NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Queens Student Faces Gun and Terroristic Threat Charges , Drug Arrests Surge in the Bronx, Bad Bunny’s Pandemic Era Street Concert Remembered , and Latin American Crops in Season

Episode Date: September 19, 2025

Police say a teenager faces charges after he allegedly threatened to shoot up Bayside's Cardozo High School. Plus, New York City data shows drug arrests are on the rise in a commercial district in the South Bronx known as "The Hub." Also, Bad Bunny’s residency in Puerto Rico ends this weekend. But five years ago, the superstar was giving a different type of concert in New York City. And finally, we highlight crops indigenous to Latin America that you may find at your local farm stand.

A Queen student faces weapons and terroristic threats charges. Low-level drug arrests surge in the South Bronx. It's been five years since Bad Bunny's pandemic-era street concert and Latin American crops at your local market. From WNYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Jenae Pierre. We begin in Queens. Police there say a teenager is facing charges

after he allegedly threatened to shoot up Bayside's Cardoza High School and officers found a loaded gun in his backpack. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch says the 16-year-old is being charged as a minor with criminal weapons possession and making terroristic threats in connection with the incident. According to officials, a licensed firearm permit holder

legally bought the 9mm semi-automatic pistol in South Carolina back in January. Tish says investigators are working to find out exactly how that weapon made its way from South Carolina, Carolina to Queens. The teen is accused of making the threat on his Instagram account. The school opened Friday morning with security scanning in place,

as well as more NYPD officers and school safety agents. Drug arrests are on the rise in a five boroughs. That's according to New York City data. And that same data shows there was a big surge in one neighborhood in particular this year, a commercial district in the South Bronx, known as The Hub. The crackdown was part of Mayor Adams' response to mounting pressure from residents and business owners to clean up rampant public drug use. WNYC's Caroline Lewis has more. I'm near the corner of East 149th Street and 3rd Avenue, visiting a store called Ness Sportswear.

It has a big wall of baseball caps in the back. But there may not be enough heads to wear them. Owner Sam Slim says business is suffering because of people who hang out just outside his house. this door, using drugs and nodding off. Sometimes people scared to come to the Third Avenue because of that. So you feel like has it affected business? Yes, a lot, a lot. Do you feel better having the police there, like a bigger police presence?

Of course. When the police are here, forget about it. In the first six months of this year, city data shows police made more than 800 drug-related arrests in the 40th precinct, which covers the hub, more than double the number in the same period last year. Nearly two-thirds of those arrests were for misdemeanors, like low-level drug possession or paraphernalia. The city also shut down a plaza where drug use was concentrated. But even with the crackdown, locals say the issue hasn't gone away. Sabah Rohani is a professor of epidemiology at NYU who studies drug policy. People arrested on lower-level charges like drug misdemeanors who are often simultaneously facing homelessness, they usually just end up cycling

back and forth between jail and where they were initially picked up. That appears to be what's happening here. Court data shows that many of the drug cases in the city are dismissed. And when someone is found guilty, they're often sentenced to something like community service or counseling rather than jail time. Some who live or work at the hub say they want more enforcement, but others say they want the city to take a public health approach to addiction. A spokesperson for City Hall said the administration is equally focused on both.

The city recently announced it will be opening a $4 million drop-in center in the hub for people to have a meal, get connected to care, and gather inside. That's WMYC's Caroline Lewis. Bad Bunny's residency in Puerto Rico ends this weekend. But five years ago, the superstar was giving a different type of concert in New York City. We'll revisit that moment after the break. Stay close. On this day, five years ago this weekend, during the high-year-old, of the pandemic. Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny hopped on the back of a flatbed truck

and played a concert to the mostly empty streets of the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. WMYC's Veronica DeValle looks at why that moment still resonates. Nina Vasquez-Rosa still remembers where she was when the news started to circulate that Bad Bunny was somewhere in New York, and there was somehow a truck that looked like a subway train involved. Me and my sister were just sitting in the floor of the sala and going on YouTube and la Galleries on live streams or whatever. My sister was like, oh, my God, like, he's really doing this. And by this, she means putting on a show for the streets of New York City.

Bad Bunny started by Yankee Stadium, scooched over the Harlem River into Manhattan, and snaked his way towards Harlem Hospital, where throngs of health care workers were already waiting. Along the way, he played some of his biggest hits. By the time his local fans caught on, the streets looked alive for the first time in months. Crowds danced to his music and chased him through roads in the Bronx, Washington Heights in Harlem while he dodged stoplights. Bad Bunny went from famous to extremely famous the year of this concert. He topped Spotify's list of most streamed artists for the first time in 2020. And Vasquez Rosa, who is also a reggaeton historian, thinks this performance has at least a little bit to do with it.

I think it was the perfect storm, believe it or not, just the idea of, like, technology, the exposure he was getting there and everybody being locked up in their household with not a lot to do. It doesn't hurt that this perfect storm happened in New York City, one of the centers of the Puerto Rican universe. That's WMYC's Veronica Del. It doesn't feel like it today, but the warmer season is coming to an end soon. But we're still holding on to some summer produce. Amelia Tarpie is a program and publicity manager for growing YC green markets. This week, she's highlighting crops indigenous to Latin America that you may find at your local farm stand. Here's what you can try this weekend that you may not have reached for before.

Many of the fruits and veggies that we love so much today, originate from Central and South America. There are lots of incredible herbs that are very popular in cuisines all over Latin America. One of them is Papolo, and it's this beautiful herb. It's often sold in these big bouquets at the markets, and then the leaves, they're bright green, and they sort of have this scalloped edge.

And if you like cilantro, you're going to love Papolo. We also have a fruit called ground cherries or husk cherries. They are very similar to like a cherry tomato, but when you have them, they come wrapped in that papery husk. So you have to peel that husk back and then it reveals this delicious berry that you can eat. They kind of have like a tomatoy pineapple flavor. They're definitely more fruit-like.

You can put them into a salsa, obviously, but they also make for a really nice jam. You can kind of cook them down with some sugar, a little bit. a little bit of lemon juice, and they'll turn into, like, yeah, delicious spread that is great for, like, a cheeseboard, that kind of thing. Tomatios are at several markets right now, and they are tomato-like. Once you peel that papery husk off,

they're super dense and, you know, a little harder than, like, your tomato. They don't have, like, that soft skin that easily bruises. One of the popular ways of making salsa verde is roasting or charring up those tomatillos and then mashing them up with a pepper of choice. You can do a serrano or jalapeno, depending on how spicy like it, plenty of garlic at markets as well,

some lime juice and cilantro. The green ones are also really nice for pezole verde. And like, as we go into fall, we're looking to eat, you know, those warming, comfort foods. And Pazole is definitely on my list of delicious fall. Foods to eat while we still have a lot of like the fresh summer produce, but we're ready for like warm, cozier meals.

Amelia Tarpie is a program and publicity manager for growing YC green markets. She says domitios can range from three bucks to five bucks a pound. The husk cherries are at $6 a pint and the papolo is sold by the bunch for about $5. Head to your local green market this weekend and maybe make a batch of fresh salsa. Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. I'm Junae Pierre. Enjoy the weekend.

I sure will.