NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: DOJ Issues Subpoena to NY Attorney General James, Manhattan Plaza Residents Could Get a Cut From Casino, Heads Up on Transportation Woes, NJ Earthquakes and Summer’s Seasonal Foods

Episode Date: August 8, 2025

Federal prosecutors have issued subpoenas to New York State Attorney General Letitia James related to two of her most controversial cases. Plus, a downstate casino proposal is offering residents of a nearby development a cut of the action. Also, it’ll be another weekend of transportation troubles across the 5 boroughs. Meanwhile, thousands felt the shake of earthquakes in New Jersey this week. And finally, summer brings a seasonal variety of fruits and we’re sharing tips for what's in abundance at your local market right now.

The DOJ issues subpoenas to New York Attorney General James. Manhattan Plaza residents could get a cut from a potential casino in Times Square. A heads up on transportation woes this weekend. Earthquakes in New Jersey. And summer's seasonal foods. From WMYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Jenae Pierre. Federal prosecutors have issued subpoenas to New York State Attorney General Letitia James,

related to two of her most controversial cases. That's according to two people familiar with the matter who could not publicly discuss the details of the investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The U.S. attorney in Albany is looking into James' civil cases against President Trump and the National Rifle Association. The AG's office did not confirm the subpoenas, but said in a statement that, quote, any weaponization of the justice system should disturb every American, end quote. The Justice Department declined to comment, and the U.S. Attorney's Office did not immediately. respond. One of the eight downstate casino proposals is offering residents of a nearby development, a cut of the action. WMYC's at Room Venna Cappal has more on Caesar's Palace, Times Square.

The Times Square Casino bid would provide residents of nearby Manhattan Plaza with a $22 million charitable trust, plus 0.5% of the casino's profits in perpetuity. That last part could really add up. The developer SL Green projects the casino will make. make $23 billion in gross gaming revenues in its first decade. Still, some of the 3,500 residents of Manhattan Plaza say they are opposed to a casino in the neighborhood. Right now, each of the proposed casinos is being reviewed by its own community advisory committee, made up of representatives of the governor, mayor, and other elected officials. The state is expected to award three gaming licenses by the end of this year. It's another weekend of

transportation troubles across the five boroughs. Here's what you need to know. There will be no service on the four, five, and six lines south of Grand Central over the weekend. The MTA says it's shutting down those trains to replace the concrete beneath track switches north of 14th Street Union Square. And on the G-train in Brooklyn, there will be no service between Court Square and Bedford-Nostron Avenues, thus to help the MTA do signal-line modernization work. And if you're behind the will, expect some road closures in Manhattan on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, the city will close a stretch of roads from the Brooklyn Bridge to Dyckman Street in Inwood for its Summer Streets Initiative.

And on Sunday, the Dominican Day parade is happening on 6th Avenue between 36th and 55th streets. So be on the lookout for that. Two small earthquakes struck New Jersey in the past week. After the break, what experts say about the uptick and seismic shaking in the area? Stick around. New Jersey had two earthquakes in the United States. just three days this week. No major damage, but thousands felt the shake. WMYC's Mike Hayes is here

to discuss these recent seismic events in the region. All right, Mike, this is the East Coast. Earthquakes are a California thing. What's going on here? Yeah, it's supposed to be happening on the West Coast, right? Everybody freaked out about these earthquakes, so I called up some experts. And interestingly enough, we are as active as California right now on the East Coast. Not only do we have these two earthquakes, Gine, this week, an expert told me that, about two weeks ago, we had six tiny earthquakes in one day. So the data shows that California is experiencing the same level of activity right now. They're having earthquakes about the same size, 3.0 magnitude, not serious earthquakes.

But yeah, it's happening in New Jersey and it's happening in California. But folks in California, are they getting as shaken up as we are right now? So not really. That's an important part here. And this is pretty cool, something I learned. So the Earth's crust here on the East Coast, it's older, it's more brittle, it's less flexible. That means that even like a relatively small earthquake can make a large chunk of the region shake. And you may recall last year we had an earthquake that hit New Jersey.

That was a 4.8 magnitude, which it's important to note here, 3.0 compared the 4.8. That's actually 100 times larger than these recent earthquakes. So that one was felt as far north as Boston and as far south as Philly. On the west coast, though, the earth is younger, it's warmer, it's denser. It takes a lot more to shake them up. Okay. So does this increase in activity suggest that a bigger earthquake could hit the New York area? It's a very good question.

It's certainly the first thing that jumped into my mind when, you know, we started having two earthquakes in three days. For sure. And the experts I talked to, though, they said it's. It's not very likely. They say it's certainly possible that this active period that we're in could continue for some time. The way it works is a zone will get active for a while. And we've been active technically since that earthquake last April, that 4.8 that hit New Jersey.

And then after a while, an area will go dormant for like 20 or 30 years, basically, you know, the earth shifts around and then, you know, this activity moves elsewhere is one way to put it. But an increase in activity, the experts say, doesn't necessarily mean that a bigger earthquake is on the way. So those of us in this area should not, you know, have anything to fear. However, it's good to be aware that we live in an area where earthquakes can happen. That's WMYC's Mike Hayes. With summer comes a seasonal variety of fruits and vegetables that are at peak freshness and relatively cheaper than what you can find at your local supermarket. Amelia Tarpie is a program and publicity manager for GrowNYC Green Markets.

Here she is with some tips for what's in abundance at your local market right now. Spoiler alert, it's tomatoes. The farmers are harvesting them right when they're vine ripened. They are harvested the day before coming to market. And it's, you know, the tables are just piled high and all kinds of varieties that you would never find, like, in a supermarket, you know. Some are more classic. There's like, you know, the striped Germans, the purple Cherokee tomatoes, but then some are really, you know, more unique green zebras and things like that.

So each one sort of has their own unique flavor profile. Some farmers will have boxes on the side of, they're usually called like sauce or second tomatoes. And those are tomatoes that might have some blemishes or might be, you know, a little overripe. They're not going to last you that long. but they're perfect for making tomato sauce, and those will be a little cheaper, typically around $2 to $4 a pound. I have to do a sun gold tomato pasta.

So sungold are a variety of cherry tomatoes, and they are some of the sweetest you can find, and they make a really nice pasta sauce. So you just cook that down with some garlic and do like a Bucatini or spaghetti, and then add a bunch of basil in there. Also, you have to do a BLT every summer. You can do that with an heirloom or a beefsteak.

There's really a lot of nice lettuces at the market this time of year. And some sourdough is really good. And then always like a tomato toast. I feel like, you know, people could argue about what mayo they want to use, but always like tomato toast with a nice meaty heirloom tomato. You know, do a little sprinkle of salt. Sometimes you can do a little fur khaki on there. That's really nice as well.

And it's one of the best snacks of summer. That's Amelia Tarpe, program and publicity manager for Grow NYC Green Markets, sharing some pretty helpful tips. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. Have a lovely weekend.