NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: NYC Comptroller and Mayoral Candidate Detained by ICE, NY Court Reconsiders Religious Exemptions to Abortion Coverage Mandate, and Why NYC Democratic Mayoral Candidates are Vying for Southeast Queens

Episode Date: June 17, 2025

Video posted to social media shows Mayoral candidate and New York City comptroller Brad Lander being detained by someone who appears to be a masked law enforcement official. Plus, the Supreme Court is opening a new window for religious groups in New York to challenge longstanding state regulations that require employers to cover the cost of abortions. And finally, a look into the voting power of residents in Southeast Queens.

New York City Comptroller and Mayoral candidate Brad Lander is detained by ICE. A New York court reconsiders the religious exemptions to its abortion coverage mandate. And why New York City Democratic-Democratic mayoral candidates are vying for Southeast Queens. From WMYC. This is NYC now. I'm Jinné Pierre. You don't have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens asking for a judicial warrant. Braddock you go too. Sorry. No way. Mayoral candidate and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander has been detained by what appears to be federal immigration agents. Councilmember Alexa Avelas chairs the Committee on Immigration and is demanding Lander's immediate release.

We need every candidate, every elected official to say this is absolutely wrong and should not be happening in New York City and demand the immediate release of our city controller Brad Lander. Video posted to social media shows Lander being led away into an elevator by someone who appears to be a massed law enforcement official, something typical of ICE agents. Lander can be heard protesting the arrest and questioning the officer's authority. A Lander campaign spokesperson says the incident happened while he was escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 federal plaza. The Department of Homeland Security alleges Lander assaulted law enforcement and impeded a federal officer. This is a developing story. Check out our news site Gothamist for the latest. The Supreme Court is opening a new window for religious groups in New York

to challenge longstanding state regulations that require employers to cover the cost of abortions. New York's highest court previously ruled against these groups in a case brought against the state, but the court is now being ordered to reconsider its decision. I talked with WMYC Health Reporter Caroline Lewis about the case and what it means, for abortion coverage in New York. So Caroline, first off, tell us a bit more about the case before the Supreme Court. Sure. So the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and other Christian groups in New York first brought this lawsuit against the State Department of Financial Services nearly a decade ago. The religious groups are challenging regulations that were issued in 2017 under then-Governor Cuomo

that require employers offering state-regulated insurance plans to their employees to include coverage for medically necessary abortions at no cost to the patient. These groups have argued the insurance mandate violates their religious freedoms, and they say the religious exemption that's in place is too narrow. It applies to employers that meet certain criteria, such as primarily serving and employing people with the same religious beliefs. Okay, so what was the initial outcome in the New York courts? So this case made it up to the state's highest court, the court of appeals, and the court's panel of judges unanimously rejected the religious organization's claims. The court upheld the coverage mandate and said it was already established case law that this

type of regulation could be put in place with a narrowly tailored religious exemption. All right. So how has the Supreme Court come down on this? The Supreme Court itself has not actually weighed in on the merits of this case, but the Supreme Court has now twice sent the case back to New York and ordered the judges on the Court of Appeals to reconsider their decision. So this week, the Court of Appeals was ordered to take into account a recent Supreme Court ruling in a separate case out of Wisconsin. In that case, the Supreme Court found the state was defining religious groups too narrowly when it was applying a certain tax exemption. The Supreme Court made a similar move in 2021 and ordered New York to reconsider the abortion

coverage mandate based on a different ruling on a case out of Philadelphia. Now, that did not change the outcome of the lawsuit. But I think people are watching this very closely right now because we have a Supreme Court with a conservative majority that is taking up several cases involving claims around religious freedom. Yeah, people are definitely watching this closely. I'm wondering, if the Court of Appeals reverses its ruling in this case, what does that mean for abortion coverage in New York? So I think there might be some security around abortion coverage after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion in 2022. New York passed a series of laws designed to strengthen abortion rights and access. And as part of that wave of

legislation, in 2023, Governor Hokell actually enshrined the abortion insurance coverage mandate into law. So this lawsuit that's pending before the court right now specifically challenges the state's regulations out of the Department of Finance around insurance coverage for abortions, but not the 2023 law guaranteeing that same coverage. So it's possible that a ruling in favor of the religious objectors could open the door to additional legal challenges, but I think there might be some backstop there. That's WMYC's Caroline Lewis. coming up after the break, we look into the voting power of residents in Southeast Queens and why it's so important to Democratic candidates in New York City's mayoral race. Stick around. For the past four mayoral elections in New York City,

no Democrat has won the nomination without winning in Southeast Queens. The base of moderate middle-income black voters has made it a prime location for Andrew Cuomo and Adrian Adams to build support. But the neighborhood is changing. possibly creating an opening for assembly member Zoramamam Dhani. WMYC's Bridget Bergen reports from one of the most politically important sections of the city. On Pentecost Sunday at the Greater Allen A.M.E Cathedral of New York, dozens of liturgical dancers in red satin moved from the pulpit,

up the aisles, waving sleeves like red sashes, and bringing the worshippers to their feet. This is the church attended by city council speaker and mayoral candidate Adrian Adams for more than two decades. But speaking outside, in a sign of the challenges her campaign has faced, voters like 57-year-old Eric Coleman say he's going for the biggest name in the race. I am a supporter of Cuomo, not just during the pandemic, but during Hurricane Sandy, I was personally affected. Coleman is a part-time driver, living in Jamaica, picking up a churchgoer. He says Cuomo helped ensure drivers like him could still get gas after the storm pounded the region, easing certain regulations to reduce lines at gas stations. His passenger, 84-year-old Betty Neblett, says she's worried about the cost of living.

The taxes are so high. You know, you can't, it's so hard now to live. You know what I mean? But I'm hoping that we will. Get the right one. She mentions Cuomo, but says she's still deciding. Dr. Osborne Ross works as a theologian at the church. He says he's concerned about housing costs, crime, and racism,

and he's the only person to mention Speaker Adams. I think she's the one that speaks to our community that I believe. I know there are others that are headed her, but I don't think they represent us. And Ross doesn't just support her. he opposes Cuomo, who he says is trying to fool voters. Adams has made a similar case against the former governor, blaming him for withholding supplies to Southeast Queens during COVID because of his beef with then Mayor Bill de Blasio. It's a charge Cuomo calls false. Still, voters like Ross are dug in. He didn't do anything for our community when he was governor.

Cuomo has picked up a lot of institutional support in the area. People like Congress member Greg Meeks, head of the Queens County Democrats, who also represents the district. Early voting. Somebody said early voting. At another church in Jamaica, the New Jerusalem Worship Center, Bishop Calvin Rice says from the pulpit that the biggest threat in the race is another candidate. It was a non-dani or Mondon, Mandani, whatever it is. And my mother would say, whatever. He's gained traction.

The comment echoes how Cuomo mispronounced, Assembly member Zoran Mamdani's name during the final debate. Reyes says his policies can't be delivered. He's a dangerous person in my view. But Mamdani's volunteers are not seeding ground. So for the turf that we've got, it's mainly two apartments. On 89th in Merrick and, let me see, yeah, Merrick. Yeah, 89th in Merrick.

So we're going to start heading there right now. Momdani's campaign set a goal of knocking on a million doors before the primary. They say they've already hit 1.1 million citywide, and that includes doors in southeast Queens, where census data shows the South Asian population grew by 20,000 from 2010 to 2020. Over the same period, the black population shrunk by 8,500. I joined two Mamdani volunteers on a rainy Saturday, 15-year-old Abid, Mahdi of Jamaica, 24-year-old Philip Woolley of Laurelton. Hi, we're here at Kandeson for New York City Mayor.

So, Ron Mundani, do you have a minute to talk? No. No? Okay. That's fine. Would you like for us to leave one of the fires on the door or not? Knocking on doors is hard. We'd run into 54-year-old interior designer Sean McCauley. He says he supports Cuomo. I like what he did for COVID.

Yeah. I mean, I know there was some fall with the nursing home, but I don't think that was safe for. The volunteers try changing McCauley's mind. We're actually campaigning for Zorong. That's my second choice anyway. He wants to actually change the city. He wants to make buses free. Macaulay is a unicorn voter.

He also supports Mamdani. He's my second choice. Another voter in the building is Sultan M.D. Milki. The 41-year-old is a caretaker for his parents. Madi, the 15-year-old volunteer, tells him that Mamdani was at a local mosque the night before. He was there. He gave his speech, actually. But, yeah, so he... Milkie asks where Mamdani is from.

His parents are Indian, but they're Muslim. He was born and raised here in New York City. He advocates for Muslim community and communities all over New York City, no matter who you are, what you do. Milki seems intrigued by Mamdani, takes a flyer, and says he'll vote. Bringing people like him and other newer voters into the electorate is part of the Mandani campaign strategy to win the primary. Has any other candidate come to your door and brought you information about their campaign?

No, this is the first time. Milky is a reflection of how the city and how Southeast Queens is changing. And the candidate that's successful here is the one who understands what those changes mean now and into the future of democratic politics in the city. That's WMYC's Bridget Bergen. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.