NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Transgender References Dropped from Stonewall Monument Website, Some New Yorkers Sour on Adams, Pedestrian Traffic Increases in Manhattan and Advice from a Dating Coach

Episode Date: February 14, 2025

References to transgender and queer people have been removed from the Stonewall National Monument’s website. Plus, WNYC’s Brittany Kriegstein asks some New Yorkers if Mayor Adams’ corruption case is swaying their support. Also, WNYC’s Michael Hill and Arun Venugopal discuss new data that show some Manhattan neighborhoods are seeing big boosts in pedestrian traffic since the start of congestion pricing. And finally, dating coaches advise single New Yorkers that dating doesn’t have to be a nightmare.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. References to transgender and queer people have been removed from the Stonewall National Monument website. Congress member Dan Goldman represents the part of Manhattan where Stonewall is. He says the removal is despicable. It is attacking diversity. It is attacking the very groups that create the dynamism and fabric of this country. The monument marks the spot of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, which elevated the modern queer rights movement.

Transactivists like Sylvia Rivera gained notoriety for their involvement. President Trump issued an executive order stating the U.S. will only recognize two sexes, male and female, and ordered other identifiers to be stripped from U.S. government websites. Questions are swirling around Mayor Eric Adams and its federal corruption case. after the U.S. Department of Justice directed prosecutors in New York to drop the charges. But as the June primary looms, is the case changing the minds of New Yorkers who voted for Adams in 2021? WMYC's Brittany Crickstein visited a few of the neighborhoods where Adams received his strongest support. When I ask people on the streets of central Brooklyn and southeast queens about the mayor,

many of them reply with a laugh or scoff and say it's too much to get into. But some, like Crown Heights resident Gary Barnes, stopped to share their thoughts. He says he voted for Adams but would not do so again. He cites the mayor's handling of the migrant influx, which he says has meant that New Yorkers aren't getting the care they need. Adams, on the most part, a scale from 1 to 10, I'd give them a 4 right now. South Jamaica resident Lisa Green says she feels like the city is a mess, from immigration to safety on the subways.

She says Adam's federal indictment doesn't factor much into how she's thinking about voting in this year's elections. There's a lot of corruption in this country, especially in this city, so the vote winning go on based on the case that he has against him at all. Most of the more than dozen people I speak with say they're largely unhappy with Adam's performance at City Hall. This, not the charges against him, is what they say is fueling their discontent. Some, like Vanessa Robinson, say the case just cemented those feelings. You know, months and months of all of these things coming up in the news, and all of a sudden we're just supposed to wipe the slate clean and forget. Polling and previous news reporting show they're not alone.

New Yorkers have soured on Adams since the federal investigation blew into the open in the fall of 2023. The mayor has denied wrongdoing. He alleges the prosecution by the Southern District of New York was politically motivated by his criticism of former President Biden's immigration policies. Now, he says he's working to restore residents' faith in him. A spokesperson for Adams' office says his administration has done a lot to tackle crime and homelessness and improve New Yorker's economic realities.

But they also acknowledge officials have more work to do to make the city more livable for families. That's WMYC's Brittany Crickstein. A representative of the mayor's re-election campaign did not comment for this story. A number of neighborhoods in Manhattan are reporting big boosts in pedestrian traffic since the start of congestion pricing. More on that after the break. Sunday marks six weeks since congestion pricing began, and since then, there's been a decrease in the number of vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street. And while drivers may be staying away, people are not. New data show a number of neighborhoods in the borough are having big boosts in pedestrian traffic.

WNYC's Arun Vannegapal spoke with my colleague Michael Hill about the findings and what they mean. Arun, how much has foot traffic changed overall since congestion pricing took effect in January? Well, Michael, the city's Economic Development Corporation, the EDC, says pedestrian traffic is up almost 5% over last year within the congestion zone. That's the area south of 60th Street where drivers have to pay $9 to enter. around 36 million pedestrians entered the various business improvement districts in the congestion zone between the start of congestion pricing on January 5th and the end of January. So a little over about three weeks. And that's about one and a half million people more than over the same period in 2024.

And this data was compiled, you know, as I said, from the various business improvement districts below 6th Street. It's worth noting that the growth in foot traffic happened during a polar vortex, really bad weather, as well as the flu. Right, right. Yeah. Yeah. And where are pedestrians hitting the streets? Which neighborhoods? So there are a bunch of neighborhoods that have seen pretty sharp increases in foot traffic, and these include some of Manhattan's shopping and entertainment districts. Let's start with the Grand Central Partnership. That's an area in Midtown. It represents about 750 businesses.

And a representative there told me pedestrian traffic went up nearly 19% in the area after congestion pricing took effect. By contrast, the group says last year, it went up by just 5% over the previous year. So pretty big increase. In Soho, there was a 20% spike in foot traffic. traffic at the intersection of Broadway and Prince, pretty busy area, much busier now. It went up 13% in the West Village and by 7% in the Times Square area, Michael. I'd bet this increase in foot traffic, Arun, is being seen as a validation of congestion pricing by groups who are pushing for it all along.

What are they telling you? Yeah, I mean, I heard from a number of them. It's still fairly early, but, you know, this is very much what they're hoping to see. Kate Slevin is executive vice president of the regional plan. Association. There's a lot of controversy, a lot of concern about this program starting, but it's clear the sky has not fallen. And in fact, the program is making the city more livable and possibly even boosting business. So the findings are for long term or out, but the first month plus has been a total success. And it's really wonderful to see and feel on the streets of New York.

I heard similar sentiments from other groups like the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, they see this as a big win for sustainability. But Arun, surely not everyone is happy with congestion pricing. What a criticism you're hearing. Yeah, definitely some people who are really frustrated. Business owners say it's a hassle. It's just piling on costs. One business owners is Jeremy Marin. He's a CEO of Havana Central Restaurant. It's on West 46th Street. This restaurant's been around for 20 years, but now he's really worried. For businesses that are struggling to bring people in, if it just becomes more expensive and harder for people to commute, then that's a factor. The other thing that I mentioned is we are seeing that almost every supplier now is putting on a surcharge on every invoice that comes in for congestion pricing.

So, in fact, that's hitting our bottom line as well since our costs are going up. Right. He says, you know, he has customers who just don't want to come in as much. And, you know, so that's a big issue for him. others as well. Another group, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, they told me they surveyed around 50 businesses. The ones in lower Manhattan, they say appear to be better off, but ones in Midtown and Uptown are struggling more. They say with sales dropping, parking getting a lot worse. Still, they did say it's winter, so it tends to be slow, and they're just going to keep watching how this plays out, Michael. That's WMYC's Arun Vanikapal, talking with my colleague Michael Hill.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone with a boo. But the truth is, for some, dating in New York City can be a nightmare. It doesn't have to be that way, though. At least that's what the dating coaches say. WNYC's Julia Hayward has more. Manhattan-based dating coach, Nico Imani Lides, helps his clients up their dating game. Dating isn't about taking. It's about giving love and giving that expansive, positive energy to other people.

But many New Yorkers say it's hard to do that in a city of over 8 million people, because there are too many options. There are dating apps, real-life meetups, and new apps that let AI do most of the work. For some New Yorkers, this means too many choices. Brooklyn-based dating coach Erica Etten says blaming the city for dating struggles is a mistake. The same issues that will crop up here will crop up anywhere. You're going to find flaky people everywhere. You're going to find amazing people everywhere.

Manhattan coach Liza Cooper says the trick to dating in New York is about staying open and hopeful. If you start looking up like people used to do, that's how everyone used to meet was sort of on the subway or in the grocery store. You can do that as well and just sort of launch a conversation with someone. Brenda Andalina is one of her clients. She said the advice has helped her start looking for love again after her divorce. I'm not that person anymore that 100% is. committed to going it alone for the rest of my life. It's not easy, but coaches agree.

Anything can happen in New York City. Even true love. That's WMYC's Julia Hayward. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. Have a happy Valentine's Day and a lovely weekend. We'll be back with only one episode on Monday. That's President's Day.