NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Judge Says Jim Walden’s Name Must Stay on NYC Mayoral Ballot, Alleged Arsonist Accused of Killing Queens Couple Confesses, NY Liberty Head to Playoffs, and Grape Season is Here

Episode Date: September 12, 2025

A state Supreme court judge ruled that former federal prosecutor Jim Walden's name must stay on the ballot even though he ended his bid for mayor. Meanwhile, prosecutors say the man accused of killing a Queens couple in their home confessed to the crime . Plus, the New York Liberty are preparing for their first round playoff matchup against the Phoenix Mercury. Finally, fall is around the corner and that means grape season. GrowNYC’s Amelia Tarpey shares why grapes are in peak season at city farmstands.

Jim Walden is still on the New York City mayoral ballot despite dropping out. Alleged arsonist accused of killing a queen's couple in their home confesses. The WNBA Liberty are going to the playoffs. And grapes are in season. From WNYC, this is NYC now. I'm Elizabeth Shui. The ballot is finalized for New York City mayor, even if a candidate drops out. A state Supreme Court judge has ruled that former federal prosecutor Jim Walden's name must stay on the ballot, even though he ended his bid for mayor.

The court ruled that Walden filed paperwork to remove his name from the ballot three months after the deadline. Walden never polled above 3%. He says he ended his campaign to help unite the support for candidates seeking to defeat Democratic nominee Zoran Mamdani. On social media, Walden said, quote, Alas, I remain on the ballot for NYC mayor. In Queens this week, prosecutors say the man accused of killing a couple in their home and setting it on fire, admitted to doing so after being taken into custody. District attorney Melinda Katz says police tracked down 42-year-old Jamel McGriff during a two-day manhunt

by following commercial transactions he made. We also know that he traveled the city. He went from here to the Bronx to Manhattan. He went to movies. He bought clothes at Macy's all on the victim's card. McGriff was arranged Thursday night on murder and other charges after police arrested him in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday. Law enforcement officials allege he took the lives of Frank and Maureen Olton in Bellrose on Monday. The judge ordered him held without bail.

His lawyer has not returned requests for comment. Your chance to spend a night at the museum. is back. The American Museum of Natural History says it's sleepovers for children six to 12 years old and their caregivers will continue monthly starting at the end of October after being paused in 2020. Kids can sleep underneath the big blue whale and take flashlight tours of the museum. They also get bedtime snacks and breakfast. Member presale begins on September 30th. General Mission will be available starting October 7th and tickets cost $225. per person.

The sleepover started after the 2006 movie Night at the Museum. Another night at the museum is in the works. Up next, the New York Liberty are gearing up for the WNBA playoffs. More on that, after the break. NYC now. The New York Liberty wrapped up their regular season Thursday night by beating the Chicago Sky 91 to 86. And now it's on to the playoffs, and they're looking to keep their title in Brooklyn.

The Liberty won their first ever WNBA title last year, but started off the 2025 season with some struggles. After going 9 to 0, the team got hit with the injury bug and now have fallen to the fifth seed. So after a 9-0 start, the New York Liberty, found themselves with a lot of injuries and injuries to key players. John Queld Jones, who was the MVP, the finals MVP last year, was out two times with an ankle injury. Brianna Stewart missed some time in July and August. And then most recently, Sabrina Inescu missed a few games.

And overall, those are three key pieces to their starting five. That's sports journalist Erica Ayala, who caught up with my colleague Michael Hill to recap the season and share a playoff preview. Up next for the Libs is a first round matchup against the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday. But Ayella says the Mercury haven't been at their full strength this season either. Melissa Thomas, who a lot of people consider an MVP caliber player this season and several seasons prior, she had been out with some time Satu Sabali, who went from Dallas to the Phoenix Mercury in the off season, was also out with some time Kaliah Koppur, Their guard was out.

And so similarly to the New York Liberty, they have had to deal with injuries and have been very good on the back end of the season. The Libs finished the regular season at 27 and 17. While this wasn't the dominant showing fans may have expected, Aiella says they have a solid shot to win it all. The New York Liberty have had a lot of time to get some of their role players and their bench players, reserve players, into games and integrated and having them figure things out. in real time. So all of that means a lot. You can catch game one against the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday at 5 p.m. Fall is just around the corner. You can feel it in the air and see it at your local market. Amelia Tarpie is a program and publicity manager for GrowNYC Green Markets.

She says it's time to get excited for grape season this week. Throughout the month of September, there'll be different varieties coming in and going out of season. I feel like every week you're going to find something new at the market. Some ones that immediately come to mind are Niagara grapes. Those are kind of the most popular green grape variety. They're sweet, musky, juicy, like perfect for fresh eating. Another one is called Candidese, and those are kind of like small, purplish grapes. They form in tight clusters on the vine, and they're, like, eating candy.

going viral on all the platforms the frozen grapes. So basically what you do is you pick your grapes off and then you toss them in some sort of acids. Usually like a lime juice or a lemon juice and then sprinkle some sugar on there and then you freeze them. Perfect snack. A couple of our producers are growing grapes

for wine production as well. So you can find wine at some of the green markets. All the wine producers in our program, currently are coming down from the Finger Lakes region, which is New York's most popular region for wine production. One of our wineries, Chateau Renaissance, they sell just at Union Square Green Market on Saturdays. They make wine, but then they also do a couple of vinegars. They have a really nice champagne vinegar, and they also have a red wine vinegar that they make. Buzzard Crest, also from the Finger Lakes, they produce really nice wine, and then they also,

make grape juice, which is super popular. Father Crest has a cult following and all they do, but definitely with their grape juice. They sell it in quartz, half gallon, and then people will just put it in their freezer and save it for the whole season. Thanks for listening to NYC Now from WNYC. I'm Elizabeth Shui. We'll be back tomorrow.