs that you remember from your youth? Yeah. Well, there were some similarities and some differences. So first of all, the DJ, his name is Voster. He's pretty well known in the city right now, and he played all the oldies, i.e. Madonna and electronica from around 2000, stuff that I was listening to at clubs back in the day. Yeah, I had to ask, you know, what era of music qualifies as oldies in your book? Yeah. Yeah. This event in particular was intended to be, it was called the Time Travelers Ball. So he played stuff from 80s, 90s and 2000s. It was really a journey through my childhood and adolescence. On the plus side, it was a lot less crowded than the clubs back in those days. I think by design, they tap the number of people to a 750 so that

you don't feel that shoulder to shoulder element, but people are still energetic and dancing and having a good time. I did, you know, get a vibe that, like, a lot of people might have been taking their kids to Party City like me earlier that day for Halloween trappings and, you know, plenty of balding heads and expanded waistlines. I mean, what can I say? It's middle age. Did they pick up costumes for themselves at Party City for this event as well? Some people did. I ended up cobbling together a costume from my closet and my kids dress up bin and looked completely unhinged. But, you know, I found I just didn't care. care in the same way that I would have 20 years ago at the clubs. Well, the idea is to have fun, right? So was it fun? Did it make you feel nostalgic?

I had so much fun. It made me feel nostalgic for my young face and feet that will tolerate high heels, right? But there are things that I was so not nostalgic about, like just the insecurities of youth. And I walked into that club and just danced and had a blast with my friend. And the difference was I just didn't care. I was just having a good time. It was a huge release. That's really, I mean, it sounds like this was a bit of a personal journey. It was definitely a personal journey, you know? I think like when you're in your 20s, let's face it, New York Nightlife is pretty much four people in their 20s. Once you're older and wiser, you don't have to be in your 20s again to enjoy this slice of it anymore because

there's options for people like me who want to take the good and leave the not so desirable things about being young, you know, at the velvet rope. That's reporter Lee Helen in conversation with my colleague, David First. It's the season of festive meals and family feasts. WNYC's Community Partnerships Desk is asking New Yorkers to share stories behind favorite family recipes and the memories they hold. My name is Zach Rothman Hicks. I'm 40 years old.

I can't believe I'm that old. And I live in Queens, New York. I'm from Manhattan. You know, it's funny, my parents cook a lot, and they cook a lot of different types of recipes. But for me, if I think of, like, the holidays, a recipe that, like, really sticks out to me is sugar cookies. So even though they're relatively simple to make, my dad will always make them from scratch, usually asks me, and I try each year to help out, at least with, like, the cutting and the decoration part of it. I always think of the different shapes and the colors and, like, getting them all ready, and then, like, having them at some point around the holidays.

It sticks out because there's just, like, that level of thoughtfulness, but it's also, like, really fun to be able to take the time, like, with my dad and with my sister, if she's helping out with it, and just sort of, like, be together and make something for everybody. We set aside, like, a couple hours for the rolling the dough, and all the shapes and all the decoration. My father learned about all the baking from his mother. So my grandmother, I think, is really what I have to thank for, like, the recipe,

but also the tradition of it. She would make so many different, like, cookies until she wasn't able to when she had dementia and couldn't cook anymore. And my dad kind of took over as the cook. So I think for him, it's really important. also because the recipes are passed down from her and they're handwritten on these index cards. I think it's an important part of passing down the memories of her. Zach Rothman Hicks lives in Queens.

We talked with him as part of a collaboration with the Queens Memory Project. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. Catch us every weekday, three times a day. I'm Jared Marcel. See you tomorrow.