NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Judge Orders the Release of Activist Mahmoud Khalil, NYC’s Early Voting Turnout, City Parks Could Get New Water Fountains, and Some Seniors Fear Relocation Amid a Housing Redevelopment in Chelsea

Episode Date: June 20, 2025

A federal judge says he’ll order that activist Mahmoud Khalil be released from immigration detention. Plus, New Yorkers are voting early at a rate that experts say may signal a transformative shift in the electorate. Also, a bill has passed in the New York City Council that would require the parks department to install at least 50 new outdoor drinking fountains over the next decade. And finally, NYCHA and a pair of developers are awaiting final approval from the federal government. After that, residents of a senior apartment building will have 90 days to move.

A federal judge orders the release of activist Mahmoud Khalil. New York City's early voting turnout so far, some city parks could get new water fountains and senior citizens fear relocation amid a housing redevelopment in Chelsea. From WMYC, this is NYC now. I'm Jinnay Pierre. A federal judge says he'll order that activist Mahmoud Khalil be released from immigration detention. The Columbia University graduate has been in federal custody in Louisiana since March.

Khalil is a green card holder. He had participated in a number of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the university, and Trump administration officials say he was a threat to U.S. foreign policy and supported the terrorist organization Hamas. His lawyers say that's not true and that his activism is protected by the Constitution. New Yorkers are early voting at a rate that experts say may signal a transformative shift in the electorate. WNYC's Bridget Bergen reports. A WNYC analysis of Board of Electives.

data shows that more than 131,000 people cast ballots in the first four days of early voting this year. That's double the number of voters at the same point in the primary four years ago. Younger voters, and white voters in Brownstone, Brooklyn, are leading the turnout. Laura Tammin, a political scientist at Pace University, says the news may bode well for Assembly member Zoranmanani. To get young people to turn out to vote in an off-year municipal primary is a humongous task. that's rarely achieved. But if they are successful, it can be transformative. Early voting runs through this Sunday. Stick around. There's more after the break.

NYC now. A bill has passed in the New York City Council that would require the Parks Department to install at least 50 new outdoor drinking fountains over the next decade. That would add to the already thousands of water fountains around the city maintained by the Parks Department. Manhattan Council member Gail Brewer sponsored the bill. We're actually focused on the entrance to the parks within 100 feet. And the reason we say that is that we would like people as they're walking by to be able to get a drink, not use a plastic bottle. Brewer adds that the estimated cost of a water fountain is pretty expensive.

It could run $30,000 to $40,000 according to the parks department. But to me, that's what makes our cities run. we absolutely need to have water hydration at the entrance of the park. So yes, it's expensive, but yes, it needs to get done. Adding water fountains to the city's parks isn't an easy task. That's why it'll be a decade to get 50 up around its parks. Merritt Burnbaum is president and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy, which pushed the bill. One of the biggest challenges we face is how long it takes for these renovations to go through

and also just how old the infrastructure is. We're dealing with fountains and piping that was put in over 100 years ago, built for an entirely different city that haven't really been maintained or updated. And now there are new rules and new laws that are meant to protect public health and safety, like a type of backflow device that has to be installed in all new fountains and pipes that need to be updated. And that's part of really what drives the cost and the timing. Every situation is different and every fountain has to be designed. designed with that. So the only time we see new fountains coming into the park is when something new

is being built like a playground, when a total renovation that takes care of that is being done. The bill now awaits the signature of Mayor Eric Adams. In other news, the New York City Housing Authority and a pair of developers are finalizing a plan to overhaul two public housing developments in Chelsea. That plan includes tearing down existing buildings and constructing new ones. WMYC's David Brand reports, while some residents are in favor of the plan, others fear they're being replaced. Come on, let's go inside. Let me show you my apartment. Maria Santos glides through the hallways of her senior apartment building in a silvery sequin blouse with a skirt and shoes to match. I'm just fashionable. This is the spirit that I am.

Some people call me the Queen of Chelsea. She says she keeps her apartment in the Chelsea houses on West 27th Street the same way, sparkly and neat. She's lived here for the last decade. Could you show me around? That's Leloo, my cat. Hey, Lelie Loo. This building is meant exclusively for seniors, and it's now the first part of a plan to completely redevelop two sprawling public housing complexes here, the Elliott-Chelsea houses and the Fulton houses. The New York City Housing Authority, or Nica, along with two development companies, want to rebuild the two complexes and stages. If all goes

according to plan, most tenants will get to stay in their homes until the new apartments are ready. And developers will also construct 3,400 additional privately owned apartments on the same valuable property. Mayor Eric Adams says it's the future of public housing. But this project that's been done here is revolutionary for nature. But residents of the senior building would have to move out so it can be demolished long before the others. Santos says she and many of her neighbors aren't happy. They're all against it. Nobody wants to move from here. This is their home. Her neighbor Maria Christina Ember is 81 and says her health isn't good enough to uproot and move.

And she's not even sure if she'll live long enough to move into the new building after construction. I'm old person and I have to move. Why? Because another person would like make money, we live here. I spoke with tenants from a dozen of the 82 occupied units in the building. All said they don't want to move, and they found an ally in Renee Kit. She's the president of the Elliott Chelsea House's Tenant Association, and she's urging tenants not to, quote, self-evict. She says she doesn't trust Nica and the developers to follow through on their promises. We are now extraordinarily valuable property. They never came here to care about the residents, to care about.

It is the market value of Chelsea that had literally driven this process. nothing else. But Jamar Adams says opponents like Kit are misleading residents. He's the CEO of Essence, one of the developers that's partnering with Nica on the rebuilding plan. Unfortunately, what's happening is there are opposition groups, right, who are supporting messages that are actually factually untrue. He says he understands the fear and mistrust.

And that's why Nica and the city will enforce several layers of protections, including a signed right-to-return agreement that guarantees tenants a spot in the new building. He says the project is crucial, both as a future model for Nica and for affordability in the city. We have affordable housing prices in the city, right? We have a housing crisis in the city. There should be new housing built. Nica estimates the project will cost $1.9 billion. But the entire plan could take more than 15 years to complete.

That means whoever wins the mayoral election will be overseeing early stages and could pursue similar projects in other parts of the city. Like Mayor Adams, former governor Andrew Cuomo is backing it. So is state Senator Zelnor Myri. Assembly member Zeran Mamdani says he supports adding new publicly controlled housing on Naitia land. And controller Brad Lander says he would support redevelopment if a majority of tenants, like Maria Santos, voted for it. We need to be ambitious and creative, and it has to be driven by resident voice and vision. But even after all the assurances the city and the developers have made, Maria Santos still isn't on board. I don't believe it. I'm not buying it. It's a gentrification, period.

Project developers say 22 senior tenants have already applied to get a new apartment elsewhere in the development, a sign they'll move voluntarily. Would you do it? No. What would you do? I would stay here and fight. I asked Jemar Adams, the developer, what would happen if tenants refused to leave, making it impossible to start demolition. He said he wasn't sure, but he hopes it doesn't get to that point. That's WNYC's David Brann. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. Have a nice weekend.