NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: NYPD Increases Security After Shooting at DC’s Jewish Museum, NJ Church Awaits Vote on Future Shelter, Adams’ Top Deputy Runs City From iPhone, and Amtrak’s Reconstruction of the East River Tunnels

Episode Date: May 22, 2025

Mayor Adams is directing the NYPD to increase security in certain areas after the killing of the two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington D.C. Plus, a church in Toms River, New Jersey will soon find out whether its proposal to build a homeless shelter can proceed, even as it’s under threat of becoming a pickleball court. Also, a profile of first deputy mayor Randy Mastro, the second most powerful person in City Hall. And finally, Amtrak is getting ready to launch a major reconstruction of two of its East River train tunnels.

The NYPD increases security in certain areas of the city after a shooting at a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. Plus, homeless shelter or pickleball. That's what's at stake in Thoms River, New Jersey. Meanwhile, Mayor Adams' top deputy runs New York City from an iPhone and Amtrak's reconstruction of the East River Thomas. From WMYC, this is NYC now. I'm Jene Pierre. Mayor Eric Adams is directing the NYP. PD to increase security at some locations around the city after the killing of two Israeli embassy

employees in Washington, D.C. this week. Police say it will install high visibility patrols, heavy weapons teams, encounter terrorism officers at religious sites, and Jewish cultural institutions across New York City. The directive comes after two embassy workers were shot and killed Wednesday while leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee at the Capitol Jewish Museum. Police say the suspect yelled Free Palestine after he was arrested. Law enforcement in Washington say there's no longer an active threat to the community.

Homeless shelter or pickleball? That's what that's stake right now in Times River, New Jersey. The Christ Episcopal Church wants to build a 17-bed homeless shelter on its property in response to rising homelessness in the state. But Mayor Daniel Roderick wants to take over that land using eminent domain to build a playground and pickleball courts. The town's board of adjustment could help the church's case if they grant Christ Church's request to zone its property for the shelter. And a decision on that could come as soon as Thursday night.

Coming up, a profile of First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro and how the second most powerful man in New York City government performs his duties without using a computer. Stick around. This is NYC now. High profile attorney Randy Mastro never wanted to be first deputy mayor. But less than two months into the job, WNYC's Elizabeth Kim reports on why he's become the second most powerful person in City Hall, behind only Mayor Eric Adams. Randy Mastro is your classic New York City powerbroker, a brash federal prosecutor who went on to be a top aide for former mayor Rudy Giuliani and then a private attorney for the rich and powerful. But sitting in his office, I can't stop staring at the memorabilia. There's courtroom sketches of him arguing cases.

a color photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivering a sermon. The bat he used to twirl around with reporters when he worked for Giuliani. And did you notice Fiorello on the way in? Is that Abe Lincoln? I can't. That is Abe Lincoln, yes. Okay. I missed Fiorella. Have you been here before on this side of them? No. No, this is all new for me.

Okay, well, there you go. This is going to be good for you. But there's something conspicuously missing. Randy, it just occurred to me. Where's your computer? I don't use a computer. Say that again? I don't use a computer. Mastro shows me an iPhone outfitted with a tiny keyboard. It's designed to replicate a Blackberry, a bygone smartphone.

But Mastro doesn't need a computer to get his message across. In less than two months, the 68-year-old has made a deep impression on City Hall. He's being credited for steadying an administration. rocked by a wave of departures and corruption scandals. He's a highly trained lawyer, and lawyers know a lot about negotiation and how to get leverage in negotiation. John Mollenkoff is a political scientist at CUNY. He's certainly very smart, very experienced in every aspect of city government.

So it would be a surprise if he wasn't doing a very good job. Mastro is helming a number of initiatives that could help the politically weakened Adams make his case to voters when he runs as an independent in November. They include a new office to combat anti-Semitism, halting fines on small landlords who failed to compost, and a $115 billion re-election budget. It is no exaggeration to say that our fiscal year, 26, executive budget is the best budget ever.

This wasn't the job Mastro wanted. Adams had initially nominated him to be the city's corporation council, a role that involves representing the city and mayor in civil litigation. But Mastro's reputation as a loyal Giuliani aide and a high-powered attorney for moneyed interests wound up sinking his chances. He withdrew his nomination after a grueling 11-hour hearing before the city council. Back inside his office, Mastro is touting Adams' record. Are we better off today than we were four years ago?

I interrupt him to ask him what every reporter wants from a city hall source. Can you give me a scoop? Tell me something you're about to do. Well, I only got one-fifth of the way through my oration, so you've got to let me finish. He later tells me that I just have to stay tuned. That's WMYC's Elizabeth Kim. Amtrak is getting ready to launch. a major reconstruction of two of its

East River train tunnels. The work would repair damage from Hurricane Sandy. It's been planned for years, but MTA officials worry the repairs will cause problems for Long Island Railroad Service. WMYC's Stephen Nesson took a tour of one of the tunnels. Clambering down a set of metal stairs and ducking below low-hanging electric wires

to a little after two in the morning. David Albright is in charge of safety for Amtrak. The bed of the Trump's going to be. be slippery. The truck has a tendency to start fast and stop fast at times. We're on a work train in Sunnyside Yards in Queens. The front looks like the cab of a tractor trailer, while the back is like a farm wagon with wooden benches and a wood floor. It's going to be bumpy. If you have a seat available, please sit down at all times. This is one of four tunnels here that's 115 years old. They run to Manhattan's Penn Station,

and they're used by Amtrak, the Long Island Railroad, and NJ Transit, which parks its trains in Queens after the morning rush until they return to Penn in the afternoon. Two of these tunnels were badly flooded during Sandy. The work train jerks to a halt, and David Cooper, a project manager with Amtrak, leaps onto the crumbling concrete bench wall next to the tracks. His gloved hand rushes the wall of the tunnel,

sending rusty shards of steel raining down. is that this is a hundred and thirty-year-old steel. He bends down and scoops up a handful. I didn't pick these pieces off the way. That happens on the other one. We need to get in properly, repair all these rivets, repair all of the steel, apply a proper epoxy coating to stop his corrosion and his pad.

We need to get in here soon. This is not something that we want to keep holding off on. Cooper is part of a team that's put together a 254 point punch list of things to fix in the tunnel, including this wall. It's part of Amtrak's $1.6 billion overhaul that replaces the tunnel's electric system and old tracks. But now, just as work is about to start, the MTA is asking Amtrak to do the work on nights and weekends rather than a full closure for nearly three years. It argues any work mishap could mean delays for other trains. It wants all the tunnels available during rush hours.

Liam McQuatt, an engineer with Amtrak on the project, says the MTA suggestion doesn't make sense. This has been 12 years in the making. We have looked at alternatives and none of them give us the solution that we want, which is 100 years of useful life from this system. As we head back out of the tunnel, McQuatt warns us the ride is going to get unpleasant. We are about to pass through quite a wet part of the How wet? Like a waterfall? You have a splash mountain? Splash mountain? I'm going to stay on the white side.

But Amtrak's not running an amusement park. Too much water like this can damage the electric system and signals, creating delays for all trains. Amtrak officials say it can no longer rely on patches for these types of problems. And it's ready to do the work. That's WMYC's Stephen Nesson. Stephen Nesson. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.