NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Nadine Menendez Sentenced to Prison, City Launches New Community Service Program, Students Adjust to Cellphone Ban, and Upstate ICE Raid Sparks Debate

Episode Date: September 11, 2025

Nadine Menendez, wife of former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, has been sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for colluding in her husband’s corruption schemes. Meanwhile, New York City is launching the Civic Corps, a new AmeriCorps-style program that pays residents to work in community service roles. Plus, WNYC checks in with high school students on how they’re coping after the first week of New York’s statewide cellphone ban. Finally, Federal agents arrested dozens of people at a food processing plant in Central New York last week. WNYC’s Jimmy Vielkind reports on how the raid became a critical moment in the immigration debate.

Nain Diennandez is going to prison. The city has a new community service program. New York students adjust to the statewide cell phone ban. And an upstate ice raid sparks debate. From WNYC, this is NYC now. I'm Elizabeth Shwey. Nadine Menendez, the wife of former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, will spend the next four and a half years in prison.

She was sentenced this Thursday. In April, Nadine Menendez was convicted of colluding with her husband to sell his political influence for gifts, including cash, gold bars, and a luxury car. A jury found she colluded with her husband in numerous corrupt schemes, including one that sought to benefit from the Egyptian government. Bob Menendez is serving 11 years in prison after he was convicted of accepting bribes and acting as an agent of the Egyptian government. New York City is now funding a program that pays New Yorkers to work in community service. That's after the Trump administration cut AmeriCorps funding earlier this year. It's called the Civics Corps, and it offers stipends to recent college grads and people seeking career changes who are interested in working in social services. The program also offers money to pay back student loans.

Laura Rogg is the city's chief service officer. She says Civic Corps members will help staff nonprofits and city agencies at a critical time. So many people don't really know how to take action. They're looking around. They don't know what to do. This is a very easy step to take action and to contribute back locally and really feel that you're able to make a difference in the community around you. Applications are available online.

The 10-month program begins in October. The Queen's night market is back for the fall season. It'll run Saturday from 4 o'clock to midnight at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The night market is popular for its diverse vendors and low pricing. All food and drinks sold there is capped at $5 or $6. You can catch the night market every Saturday through October 25th, when the fall season concludes with a Halloween-themed celebration. That'll feature a costume contest with prizes including round-trip plane tickets

from JetBlue, VIP tickets at Forest Hill Stadium, and a baseball signed by Mets' first baseman Pete Alonzo. It's been a week since the start of New York's cell phone ban at public schools. And some students have already found a workaround. More on that, after the break. This is NYC Now. It's been a week into New York State's cell phone ban for schools, and the kids are doing... Mostly all right. That's Aaliyah Littlejohn.

She's a 10th grader in Manhattan. We checked in with her and some other New York City students on how they're coping this week. Cheyenne Duncan is an 11th grader. It's honestly kind of annoying, especially first thing in the morning with scanning, swiping our IDs. It gets really crowded in there. And certain things that we could definitely do on our phones,

we can't do it in class because we don't have our phones. And 11th grader Jade Williams says some students aren't just going along with it either. I've seen some things. That's all I have to say. Williams is talking about students messing with the yonder pouches that some students are now being asked to seal their phones inside during the school day. Here's 11th grader Esmeralda Haramio talking about what she's seen students do. They slam it? Fellow junior Valentina Miklos says, So many people would just cut it open and then they would make it.

them pay, you know, and some people didn't want to, and there would just be so much more conflicts. Kids are also just getting a little sneaky when it comes to talking to one another. Some students say people are bringing in walkie-talkies just to chat. Senior Solangio Santana says, we find creative ways to talk to each other. We take our emails, send emails to each other. But beyond the crafty solutions, fellow 12th grader Ethan Meyer says he is seeing a difference. Some people are like talking a bit more, which I guess was the goal. But most people are just, like, walking around the halls because there's not really much else to do. For the students who are struggling to get used to the ban, 10th grader Akiko Ikera has some good news.

Like half of New York City schools, her high school was already implementing a ban. I mean, like, I have fun with my, like, friends at school. Like, I don't really need my phone, and obviously focused, so I don't really care that much. Good luck, students. And if you want to see more students discussing the phone ban, check out WNYC's Instagram page. Federal agents arrested dozens of people at a food processing plant in central New York last week. As WNYC's Jimmy Veilkine reports, the raid has quickly become a flashpoint in the immigration debate. Acting U.S. attorney John Sarkone says immigration agents detained 57 people in Cayuga County.

It's the largest workplace raid in the state this year, and he says there's more to come. You can expect to see federal law enforcement at more work sites going forward. We owe it to the American people. We owe it to the citizens that reside in the Northern District of New York. The Thursday morning raid captured nearly a third of the workers at Nutrition Bar Confections. Sarkone declined to say why the plant was targeted. Co-owner Jeff Schmidt says the employees worked hard. Witnesses say dozens of federal agents showed up around 9 in the morning. Kayla Kelle Kellecicean is the upstate director of organizing for the New York Immigration Coalition.

She rushed to the factory and found a chaotic scene. People, community members, family members, crying, inconsolable, yelling out, like, where are you taking them? It was horrible. Videos show massed federal agents walking on the factory floor and interviewing employees in English and Spanish. Halenka Zolchik is a legal representative for one of the workers who was detained. She shared the videos. Her client was quickly flown to Texas. There's absolutely no due process.

Sarkone says some workers waived their rights and have been deported. Five people from Mexico and Guatemala face charges of illegally re-entering the U.S. after a prior deportation. None of the workers were charged with a violent crime. But Sarkone says being in the U.S. illegally is against the law, and he's enforcing it. I have to do my job. I can't turn my back and say, I'm sorry. Kedachian says the people are a valued part of the community. vulnerable workers. They're working. They're contributing to the economy. These are families.

The plant is open again this week. That's WNYC's Jimmy Veilkind. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. I'm Elizabeth Shway. We'll be back tomorrow.