NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: NYC Sues Vape Companies, State Budget Delayed, New Bus Route in Queens, MTA Works with Google’s AI, Video Store Opens in Brooklyn and Poetry Month

Episode Date: April 7, 2025

New York City is suing some large distributors of flavored e-cigarettes, claiming they illegally target children with their tobacco products. Plus, legislative leaders still don't have a state budget deal. Also, MTA leaders are touting the first overhaul to the Queens bus network since the 1950s. Meanwhile, Google’s artificial intelligence algorithm could go up against the experienced ear of an MTA track maintainer. And finally, a poem for National Poetry Month.

New York City sues vape companies. The New York State budget is delayed. A new bus route in Queens. MTA works with Google's AI. A video store opens in Brooklyn and Poetry Month. From WNYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Jenae Pierre. New York City is suing nine large distributors of flavored e-cigarettes,

claiming they illegally target children with their tobacco products. The lawsuit accuses the companies of flouting federal and state laws. If a judge ultimately rules in the city's favor, companies who break the law will face hefty fines. Mayor Eric Adams announced the lawsuit Monday in front of a smoke shop in East Harlem that the city closed in an attempt to crack down on businesses that sell the products. New York Governor Kathy Hokel and legislative leaders still don't have a state budget. As WMYC's John Campbell reports, the spending plan was due April 1st.

legislators approved an extension that'll get the state through Wednesday. And it doesn't sound like they're getting closer to a long-term agreement, at least based on this comment from Democratic Senator Liz Kruger of Manhattan. I read the governor's comments. She says she's in no rush to get a budget done. It feels like that. She's referring to comments the governor made last week. Hokel said she's willing to keep holding out for her policy priorities. Lawmakers say the biggest sticking point is the governor's push to change the criminal

discovery laws. She says the state's rules for sharing evidence leads to too many dismissals. The MTA is touting the first overhaul to the Queens bus network since the 1950s. The agency plans to start running service on a new route map in June. The changes might be jarring for the borough's 800,000 daily bus riders, but MTA chair, Janelle Lieber, says they'll speed up commutes. On top of actually redesigning the system, we're investing 34 million. million dollars a year more in service to create additional frequency and, importantly, more direct, better connections. Those connections include more service to and from the Long Island Railroad and subway stations.

The first phase of the new routes and route changes will launch on June 29th. On August 31st, the second phase of changes will go into effect. Google's artificial intelligence algorithm could go up against the experienced ear of an MTA track maintainer. More on that after the break. This is NYC now. From screeching to clicking to rumbling, regular subway riders know the quirky sounds of the trains all too well. But an expert track inspector at the MTA has trained his ear to tell when a noise is actually a sign that a track may be damaged and in need of repair. So just how good

busy. The MTA recently teamed up with Google to see if an off-the-shelf smartphone could detect track problems just as well as the inspector. Here's WMYC's Stephen Nesson with the results. Last September, the MTA attached six Google pixel phones to different sections of an A-train, then hit record, relying on nothing but the phone's built-in technology. I was skeptic to say the least, let's say. That's Rob Sarno, he's assistant chief track officer. for system maintenance. He's a third-generation transit worker. He basically ensures the tracks are inspected and repaired. If you've ever been in the subway system in New York, everything is loud. So I assume there was going to be one blanket noise of loudness. Google's artificial intelligence

system gobbled up hours of sound, from the smallest vibration to the loudest bang. The system was able to learn what a busted piece of equipment sounds like when a train rolls over it. Sarno sat down to listen to the recordings to see if he could hear the deal. defects. Then they compared notes. Sarno is a pretty confident guy. He's been on the job for years and knows his stuff. Like what this sound means. So if we hear a jingling, maybe it's a loose bolt. This is a train going over a set of switches on a piece of track with no problems. Think of it almost like a signature. It's got three bumps basically going across. Sarno knows. If we hear a loud bang, maybe it's an end-battered rail. If we hear percussion,

massive noise going through, maybe it's corrugation, which is just bumpiness in the head of the rail. These are also the kind of sounds you can't hear from inside a subway car. But because the microphone is so close to the tracks, you're able to get it pretty solidly. So we went through that for the first round through. I put my recommendations to what I thought it was, and then we also sent out the locations to the inspectors in the field. Then inspectors went out on the tracks to compare Sarno's findings with Googles. In the end, Google was 92% accurate in identity. identifying defects. So it was pretty good. As for Sarno...

I was at 80 if you want to go into perspective there. Seems like a classic John Henry story. The machine has beaten the man. Do you feel like track inspectors are now ready to be replaced by the robots? No, absolutely not. So this cannot replace a track inspector. I cannot say that enough. It's giving the track inspectors more tools to do their job, but it cannot replace them. Sarno says his job is secure, but he'd welcome an assist from AI in the future. That's WMYC's Stephen Nesson.

Do you remember Blockbuster? You know, the store where you could physically browse through VHS tapes and DVDs of which movie to watch next? Well, there's only one Blockbuster left in the country. That's in Bend, Oregon. And similar stores have gone out of business after the rise in streaming services. It's unfortunate that these kinds of stores don't exist anymore. and I think there's definitely an appetite for browsing the shelves.

That's Aaron Hamill. In the age of streaming, I think people have just gotten frustrated with how complicated and expensive streaming has become. I'm from the Metro Detroit area, and there was a video store in Closs in Michigan called Thomas Video. I started going there around when I was 13, and they had everything. It was like, going to Thomas Video was like my film school. They had all the Russ Meyer movies, all these trauma movies, all these like independent genre movies that put me on the path to wanting to work in film and wanting to make films and now opening up a video store. Aaron is one of the owners of Night Owl Video, which opens in Williamsburg this Friday. Like the video store from his childhood, they'll be selling everything from VHS to 4KUHD titles.

I think there is a definite uptick in people. wanting physical media. 4K UHD sales have gone up every year for the past several years because it really has become a collector's market. Erin says it's very similar to the rise in vinyl records, which came back around about 15 years ago. It seems like it's kind of in that same space

when vinyl was coming back and, you know, the major record labels were licensing out great titles to these independent boutique record labels to put out great additions of classic albums And I see that happening now with the boutique Blu-ray manufacturers bringing out really quality, great additions of movies that are both, you know, hidden gems, but also, you know, great classic movies that the major studios just don't have an interest in putting out on disc. And I think that that is something that people want. Aaron Hamill is one of the owners of Night Owl Video.

The store is an ode to movies and movies. the people who love them enough to collect them. Nightout video opens on April 11th. Speaking of April, this is National Poetry Month, and this week we're exploring the theme of history. Here's listener John O Mishcott of South Orange, New Jersey. He wrote this poem called On the Flip Side, when his kids were first learning American history in school. They told us Washington can never tell a lie, but then they lied about his slaves. They told us about the Emancipation Proclamation, but not about the subsequent. graves. They told us Columbus sailed the ocean blue, but what about the people he looted? They taught us

about westward expansion, but skipped over those we booted. They led sing-alongs of Jimmy Crack Corn, which conceals an ugly legacy. They erected statues of failed soldiers in an attempt to rewrite history. I suppose if we can't trust a thing they say, we should live and let live. Then again, there's a lot to be learned if you just invert the narrative. That's Jono Mishcott of South Orange, New Jersey. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. I'm Jinnay Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.