NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: LIRR Strike Averted for Now, Daffodil Planting Project Honors 9/11 Victims, and Brooklyn Bike Caravan Helps Young Cyclists Get to School Safely

Episode Date: September 15, 2025

Long Island Rail Road workers won’t strike this week after unions asked President Trump to step in and help broker a contract deal. Meanwhile, New Yorkers are planting daffodils and wildflowers across the city as part of a living 9/11 memorial. In sports, the Liberty beat Phoenix in overtime to open the WNBA playoffs, and the Rangers are remembering Hall of Fame goalie Eddie Giacomin, who died at 86. Plus, WNYC’s Stephen Nessen reports on Brooklyn’s “bike bus” helping kids ride safely to school.

An L-I-W-R strike has been averted for now. A daffodil planting project honors 9-11 victims, and a Brooklyn bike caravan helps young cyclists get to school safely. From WNYC, this is NYC now. I'm Sean Carlson. The Long Island Railroad has averted a worker strike, at least for now. The unions representing more than half of the railroad's workforce have asked President Trump to create an emergency board to help broker a deal.

The announcement comes as the union's leaders say their members did vote to authorize a strike, but their request for intervention by the president means they're required by law to stay on the job until at least next May. In the meantime, the unions say they'll work with federal authorities to help settle contract negotiations. The union is requesting a 16% raise over four years. The MTA says that's more than what other unions receive. The L.I.R workers have gone without a new contract for three years. Hundreds of New Yorkers will be picking out daffodil, bulbs and wildflower seeds over the next few weeks as part of a long-running citywide planting

effort tied to 9-11 remembrance. The daffodil project is an initiative launched after September 11th as a symbol of renewal. The flowers are meant to be a living memorial to the victims of the attacks. Adam Ganser is the project's executive director. People getting their hands dirty and doing work to improve their communities is really just a powerful message. And these defatidulbs help people do this. that. Organizers say tens of thousands of bulbs will be distributed this month in events across the five boroughs.

A full list of upcoming distribution dates is available on the Daffodil Project website. And in sports news, it's WMBA playoff basketball time. The fifth-seated New York Liberty squeaked past the fourth-seated Phoenix Mercury on Sunday in game one of their best of three series. The Liberty pulled out a 76 to 69 win in overtime. Natasha Cloud led the charge. with 23 points, while Brana Stewart added 18 before leaving in overtime with a knee injury. With a win on Wednesday, the defending champs would punch their ticket to the second round. In other news, hockey fans in our area are remembering former New York Rangers goalie Eddie Jockeman. The National Hockey League says the Hall of Famer died this Monday. Jockeman played for the Rangers for more than a decade, including during the team's run to the

1972 Stanley Cup finals. He entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987, and in 1989. the Rangers retired his number one jersey. In a social media post, the Rangers said, quote, you cannot discuss the history of this organization and not immediately think of Eddie. Jockeman was 86 years old. Up next, school is back in session,

and in Brooklyn, a caravan of cyclists is helping kids safely bike their way to school. We'll look more on that after the break. Every Wednesday morning, A caravan of cyclists in green vests with bikes down Bergen Street from east New York to downtown Brooklyn. It's called the Bergen Bike Bus, and for the last three years,

it's been picking up kids and helping them safely bike to school. W.NIC Steven Nesson was there for the first ride of the year. Hey, how you doing? The only way to cover the Bergen bike bus is to join it. Around 7 a.m. last Wednesday, heavy clouds are gathering overhead. A dozen cyclists in green vests gathered at the corner of Bergen and Thomas Boylan Street.

they're munching on donut holes and preparing for the first ride of the school year. Let's be extra careful to really bring them in at the front. We can keep saying boarding. Everyone knows people are coming on, bringing them in at the front. That's Hilda Cohen, one of the founders of the group. She's telling the volunteers how to get kids from their bikes waiting on the sidewalk into the bike lane with the bike train. That way we get less separated.

We will get separated. I'm caboose at the end. Cohen, the caboose, has one last piece of advice. Remember, if you don't know what to say, say good morning. It helps all of us. And they're off. As the train of adult cyclists makes its way west down Bergen Street, cars honk and drivers wave.

Within a few minutes, the first family joins. Tamika Charles Sims and her eight-year-old daughter, Sterling, peddle into the bike lane. Were you excited this morning? We're very first. She's on a blue, D-Light, Schwinn, with Dayglo Flowers. Is it so much cooler to bike to school than to walk to school?

Yeah. She's short on words as she focuses on the road, which has become slippery as it starts to rain. Her mother says she wants her daughter to be comfortable biking in the city. It's such a New York thing to bike on the street and be safe while doing it, so I wanted her to get her started early. The family expertly navigates the slippery road, potholes, double parked cars, and MTA buses. They're flanked by bike marshals in green vests who provide a buffer between the traffic and the kids. They make it to Sterling's Prospect Heights School safely, and the bike bus rolls on. By now, there are about 20 adult cyclists, parents, and volunteers with half a dozen kids.

It's the bus the bus will get all morning. Vincy Tang, her husband, Fong Chen, and their two children, ages four and six, roll aboard. It's the youngest's first time. Great job, Callum. This is his first time biking up by himself. Tang keeps an eye on the road while her son focuses on staying in the bike lane. Her six-year-old daughter, Erin Chen, is already a pro. This is her third season biking to school.

Chen says she likes it because she can burn some energy in the morning. You can get all the sillies out and stuff, you know, when you're biking before school. The bike bus has dropped off about a half a dozen kids by the time it turns off Bergen and heads to downtown Brooklyn. By then, it's just Chen, her father, and a couple volunteers left. A light turnout for a rainy day. Scooter on the left! By the time Chen pulls up to her school, it's pouring.

But she says, it's no big deal. Are you a little soggy? Yeah. Is that okay? Yeah. You don't mind? No. Because anyways, they have an extra pair of pants.

She plans to take the Bergen bike bus again next Wednesday. See you next week. That's WNYC, Stephen Nesson. Before we go, it is that time of year again when the sun starts to set earlier. The National Weather Service says many locations around the region will see their last 7 p.m. sunsets of the year this week. In Upton, out on Long Island, where the service has its New York office, it's happening Monday night. Same for Ice Lip and Bridgeport, Connecticut. Central Park will see its last 7 p.m. sunset on Wednesday.

And up in Port Jervis in Orange County, New York, the last such sunset comes on Friday. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. I'm Sean Carlson. We'll be back tomorrow.