NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: NYPD Searches Manhattan Hostels for Alleged Shooter of UnitedHealthcare CEO, NYC's Teachers Union Push Back on Proposed Casino, NYC second-to-last in Voter Turnout, and Community Champion Helps Young Parents

Episode Date: December 5, 2024

The NYPD is searching Manhattan hostels for the man who shot and killed Brian Thompson, CEO of United Health Care, Wednesday morning. Plus, New York City's teachers union voices its opposition to a plan to build a casino in Times Square. Also, WNYC’s Michael Hill and Brigid Bergin discuss the findings of a new study comparing voter turnout in major cities in the recent presidential election. And finally, we meet a community champion who helps young parents navigate life’s challenges.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jene Pierre. The NYPD say they're searching hostels on the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan as they seek the man who fatally shot the CEO of United Healthcare Wednesday morning. Brian Thompson was in the city for the company's annual investors conference when he was killed in front of the Midtown Hilton Hotel. Alice Brooks is staying at one of the hostels. Police searched. They were very secretive about it.

Yeah. We didn't even think there was anything going on. Police have not confirmed if the shooter was staying at that particular hostel. Investigators also revealed that the shell casings from the shooting had cryptic words written on them. The plan to build a casino in Times Square has a new, unexpected opponent, New York City's Teachers Union. The United Federation of Teachers says the casino would harm educational and career opportunities for students in the theater industry. Rock Nation, real estate giant S.L. Green and Caesar's Entertainment have proposed converting a Broadway theater into a casino.

A spokesperson for Cesar's didn't return a request for comment, but the group has argued a casino would bring more people to Broadway shows. The state is expected to approve licenses for three downstate casinos next year. New York City tops the list of big cities in the U.S. by population, but in the recent presidential election, it ranks second to last in voter turnout. What's up with that? We find out after the break. You're listening to NYC now. New York City leads in many things, but it's not at the front of the pack when it comes to voter turnout. A new study compares the turnout in major cities in the recent presidential election and looked at how it relates to local races. My colleague Michael Hill talked more about the study's findings with WNYC's senior politics reporter Bridget Bergen.

We've long talked about New York's voter turnout challenges. what are the new data and what do they tell us? So, Michael, this new data is from a report out of UC San Diego. Researchers there looked at preliminary turnout numbers in the most recent presidential election and compared it to turnout in mayoral elections in the 50 biggest cities in the country. Even though New York ranks number one by population, we are 49th when it comes to turnout in the recent presidential election. Yeah, second to last.

Just 54% of voters participated based on the number. those early returns that's well below the national average between 63 and 64 percent. Only El Paso, Texas, had worse turnout in this presidential election. Bridget, how does this presidential turnout compare to mayoral election turnout? So the data shows that across the board, turnout in mayoral election dips below what we see in presidential elections. However, and this is a real key point in the report, when those elections are aligned so that you have a mayoral election in the same year as a presidential election, the turnout in that mayoral election is dramatically higher. So here in New York City, only 23% of eligible voters cast ballots in that 2021 mayoral election. Now, that's not as bad as it

could be. Some places like Dallas had 7% turnout. We're currently, I know, 37th on this list of 50 is where New York is right now. We're sandwiched between Memphis and Nashville. But New York saw that, that's a 30-point drop from what we saw in the presidential election. And that the size of gap is pretty consistent for cities that have what are called off-cycle elections. That's the term when the mayoral election is in an odd year from the presidential or other federal elections. So these researchers really emphasize shifting to even-year elections as a solution to this really paltry turnout. Why do researchers and policymakers think shifting election timing will actually increase the turnout? Is there evidence that it does other places? Yeah, Michael. I mean, again, it really goes back to

the data, burying it out. The researchers looked at cities where they consolidated or shifted their mayoral elections to coincide with federal elections, and there was a dramatic increase in overall participation. Take San Francisco, which just shifted its mayoral election to coincide with the presidential election this year. 79% of eligible voters participated in that mayoral election compared to just 42% in 2019. Yeah, I mean, it's a huge change. Phoenix, where they also have their mayoral elections aligned with president.

elections, an average of 73% of voters participate in those mayoral elections compared to when they had them off cycle, only 23% participated on average. So that's a 50 point gain in terms of participation. But the lead author of the study, Professor Zoli Heinald told me that it's about more than just more people voting. It's about the composition of the electorate when you have off-cycle elections. It's not just that there's exceptionally low turnout in local elections, but that that turnout is also exceptionally skewed. And so it's skewed to be wealthier, whiter, older than the city's overall population.

Heinal argues that, you know, there are real implications on that for policy and government. City government is where those land use decisions like City of Yes are made, decisions of education, policing, things that really, you know, become fundamental to our daily lives. And for local government to have legitimacy in the eyes of voters, he says it's important for more people to participate. How active is this policy debate in New York, Bridget?

It's been picking up some steam in recent years. There was a bill signed into law to move town and county elections to even years, but it was challenged by a group of Republican lawmakers and ultimately thrown out. The state attorney general filed an appeal that case is ongoing. But to make the change here in New York City, it requires an entirely different process. It's not just a change in state law. It needs a constitutional amendment. That process takes more time. So the soon as voters could weigh in on this for New York City would be 2027. But supporters say it's still important to keep this conversation going, particularly how dramatic a decline we saw in participation in that 2021 race. What do opponents of this potential change? What do they say? You know, as I mentioned, it was Republican

lawmakers who challenged that state law. And at this point, state Republicans, even though they picked up some, you know, made some gains in this most recent election, they are adamantly opposed to shifting election years. They see it as a power grab in what is traditionally a blue state by Democrats. And, you know, they think that moving local elections would mean they don't get the attention they deserve because candidates in their issues would be crowded out by national elections. So there was a resolution introduced to the city council calling on the state legislature to advance this constitutional amendment. So we've got a lot more to go on this debate. That's WNYC's Bridget Bergen talking with my colleague Michael Hill. The New York City area

thrives on the efforts of everyday people making a difference in their communities. We're calling them community champions, and we wanted to highlight some of them. Think of the teacher who turns an empty lot into a community garden, or the artist running free workshops for kids. Maybe the neighbor who organizes coat drives every year around this time. Well, let me introduce you to Samara Coles. She's a former teen mom from Red Hook, Brooklyn, who's devoted her life to helping other young parents navigate life's daily challenges. Coles is the founder and executive director of the Alex House Project. My story that led to the Alex House Project, I was a young mom, 17 years old, and not knowing exactly how to complete school, how to find a job.

I was raised with my grandparents, and so it was kind of rough trying to figure out how to maneuver around with a child. And so moving forward, I did it eventually finished. school found some employment. And not so long ago, maybe around 2016, I landed a really great career where I was a reproductive health coordinator. And at that time, my supervisor and now best friend asked me to come up with a program for my community. And I just automatically knew that I wanted to help and support team moms because of the situations that I was in. I know these traveling shiulations. I understand the climbing up the muddy waters.

And so who but me should be leading this organization. Alex, by the way, is my son. He is 32 years old now. I raised him. He raised me, so to speak, if you're a teen mom, you understand what that means. I also have another son who actually became a teen dad. But what he did was he went through the program.

And so I got to see the organization from the inside. I'd never had that opportunity before. I wish there was an Alex House project when I was 17, and maybe it wasn't supposed to be because I was supposed to create it, but I so wish that I was around when I needed that support. I guess I can be a champion, but I'm just a little old girl that just had a baby at 17 and decided,

you know what, I got to do something. Samara Coles is the founder and executive director of the Alex House project. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday three times a day. I'm Jenae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.