NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: New Yorkers Mourn the Death of Pope Francis, Health System Restores Capacity for Inpatient Psychiatric Care, Who is Mohsen Mahdawi and NYPD Invests in Drone Surveillance

Episode Date: April 21, 2025

St.Patrick’s Cathedral was filled with mourners at its Easter Monday mass as churchgoers learned of Pope Francis’ death. Plus, a Hudson Valley health system agrees to restore psychiatric care and mental health reforms. Meanwhile, details are emerging about Mohsen Mahdawi, the second Columbia University student protest leader detained by U.S. immigration officers in recent weeks. And finally, the NYPD is investing in new technology to combat drones used for “nefarious purposes.”

New Yorkers mourn the death of Pope Francis. A Hudson Valley health system restores capacity for inpatient psychiatric care. Who is Mosimadawi? And the NYPD invests in drone surveillance. From WMYC, this is NYC now. I'm Jene Pierre. We're definitely the Pope of the people. Made you feel like you were one.

He did a lot for a lot of people. out of all the popes we've had in recent memory, he touched the most people. Catholics across New York City are mourning the passing of Pope Francis, with churchgoers filling St. Patrick's Cathedral at its Easter Monday Mass. Archbishop Timothy Dolan addressed the congregation. Beyond the sorrow, the sadness that we feel that the passing of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, we express our faith in the resurrection of Jesus, and praise Almighty God for the gift that he was to the church, to the world, to us.

Pope Francis was credited for championing issues like economic justice, environmental protection, and LGBTQ plus inclusion. He also advocated for migrants and refugees. In a statement, Mayor Eric Adams reflected on his own visit to the Vatican last year, calling it one of the most sacred and special moments of his life. Governor Kathy Hockel also noted Pope Francis's death, writing on social media that he, quote, embodied the values Christ taught us every day, helping the less fortunate, calling for peace,

and ensuring every person is treated as a child of God. Pope Francis died Monday morning at the age of 88. A Hudson Valley Health System has agreed to restore 40 psych beds that were closed during the pandemic, following an investigation by the state attorney general. WMC Health will reopen 20 beds at Health Alliance Hospital in Kingston and add 20 at Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie. The health system has also agreed to mental health reforms at these hospitals and at Westchester Medical Center. The Attorney General's investigation found some patients were not properly stabilized before being discharged.

A prominent Palestinian-born student activist at Columbia University was arrested by ICE a week ago. Associates say he's not the threat federal immigration officials say he is. More on that after the break. More details are emerging about Mosin Madawi, the seven. second Columbia University student protest leader detained by U.S. immigration officers in recent weeks. WN.YC's Aria Sundaram has been speaking with his close associates on campus. It's been a week since Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested. He's 34 and a philosophy undergrad at Columbia. My name is Mohsen Mihdawi, and I am a Palestinian refugee, born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank.

He was a fixture of pro-Palestinian student protests on campus. Often behind a megaphone, sharing his story. When I was 10 years old, I saw my best friend, Hammeda, getting shot in front of my eyes on the hand of an Israeli soldier. Despite the traumas he faced, his classmates say he was a strong advocate for peace, like Aharon Darduk, who met him in a class on peacemaking and negotiation. He lives his life with a dedication to that mission, of showing love for everyone, even the people who hurt him, even the people who hate him.

The federal government hasn't publicly said why Mahdawi was arrested. He's the latest in a growing line of pro-Palestinian international students across the country who have been targeted by the Trump administration for deportation, as part of what it says is a crackdown on anti-Semitism. But Mahadui's classmates say he was a fierce advocate against anti-Semitism. There was one major incident where he spoke up against anti-Semitism at a rally in November 2023. Here's him talking about it in a 60-minute segment on campus protests. A person comes down to the first. the stairs yelling death to Jews. I was shocked and they walked directly to the person

and they told him, you don't represent us because this is not something that we agree with. As some student activists took a more radical approach during protests last fall, Mahedawi's classmates say he often tried to find middle ground. He began hosting a weekly discussion group for Palestinian and Israeli students to discuss the conflict abroad. Sahar Bostok was one of the Israeli students in the group. I thought it was very courageous, and it made me a little hopeful, despite everything that's going on. Ace agents took Mahadawi into custody last Monday.

A video his friend took that day shows him being escorted into a car and flashing peace signs as he's whist away. A federal judge has ruled that he can't be deported, at least for now. There's a hearing in his case on Wednesday. That's WM. The NYC's aria syndrome. The NYPD is investing in new technology to combat what they say is a growing threat to New Yorkers, drones, the kind that could be used for what they call nefarious purposes.

WNYC's Ben Fewer Herd did some digging through NYPD contracts with third-party vendors to find what the department is investing in and why. And I came across a contract labeled D drone technology. It caught my eye mostly because I didn't know anything about what the technology is. So I filed a records request with the comptroller's office and got the documents behind the contract, which is currently in place, which is with a vendor that provides drone surveillance technology. Ben talked with a spokesperson for the NYPD, and the department says drones are a potential public safety threat, but they didn't really expand on that. The contracts that I have showed the NYPD's counterterrorism division believes drones are going to be a topic of emphasis going forward. The documents say counterterrorism division is responsible for monitoring drones at major events and areas of critical infrastructure.

And one expert I spoke to said he thought the system like this could help prevent the sort of hysteria that happened a few months ago in New Jersey about drones and drone sightings. He said better drone surveillance systems could help officials determine what is actually a drone and what's not and ultimately allow the department to tell people, tell New Yorkers whether or not to be concerned. Ben says the NYPD is dumping a fair amount of money into drone detection, but experts are divided on the contract. On the one hand, the one person I spoke to, the head of a college in New Jersey with a drone program, he was thrilled that the NYPD was investing in this kind of technology. It was sure police departments across the country were going to follow suit. On the other hand, I spoke to a civil liberties attorney who is often critical of what the NYPD spends money on. He says that it's just evidence that the department has a blank check to spend money when so.

many other agencies are being cut off. The NYPD is no stranger to drone use itself. Under the Adams administration, Ben says the department has invested more in their drone use. Last year, Mayor Adams and NYPD officials announced what they call the drones as first responders program where they basically send drones to emergency situations. When they announced launch of the program, they said in select precincts in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan, drones would respond to things like missing people, robberies, grand larcenies, and other crimes in progress.

The idea for the program, according to the MIPD, was for drones to feed back audio and visuals was seen in real time. And I looked at the most recent statistics from the MIPD, and they showed that they used drones as first responders more than a thousand times from October of last year until the end of December. That's WMYC's Ben Fewerheard. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.