NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: State Budget Pushes into Overtime, No Public Matching Funds for Cuomo, a New Rule for Undocumented Immigrants, and a Brooklyn High School Known for its Famous Alums Turns 100.

Episode Date: April 15, 2025

The New York state budget is running more than two weeks late. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign failed to receive an expected $2.6 million payment in public matching funds. And a new Trump administration rule requires immigrants in the U.S. without legal status to register with the federal government.

The New York State budget is running more than two weeks late. No public matching funds for Cuomo. A new rule requires undocumented immigrants to register with the federal government. And a Brooklyn high school with a long list of famous alums is turning 100. From WMYC, this is NYC now. I'm Jene Pierre. The New York State budget is more than two weeks late. And WMYC's John Campbell reports, when it comes to her priorities,

Governor Kathy Hokel says she's not budging. The governor wants to change the state law that sets deadlines to turn over evidence to defendants in criminal cases. And she wants to cut checks of a few hundred dollars to most New Yorkers, which she's calling an inflation rebate. I'm not signing a budget that does not have common sense public safety and affordability measures that I introduced back in January. But she hasn't been able to strike a deal with lawmakers, particularly, on the evidence laws known as criminal discovery. The state reformed those laws six years ago, but Hockel says they've resulted in too many dismissals.

Lawmakers passed a fifth short-term budget extender Tuesday. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo may be leading in the polls for New York City Mayor, but he's now trailing several candidates in the campaign money race. Cuomo's campaign failed to receive an expected $2.6 million payment in public matching funds at Tuesday's meeting of the campaign finance board. Cuomo's campaign is blaming a software error with one of their vendors. The campaign says they've since fixed the error and expect to receive a public funds payment on May 12th.

Low-income New Yorkers can now apply for a free air conditioner. Applicants must meet certain eligibility criteria and income thresholds. Those vary by household size. To qualify, applicants must also have at least one member who is over the age of 60, under the age of six or has a medical condition that's aggravated by extreme heat. The state is accepting applications through the beginning of June. Air conditioners are given out on a first-come-first-served basis.

Coming up, from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Andrew Dice Clay, a Brooklyn high school that's produced a very long list of notable alums is turning 100. Stick around. You're listening to NYC now. A new Trump administration rule requires immigrants in the U.S. legal status to register with the federal government. The administration considers failure to do so is a crime. People must now carry registration documents with them or risk prison time and fines. WMYC's immigration reporter Arias Sundaram says this is part of a larger push to enforce longstanding

immigration laws. It's part of his larger effort to crack down on illegal immigration. He's pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation effort in American history and this is just one policy to help him do so. He actually laid it out on day one of his presidency. And it's not a new requirement. It's actually been on the books for decades. But Trump is newly enforcing it and creating a whole registration system online for it. Immigrants age 14 and older who have been in the U.S. for more than 30 days and have not previously registered are now required to do so. And parents or guardians must register on the behalf of children under 14. It requires people to submit their addresses over the last five years, any criminal record, details about their family members,

among a bunch of other info. And if you don't register, you can be fined up to $5,000 and jailed for up to six months. All non-citizens over the age of 18, including those already registered or on visas, are now required to carry proof of registration at all times. If you don't carry the registration, you could be charged with a misdemeanor and find up to $5,000 or jailed for up to 30 days. Aria says that immigration attorneys cautioned there's no one size fits all answer. Some individuals may have already met the requirement, but registering now means handing over a lot of personal information to the federal government. The risk of not registered is being deported, but also the risk of registering is also being deported. Aria reports,

this isn't the first time the federal government has enforced a registration rule like this. After 9-11, a program called NCERS required male visa holders from 24 countries, all but one of the majority Muslim to register with the government. She says it resulted in widespread interrogations and thousands of deportation proceedings. According to a Penn State study, 80,000 men registered and were interrogated, and over 13,000 people were placed in deportation proceedings. So you could see why a number of people are worried in this case about registration leading to deportations. That's WMYC's ARIA Sundaram. A Brooklyn High School that's produced a very very long list of notable alums is turning 100. WMYC's Hannah Frischberg reports on James Madison

High School's big milestone. James Madison is a typical-looking New York City Public School. It's a big brick building that takes up an entire block, but it has an astounding list of famous alumni. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders, Larry Sanders, Andrew Dice Clay, Stanley Kaplan. Seniors, Lada Schmal says she's proud to be part of an ongoing legacy. We're all the 100th year graduating class, and there's so many people that came before us in Madison. There's so many people that's going to be after us. I feel like it's very impactful, especially on the like centennial anniversary. The school enrolls nearly 4,000 students and serves the local community.

Jody Cohen is the principal of James Madison High. She attended the school. So did her mother and her two children. I think it's something in the culture and the sense of community that's built when you're here. What's unique about our community is the community truly sticks together. The school's four-year graduation rate is 93%, slightly higher than city public schools average. But what is it about Madison that has fostered so many superstars? Education historian Diane Ravich believes the success of Madison's alumni was significantly due to their circumstances.

They're talking about largely the immigrant Jews who were very eager to succeed. and had come from such terrible circumstances that it probably motivated them even more. Hold on and I'll ask the expert a question. She puts her wife, Mary Butts on the phone. She's a former teacher at Midwood, another area of school with a strong reputation. I think these schools were meant to service the Escanazi Jewish population of New York, of Brooklyn, and to keep people in the public schools and out of the suburbs. and they were successful for a long period of time.

And to this day, Madison is still considered a good school. James Madison is finalizing programming to celebrate its centennial in October. A big donor to the event is alumnus Don Voltajio, founder of Arizona-I-ST. He'll be there. No word yet on Andrew Dice Clay. That's WMYC's Hannah Frischberg. Thanks for listening. I'm Jene Pierre, and this is NYC now.

We'll be back tomorrow.