NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Trump Administration Cuts Funds for MTA’s Security Grant, NYPD Chief John Chell Retires, and NJ Governor’s Candidates Spar Over Trump, Transit, and Opioids

Episode Date: October 9, 2025

Gov. Kathy Hochul says the White House is clawing back money to support patrols, security camera operations and K-9 units for the city’s transit system. Plus, the NYPD's top officer is retiring a week after Mayor Adams ended his re-election bid. And finally, Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli squared off in a fiery debate Wednesday night tackling topics like the Gateway Tunnel Project and New Jersey Transit service.

The Trump administration cuts funds for the MTA's security grant. NYPD chief John Shell announces his retirement and a heated debate among candidates for New Jersey governor. From WMYC, this is NYC now. I'm Jene Pierre. I'm going to be very clear in what is happening from Washington. They are defunding the police. Full stop. They cannot argue with the fact that there was funding to help the police, protect our communities.

Governor Kathy Hokel says the Trump administration, is clawing back $34 million from a security grant for New York City's mass transit system. She says it means the Trump administration is cutting money for police. The governor's office did not explain whether the cuts would actually slash police jobs, but she says the money supports patrols, security camera operations, K-9 units, and cybersecurity programs. MTA officials say they're the only one out of 21 total applicants for the grant that would not receive federal money from this program.

Hokel was in court with the federal government Thursday to try and reverse the Trump administration's decision. The White House did not immediately comment. The NYPD's top uniformed officer is retiring just a week after Mayor Adams ended his re-election bid. WMYC's Charles Lane has more. Chief of Department John Schell was a close ally of Mayor Adams and a foe of city progressives.

His exit comes as Merrill frontrunner Zoron Mom Dunn. Signals major changes for the police department. Councilmember Lincoln Wrestler says he won't miss Shell. I think that Chief Shell acted with impunity, and he demonstrated a consistently bad judgment. Commissioner Jessica Tisch says Michael LaPetri will take over on an interim basis while remaining the head of the department's chief of crime control. Governor Hockel says her administration is rolling out a pilot program to train New York State employees. on using artificial intelligence technology. Hockel says 1,000 state workers will initially participate in the Empire AI program

on a voluntary basis through the end of the year. The online platform, Innovate US, is providing the training on responsible uses of AI. The workers will use a generative AI tool developed by New York's Office of Information Technology Services, which is powered by Google Software. Agencies included in the pilot are responsible for public health, human services, public safety, state operations, and infrastructure. Candidates for New Jersey governor squared off in a fiery debate Wednesday night amid a close race. We'll unpack what went down after the break.

In New Jersey, Democrat Mikey Cheryl and Republican Jack Shuderelli are locked in a close race to become the state's next governor. The two squared off in a fiery debate. debate Wednesday night tackling topics like the Gateway Tunnel Project and New Jersey Transit Service. WMYC's Mike Hayes joins me to unpack it all. All right, Mike, let's start with the Gateway Tunnel. Why was this such a big topic during the debate? Yeah, so the Gateway is the big tunnel project going on right now to overhaul how New Jerseyans get across the Hudson River into Manhattan. It's a vital link not just for these two states, Jene, but for much of the Eastern Seaboard. And last week, the Trump administration froze $16 billion in federal funds for this project.

Now, Mikey Sherrill said if she's elected, she'll sue the Trump administration to get the money back on track, while also saying that Chittarelli, her opponent, won't stand up to Trump. Now, Jack Chittarelli said he's not worried about Gateway. The freeze hasn't stopped construction on the project, and he said he's confident that the money will eventually be restored. So two very different responses on this issue. You mentioned Mikey Sherrill saying that Chittarelli won't stand up to Trump. You know, followers of this race know that she's been spending a lot of time trying to tie Chittarelli to President Trump in a negative way. Talk more about how Trump came up at the debate.

Yeah, so Trump came up a lot. No surprise there. Both candidates are actually asked to grade the president last night. Chittarelli gave Trump an A. Mikey Sherrill gave him an F. So Chittarelli was also asked if he considers himself part of the MAGA movement. And his response was interesting here. He said he's part of the New Jersey movement.

Now, Mikey Sherrill hit back saying, here's another example where Chittorelli won't say one crossword about the president. She called him 100% MAGA, which is akin to attack ads that she's been running. And Chitorelli tried to buffer these attacks by talking about how he believes it's, important, no matter who's elected, to have a good relationship with the White House. And Cheryl's not the only one here, Jena, trying to link their opponent to other politicians. Last night, we had Chittarelli linking her to Zoran Mandani, who he called Dangerous Too Far Left. Here's some of what he said. She's given some kind of weird endorsement of Mondami. Mondami has endorsed her. I called on her to renounce that endorsement. So I'll note that Cheryl's support for Mandani has been a little tough to decipher.

In July, shortly after the New York City mayoral primary, she told NBC Philadelphia, if Mandani were to become the Democratic nominee for mayor, she assumed she would support him. But then last Friday, she was asked again, and she dodged that question of whether she would endorse him or not, just saying she's focused on her race. Yeah. Now, Mike, you've been living and breathing this race, and I tell you all the time, this one is pretty entertaining to me. Did you hear anything new and different from the candidates during the debate? Yeah, that's a great question, considering how steeped in this I've been personally.

But there was a moment where the candidates were asked about how to fix New Jersey transit. New Jersey Transit, as we all know, is the highly problematic rail line that carries New Jerseyans around the state and beyond. It really threw out an idea that I'd never previously heard from him before. he said every single train and bus line on New Jersey Transit needs to be reevaluated for ridership. And if there isn't adequate ridership on every one of those lines, he said we have, quote, a tough decision to make. Now, I'd like to know more about what those tough decisions are. Is he proposing cuts to service here?

If so, how are voters in perhaps far reaching parts of New Jersey feeling about potential cuts here? It sounds like a risky idea, if you ask me. Keep in mind that when New Jersey transit hiked fares last year, they went out of their way to say that by doing it, they were preventing service cuts. New Jerseyans do not take kindly service cuts. There's a reason that it was called the summer of hell when there were massive service problems in 2024. That said, cutting train service may not be as contentious as the idea of pumping your

own gas in New Jersey. Both candidates were asked about that as well. Well, this is where they found some common ground. They both said they have no intention of changing the law that makes it illegal for you to pump your own gas in New Jersey. Well, they're on the same page there. Common ground, right? For sure. So we have less than four weeks to go until Election Day.

Any predictions for what we'll see from these campaigns during the stretch? One prediction I'm confident in making Janais. I think it's going to get more spicy between these two. and the debate gave us every indication that the animosity we've seen between these candidates is going to continue as we get closer to election day. Before we go, we have to talk about the most heated moment between Chittarelli and Cheryl in the debate. During a question about rising unemployment in New Jersey, Mikey Sherrill went on the offensive about how her opponent made millions of dollars. So to give you the context here, Jack Chitterelli used to run a medical publishing company. In 2017, he sold that company for $12 million.

And last night during the debate, Cheryl said he got rich peddling opioid propaganda that contributed to the deaths of thousands in New Jersey. Now, she was referencing a 2021 story from New Jersey.com reporting Chittarelli's company produced continuing education materials for the medical industry, which critics said downplayed the dangers of opiates. Now, he did not take kindly to her bringing. this up. However, he did not spend any time refuting it. Let's hear some of the back and forth. So as he made millions, as these opioid companies made billions, tens of thousands of New Jerseyans died. Mr. Chitterelli? First of all, shame on you. Second of all. Shame on you, sir. Same on you. Shame on you. Wow. Yeah, that exchange, Janae, I think, is representative of where things stand. And everyone,

believes this race is going to be close. So I don't see either candidate pulling any punches as we wrap things up. All right. Thanks for your reporting. That's WMYC's Mike Hayes. Of course. Thanks for having me. Before we go, how about this weather, huh? Fall finally feels real and a nor'easter is expected late in the upcoming holiday weekend. Hies around the city won't climb much past 60 degrees, and forecasters say it will only get cooler. Plus, a coastal storm should sweep in Sunday, bringing rain, strong winds, and maybe even some coastal flooding. City officials say residents in low-lying areas should review flood plans. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC.

I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.