NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: MTA Goes to Court in Congestion Pricing Fight Against Trump, Rent Guidelines Board Considers Lower Rent Increase, Electric Bills Go Up in New Jersey, Bird Lovers Plan for Avian Oases, and Van Gogh’s Flowers

Episode Date: May 27, 2025

A federal judge is ordering the Trump administration not to block or withhold funding for New York state as retaliation for the MTA's congestion pricing program. Plus, the panel that sets the rent for tenants in a million stabilized apartments held a rare "re-vote" on Tuesday. Also, electric bills for New Jersey residents are about to jump up around 20% next month. Meanwhile, bird lovers in Manhattan plan to turn Broadway malls into avian oases. And finally, the New York Botanical Garden’s new exhibit pays tribute to Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh with botanical displays and large scale art.

The MTA goes to court in its congestion pricing fight against Trump. New York City's rent guidelines board considers a lower rent increase for stabilized tenants. Electric bills go up in New Jersey next month. Bird lovers in Manhattan plan for an avian oasis and vangos flowers at the New York Botanical Garden. From WMYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Jinné Pierre. A federal judge in Manhattan is ordering the Trump administration not to block or withhold funding for New York State as retaliation for the MTA's congestion pricing program.

The judge also ordered the Trump administration submit all its evidence for the case by June. MTA chair Janelle Lieber says that's a win. That's good news for the state. It's good news for New Yorkers who are benefiting from congestion pricing because we want to move quickly to final resolution. President Trump campaign on killing the tolls. His Transportation Secretary ordered the MTA to turn them off or lose funding for for highway projects. The MTA then sued the administration, arguing the feds had no legal authority to shut them down. The $9 daily toll has brought in tens of millions of dollars to the MTA.

The program has also reduced gridlock and improved bus speeds in some parts of Manhattan. Rent Guidelines Board, take two. The panel that sets the rent for tenants in a million stabilized apartments held a rare revote Tuesday. WMYC's David Brand has more. The board reconvened to choose a new range of potential increases on two-year leases ahead of a final vote next month. Board Chair Doug Apple said the board was responding to testimony from tenants facing financial hardship. But another board member, Adon Sultrain, said they were just correcting a mistake made during a meeting last month. The board ultimately agreed to consider a rent hike between 3.75% and 7.75%. That's a full percentage point lower than they originally approved.

A final vote is scheduled for June 30th. The Memorial Day weekend marked the unofficial start of the summer. But if you live in New Jersey, you might want to be conservative with your air conditioner. Electric bills for Garden State residents are about to jump up around 20% on June 1st. That's because of higher rates that utilities are paying to electric grid operator PJM after an auction this year. Governor Phil Murphy blames the increase on market manipulation, but PJM says it has a lot to do with Murphy's Greenfield policies and increased demand. For now, the governor is urging utilities to expand a program that prevents service shutoffs

into the summer months and to suspend reconnection fees until after summer. Bird lovers in Manhattan plan to turn Broadway malls into avian oases. More on that after the break. You're listening to NYC now. The Broadway malls are the garden-like medians that run from West 60th Street to West 168th Street. The 25 million migratory birds that pass through New York City every year can use the stretch of small green islands for resting and refueling. Now, bird experts are surveying the five-and-a-half-mile stretch of medians

as part of a plan to make them more attractive to wildlife. WMYC's Rosemary Misdairy explains. Between the busy northbound and southbound Broadway traffic, above the rumble of subways below, Todd Winston is scanning the trees with binoculars and listening intently for birdsong. We're hearing a starling sing right now. Up here somewhere, that high, squeaky sound.

We're hearing house sparrows, a little jidip, chidip of the house sparrot. Winston is an urban biodiversity specialist at New York City Bird Alliance. He is conducting a survey, counting birds and noting how they're using the Broadway medians. The data he collects will help transform these green spaces into more attractive habitats for birds and insects. One of the fascinating things about birdwatching in New York City is that you realize, if you just pay attention, that there are birds all around you.

There's a robin that just flew in here. The 20-foot-wide green spaces are just under one-tenth of an acre. They're small, but they can make the difference between life or death for migratory birds. Miles Davis is the project lead for the Bird Alliance. The malls is providing them the space to do that, whether it's stopover to rest from a long migration, maybe some insects to feed on, some material to build their nests. The Broadway Mall Association is in the midst of a $2 million renovation of 22 islands.

Winston examines an unrestored strip between 84th and 85th Street, where there's very few birds. This isn't a good example of a median that can really benefit from being restored. with native plants because it's completely carpeted, as you can see, with non-native ivy, some yew bushes that are also not native. This could be a much more diverse habitat with a lot more insect life. That is in stark contrast to the restored median just to the south, which has a cacophony of birdculls. You have not only the overstore...

layer of the trees, you have this mid-story layer of with hazel shrub. They create a nice ground-level layer of greenery as well. They planted wild geraniums and violets, ferns, beautiful Canadian column line. The work is just beginning, but early data clearly illustrates just how important the medians are. Ian Olson is the director of horticulture at the Broadway Mall Association. The bird survey is currently giving us proof that these spaces are used as feeding sites, as nesting sites for bird species. The Broadway Mall Association's goal is to restore all 83 medians, not just for the birds,

but also for humans to enjoy a little slice of nature just outside their doors. That's WMYC's Rosemary Missa. Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh is known for many beautiful paintings from a starry night to sunflowers. But what if Van Gogh's paintings came alive and you can walk through them into a world of flowers and sculpture? Well, that's the fanciful idea

behind Van Gogh's flowers, a new exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. WNYC's Hannah Frischberg checked it out. It reimagines a lot of Van Gogh's most famous works through landscaping and sculpture, and it's just very colorful and bright and has this real lushness to it.

There are these giant floral sculptures rising out of two reflection pools. There's an indoor reconstruction of the central courtyard at Arles, where Van Gog spent his final year, and there were these petals made out of painted steel that I loved, all an homage to Van Gogh's flowers. Fans of Van Gogh know that sunflowers were one of his favorite subjects. Hannah says the exhibit includes both real and sculptural sunflowers.

And the real ones were a pain to figure out, because sunflowers are not currently in peak season. But I was talking to Brian Sullivan, who's the Botanical Gardens Vice President, of landscape and glasshouses. And he was telling me that the garden had to look around a lot

before it could find a type of sunflower that would be in bloom for the opening, but they found it. Because we're opening an exhibition and you can't talk about Van Gogh without talking about sunflowers. We had to have sunflowers. So we figured out a way to do it.

We've got a beautiful field of sunflowers. Though the sunflowers are a delight, Hannah has another favorite. I really like the ones from this art group called Graphic Rewilding. They built these giant floral sculptures and reflection pools. and one of them is called irises on yellow columns,

and they built it to pay homage both to Van Gogh and the New York skyline. I got to speak to Lee Baker, who's half of graphic rewilding, about his experience making them. You know, I've been drawing irises for a long, long time, and to get the opportunity to draw irises that are more coming emulation of Van Gog's work, has been quite a special experience. In addition, all of the sculptures, on certain evenings, the show is also going to have an illuminated drone show

with live music, food, and drink, all an homage to Van Gogh's famous Starry Night. That's WMYC's Hannah Frischberg. Van Gogh's Flowers runs through October 26th at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.