NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: More Cops in Central Park,Yankees-Dodgers Rematch, Chinese American Railroad Workers Memorial Day and a Migrant Family Finds Community

Episode Date: May 30, 2025

Mayor Adams is announcing a new partnership with city organizations that will increase the number of cops in Central Park this summer. Plus, the New York Yankees play the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 3-game series this weekend. Also, some local leaders hope marking May 10th as “Chinese American Railroad Workers Memorial Day” will help honor the history of those who built parts of the Long Island Rail Road. And finally, the story of a soccer program that tries to bring migrant families together and create a sense of belonging.

Expect more cops in Central Park this summer. The Yankees get a rematch against the Dodgers this weekend. Chinese American Railroad Workers Memorial Day and a migrant family finds community in New York City. From WMYC, this is NYC now. I'm Jene Pierre. More cops will be present in Central Park this summer, on foot, bikes, horses, and in plain clothes.

Mayor Eric Adams is taking aim at what he calls quality of life concerns in the park. No more trash, no more debris, illegal vending, unlawful petty cabs, or excessive noise forcing family tourists to cut their visits short in this rural-class park. The new initiative also includes installing more surveillance cameras throughout the park.

Central Park Conservancy is taking aim at quality of life issues as well through its newly launched Park Ranger program. The New York Yankees play the L.A. Dodgers in a three-game series this weekend. WMYC's Amanda Rozone reports it's the first matchup between the two teams since they went head to head in the World Series last year. The Yanks are hoping to avenge their devastating loss against L.A. in the World Series. The Bronx Bombers lost all but one game in the fall classic, and the fans had to watch the Dodgers celebrate

winning the trophy on the Yankees' home field. The Bronx Faithful hasn't been able to shake the feeling since. So far this season, both teams are first. in their divisions, but the Yankees have the better record overall. Stars like Aaron Judge on the Yankees and Shohei Otani on the Dodgers are already sparking MVP conversations. After this series, the Yankees will be back in the boogie down for a six-game homestand. Earlier this month, New York City officials mark its first Chinese American Railroad Workers Memorial Day. More on that after the break. Some Asian American officials say the contributions of Chinese labor

are often overlooked, including those who built parts of the Long Island Railroad in the 1800s. Now, some local leaders hope marking May 10th as Chinese American Railroad Workers Memorial Day will help honor that history. WMYC's Elizabeth Shui reports. I'm standing near the inactive Woodhaven train station in Queens. The L.I.R's Rockaway Line used to run by that station. But now it's covered with an overgrowth of weeds and trees. and the rails are rusted. It looks post-apocalyptic.

In 1876, over a hundred Chinese laborers worked on the old Rockaway branch on the Long Island Railroad. Up until the mid-70s, the station accommodated thousands of commuters. It was decommissioned in 1977, and the station is now abandoned. I talked to many people in the neighborhood and the history of Chinese railroad workers who built it has also faded. Do you know anything about

Chinese rebel workers in the 1800s, the history of that in the Jewish history? I don't really know. I'm sorry. I'm not sure. Probably hardworking people. I didn't know that. That was Gilbert Malbonato, Derek Sherati, and Edwin Rebus. Here's an excerpt from Dublin Y.C. in 1939 telling the story. The Central Pacific met the lines of the Union Pacific at Promontory Point, Utah, and completed two was the first great contribution of the Chinese to the

Development of the United States. Ava Chin is a fifth-generation Chinese-American New Yorker. Her family didn't work on the L-I-Double R, but she is one of the many descendants of the 15,000 Chinese immigrants who helped build the first transcontinental railroad on the West Coast. My grandfather's first words in English were Central Pacific, Union Pacific, and Southern Pacific. That's how important the railroad was to our country. family. Chin says she's heard stories about her great-great-grandfather working on the railroad

since she was a kid. So she was surprised when no Chinese people were mentioned when she learned about the railroad in school. When I opened my textbook and I saw the photograph that was put out by the railroad company that was to show the completion of the railroad and there wasn't a single Chinese face staring back at me, I thought, what is this nonsense? What are they trying to tell us? Because that photograph did not square whatsoever with the stories that I heard when I was growing up. Chinese workers were paid much less than their white counterparts and worked longer hours. They cleared roadbeds, handled explosives, and made tunnels using mostly hand tools.

That's according to Stanford University. Chinese culture is about community. We work together. Brooklyn Council Member Susan Zwang has sponsored a resolution to commemorate Chinese railworkers on May 10th every year. She says she's trying to remind New Yorkers of the contributions of immigrants to the city and the country. We cannot erase the history.

We cannot erase the immigrants have been done to contribute to our country. Jack Shen is a professor at Rutgers University and the co-founder of Moka, the Museum of Chinese in America. He says the labor deserves recognition, but he's afraid this might be a token effort. It becomes its own cardboard stereotype, as if that's the only thing that Chinese did. But it actually deeply distorts the history that's been going on of the relationship between Chinese people and Chinese ideas. And it's very large impact on the making of American culture. Chen says what he would really want to see is for the city schools to incorporate a more comprehensive curriculum of Asian American studies.

Councilmember Zwang sees her resolution as just one of the many steps. towards educating New Yorkers. That's WMYC's Elizabeth Shway. From migrant families coming to New York City, finding community can be challenging. Radio Rookies reporter Juliana Vallejo knows that reality firsthand. Her family immigrated to the U.S. from Ecuador

when she was four, and as she got older, she sought out community in different places. Today, Juliana tells a story of a soccer program in the city that tries to bring migrant families together and create a sense of belonging. A group of young kids are running around a turf field at the So5 soccer center in Brooklyn as family members watch from the sidelines.

This soccer clinic called A3FC was started by 17-year-old Talia Landisburg, a volunteer with a non-profit artist's athletes activists, a New York City-based organization that provides services to recently arrive migrants. A soccer player herself, she brought the idea to the organization's founder, Power Malo. I really wanted to do something bigger to help, so I approached them with the idea for a free soccer program for kids living in shelters in New York,

and that's how this whole thing started. Power Malu says creating a safe, hopeful space for migrant youth and their families is important, since many suffer discrimination, scarcity of resources, poverty, and more. You know, when people feel like that they are welcome, them in a space, then it opens up all the possibilities for them and allows them to continue to dream.

For parents, like Tatya Nauruiz, whose son Zach takes part in the clinics, they give kids a space to just be themselves. And see the felicity of all the kids, one of those kids, one of the other people, and there's one in conversations with them. If you know, it's important. It's, it's been good for us also us, because, well, you know, it's been good for us also. Tatiana says that opportunities like the soccer clinic create a space for immigrant parents to lend each other knowledge and how to move forward and support their children.

She says it makes her son happy and encourages these kids to be active. Angelica Peralta, who was also there with her son, agrees that parents get something out of it too. She motivates to be, to de-stressers a little of the school, of the routine of all the days. So, then, well, me just this game, because I, Angelica says that coming to my son, also know the mom of the other children. Angelica says that coming to the clinic with her son

has been an important part of their routine, and she's very happy that her son gets to enjoy the sport. She says seeing her kid playing makes her hope for the future. Being able to make friends and find community and belong somewhere is so important and it impacts our mental health tremendously. That's Andrea Rivera. She's co-executive director of the New York State

Youth Leadership Council, the first organization in New York led by undocumented youth that openly advocates for migrant youth and creates change. Fear of being deported or detained because of your immigration status and being targeted by police, all of these things make immigrant youth feel a high sense of anxiety and depression. So there's a lot of mental health issues. And there's research out there that shows that playing sports can reduce the risk of mental health problems, like the ones Angie mentions. As she sees it, having something like the

soccer clinic can provide benefits on and off the field. It makes us feel connected. It makes us feel seeing. It makes us feel heard. For a lot of the parents who attend these clinics, that's what they're hoping for, a connection. That's what I wanted to feel too. I barely remember what living in Ecuador was like. So finding community in different parts of my life has been important to me. I hope activities like these soccer clinics can continue to do the same for the next generation. That's Radio Rookies reporter, Juliana Vallejo. Quick note before we go. Be on the lookout for our new segment Five Things with my fellow host, Brian Lair.

On the last Saturday of each month, Brian and I will narrow down five issues that are top of mind across New York. This week, Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Adams, an ice detainee, congestion pricing, and New York Sports. That episode will be available in the next day. your feed first thing Saturday morning. We hope you check it out as you enjoy the weekend. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. I'm Jenae Pierre.