NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: New Orleans Attack Echoes 2017 Attack in NYC, Optimum Drops MSG Networks, New Jersey’s Approach to Rising Sea Levels and Weekend Stargazing

Episode Date: January 3, 2025

In the wake of New Orleans, a look at how New York City has worked to prevent similar terrorist attacks. Plus, there’s a standoff between a major local cable provider and the TV home of the New York Knicks and Rangers. Also, New Jersey is developing new rules that would require homes to be built five feet off the ground in flood zones. And finally, a look at your astronomy forecast this weekend.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jene Pierre. A truck rampage in New Orleans echoes a similar attack in New York City in 2017. That's when a self-professed ISIS supporter drove a truck into a group of pedestrians and cyclists on a west side highways greenway. Eight people were killed and many more injured. Public safety experts say New York City has taken various steps to prevent future attacks since the incident. like installing barricades in monitoring social media. But Navy intelligence officer David Viola says it's impossible to wade through every single threat.

It's a needle and a stack of needles hidden inside a bundle of needles in the dark. It's really hard to get through all of it and find out what is the signal and what is the noise. Viola says New Yorkers shouldn't let fear stop their lives, but he says everyone should remain vigilant. vigilant. Police officials say there are no credible threats to New York City at this time. New York sports fans are currently caught in the middle of a standoff between a major local cable provider and the TV home of the Knicks and Rangers. WMYC's Phil Corso has more. If you're an optimum subscriber, you won't find Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, or Devils games on your TV right now. That's because MSG networks have been dropped from the cable providers

lineup due to a dispute over carriage fees. Optimum, which is owned by Altus U.S. says MSG is demanding high fees that force non-sports viewers to pay for content they don't watch. MSG says it offered optimum fair terms, but Altus rejected them, even though they raised their subscription fees. That means local hoops and hockey fans may need to look for streaming alternatives to watch their teams while the dispute continues. The dispute comes as the New York Knicks continue its winning streak. The Orange and Blue have been on fire since mid-December. They've won nine straight games and are now within one game of the Atlantic Dispute. division leading Boston Celtics. But New York has a tough challenge on the docket Friday night as they tip off against the thunder in Oklahoma City.

And the thunder have been on a tear of their own. They've won 13 in a row and sit atop the Western Conference. Let's go, Nix. Still ahead, New Jersey is developing new rules that would require homes to be built five feet off the ground in flood zones. More on the Garden State's approach to rising sea levels after the break. I see how I see. New homes in New Jersey could have to be built at least five feet off the ground in flood zones. That's if Governor Phil Murphy signs off on a new set of state environmental regulations. The change marks a major shift in how the state uses future climate modeling to create policy around rising sea levels. But the plan has raised concerns among some developers and business leaders.

WMYC's Mike Hayes has the details. Dan, you suggested a quick tour of the house. I think that's kind of a fun way to start. Sure. Why don't we go back down to the first floor? Dan Bacchalas is showing me around he and his wife, Barbara's, white 1950s split-level house in Margate on the Jersey Shore. Yeah, how far are we from the ocean?

I don't think I've made it all over there. Five blocks that away and two blocks to the bay. When Superstorm Sandy hit in 2012, the water in that bay inundated the neighborhood, flooding the bottom floor of the house. Shortly after that, Barbara says, their flood insurance payments skyrocketed. From about $70 to close to $1,000 a month.

So that was shocking. And we thought that we probably would have to sell the house because we thought we're just not going to be able to swing it. What saved them, they say, is a federal program that helped raise the house more than five feet off the ground. Workers jacked their home up with hydraulic lifts, built concrete walls underneath, and lowered it back down. Dan and Barbara take me down to check it out.

It's really very sturdy, really very sturdy. Now, New Jersey officials are developing new rules for flood zones that will require all new houses and houses that undergo major renovations to be raised just as much as the Bacalas' home, five feet. I'm excited about these regulations because I know that they will protect first lives and then property and our economy and our communities. Jennifer Coffey is with the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions. She says it's a fundamental shift in how the state assesses the risk of natural disasters. Until now, that risk has largely relied on what happened in the past. We have looked at historical data ranging from 1890, so 20 years before women got the right to vote, to 1999 to determine what a hundred-year storm looks like.

what a hundred-year flood looks like. But the past is no longer an accurate predictor on a rapidly warming planet. So instead, the state is basing its projection on a 2019 Rutgers study, showing a 17% chance that rising sea levels in the state will exceed five feet by the end of the century. Professor Robert Copp was the lead author.

The sea level is rising in New Jersey. It's rising faster than the global average, in large part because, the land here is sinking. Environmental groups are praising the approach, but Jersey home builders like Anthony Zerilli are opposed because of the added cost. I just think there's preposterous. From a scenic standpoint, it's going to make the landscape look crazy.

Builders and business groups say a 17% chance of sea level rising more than five feet isn't enough to base public policy on. They're urging Governor Phil Murphy not to sign off on the new rules. Ray Cantor of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association says a two-foot increase would be more appropriate. If that numbers turns out to be too low, we have 75 years to adjust. The governor's office declined to comment on the rule change. Environmental groups say that going with a lower height increase

would be a mistake. And Dan Bacallas, who raised his own house in Margate, agrees. You don't want to be building something that you know, according to the latest science, you know next time you get a hurricane sandy or a super storm Sandy, they're going to be literally, literally swamped. After work

was completed on his home, his sky high flood insurance rate went from $1,000 a month to just $560 for the entire year. Because you raised ours. Because we raised it up and it was safe from most floods and storms.

That's WMYC's Mike Hayes. January may be darken cold, but the night sky will shine bright. This weekend, stargazers are in for quite the treat with a few visible planets. WMYC's Rosemary Misdary has more. So on the 3rd of January, Venus is going to appear on the bottom right side of the moon, and Venus is in the southwestern portion of the night sky just after sunset. And that's the brightest, one of the brightest objects in the night sky still right now. Then Saturn, which is also visible this month, it will appear to the lower right side of the moon the next night on the fourth. It's going to be to the left of Venus. It's in the southern portion of the

sky, and that is also visible just after sunset. And then you have Jupiter, which is going to rise also after sunset, and that is in the eastern portion of the sky. And on top of all of that, Rosemary says there are also some stars to look out for this month, too, star clusters specifically. One of my favorites is the bright blue Pleiades star cluster, also the yellowish hyades star cluster. And they're right near each other, and you can find them in the Taurus constellation.

That's WMYC's Rosemary Misdary. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Can't leave without shouting out our production team. It includes Sean Boutage, Amber Bruce, Audrey Cooper, Owen Kaplan, Leora Noam Kravitz, Jared Marcel, and Wayne Schoenmeister, with help from all of my wonderful colleagues in the WMYC Newsroom. Our show art was designed by the people at Buck, and our music was composed by Alexis Quadrato. I'm Jenae Pierre. Have a lovely weekend. See you on Monday.