NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Trump Says Gateway Project is Terminated But Construction Continues, the Fight Over a West Village Rec Center, and Mamdani’s Relationship with the NYPD

Episode Date: October 16, 2025

President Donald Trump says the Gateway program’s Hudson River train tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York is "terminated." Meanwhile, the fate of the West Village's beloved Tony Dapolito recreation center rests in the hands of the city's next mayor. And finally, how can mayoral front runner Zohran Mamdani earn the NYPD’s trust?

President Trump says the Gateway Tunnel Project is terminated, but construction is still happening. The fight over a West Village rec center and Zora Mumdani's relationship with the NYPD. From WMYC, this is NYC now. I'm Jinnay Pierre. Work continues on the Gateway Tunnel Project connecting New Jersey and New York, despite President Trump announcing the construction is, quote, terminated. Trump made the announcement this week as he criticized. U.S. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.

The project in Manhattan, the project in New York, it's billions and billions of dollars that Schumer has worked 20 years to get. It's terminated. In opposed to social media, Schumer called the project the most important infrastructure project in America and said Trump was trying to kill it out of, quote, pure spite and stupidity. The Trump administration had already halted federal money earlier this month, while the administration said it was reviewing whether the project,

was constitutional. Trump did not provide the results of that review during his announcement. Residents of Brooklyn are weighing in on a proposal for a 72-story tall high-rise. The skyscraper would be located at 395 Flatbush Avenue extension at the corner of DeKalb. At a public hearing this week at the Brooklyn Borough Hall, many people said they were in support of the project, which would result in more than 1,200 rental units. That includes more than 300 permanently affordable homes. It would also result in a 5,000 square foot pedestrian plaza and enhanced transit access. The fate of a beloved West Village Recreation Center rests in the hands of the city's next mayor. WMYC's Liam Quigley has more. It's known to locals as the Tony Dap. The building has sat at the

corner of Clarkson and Varick Street for more than a century. It was a place to work out or swim until it closed in 2019 when the Parks Department found a slew of structural problems. Mayor Adams wants to tear the whole thing down and replace it with a brand new fitness center that would be built alongside a housing development. But neighborhood groups want the current building to be restored no matter how much it costs. Mayoral Frontrunner, Zer Rahamadani says he supports the plan to save the rec center. The important thing to do here is not just fulfill the promises that you have made, but also do your best to fulfill the promises that have been made prior to you.

The drawn-out fight means West Village locals will be left without the rec center for the foreseeable future. Critics say mayoral frontrunner, Zerahmumdani, isn't a favorite of some officers in the NYPD. The Democrat has said some not-so-nice things about the department in the past. After the break, we look into ways Mamdani can earn the NYPD's trust. Stay close. New York City's mayoral election is November 4th. So far, Democrat Zeram-Mam-D remains the front-runner. If Mamdani does become mayor, his partnership with the NYPD will be key. But critics say Mumdani may have difficulty gaining the support of police officers.

His opponent, Andrew Cuomo, has seized on a number of statements Mbani made about the NYPD after the killing of George Floyd, including a tweet back in 2020. He called the NYPD racist and anti-queer and called for the defunding of the department. That's WMYC's Ben Fewer-Hard, who covers the NYPD. Ben says Mumbani has since changed his tune on the matter. Since he won the Democratic primary, he's really tried to distance himself from the statements and others and said he would apologize to officers for the statement. Mumdani apologized for past comments in an interview on Fox News Wednesday. He says he's been meeting with rank and file police officers within the past couple weeks.

Mumdani supports keeping the number of police officers and the NYPD at the same number it's currently at, even though critics say a Mayor Mumdani could lead to more officers resigning from the department. Ben talked with people who had differing opinions on this friction between Mumdani and the NYPD, like Liz Glazer, who led the Office of Criminal Justice under former mayor Bill de Blasio. Glazer makes the point that the police department isn't a monolith and questioned whether this sort of inherent distrust between Mumdani and NYPD officers actually even exists. I do think it's really overblown that somehow there's a natural antipotism. between Mamdani and the rank and file. Rodney Harrison has a different perspective.

He previously served as the NYPD's chief of department and chief of detectives. Harrison says there will be skepticism from some police officers. He believes gaining trust will be an uphill battle for Mamdani to overcome. But he says it's not impossible. And he could definitely rebound from it, but his actions have to be shown. and some of the actions have to be, you know, talking about the heroic work that the men and women of law enforcement do. This isn't the first time there's been tension between the NYPD and a city mayor. De Blasio had a strained relationship with officers during his tenure, but crime was at historic lows prior to the pandemic.

Still, those experts my colleague Ben talked with all agreed that Momdani's relationship with the NYPD hinges on one thing. His choice of police commissioner and who they put in leadership, they all said that if the commissioner is a competent and effective leader, it could go a long way in boosting morale in the department. And a boosted morale is exactly what officers need right now, according to Patrick Hendry, leader of the police benevolent association. That's the NYPD's union. Henry said police officers are really burned out by what he called a climate of second-guessing and demonization. He said the issues in the department can't be wiped away with campaign talking points. they need sustained engagement with political leaders in the city, no matter who the next mayor is. That's WMYC's Ben Fewer Heard.

Since 2015, the performance series Death of Classical has been putting on concerts in unexpected corners of New York. WMYC's Hannah Frischberg reports from a recent Houses of Zodiac Show in a Brooklyn tomb. I'm sitting in a folding chair in the narrow main tunnel of Greenwood Cemetery's catacombs. Two dancers perform original choreography among the vaults as cellist Jeffrey Ziegler performs music by Paola Pristini, who also recites poetry. Pounds and pounds of peat moss cover the uneven ground and fill the air with dust.

Tape playback echoes through the chamber. We did about six shows in 2016, maybe 10 shows in 2017, and now we do 50 or 60 shows a year, so we've expanded quite a lot since then. That's Andrew Owsley, the founder and force behind Death of Classical. And so what I tried to do with these shows is create something unexpected. His shows consistently sell out. Owsley is basically the only game in town for this type of musical experience.

It's not a crowded lane, crypt classical concerts. I think I'm the only one, basically, which I'm happy with. Patrons love the shows for their access to unique locations and soundscapes. Chris Becker says he's a longtime Death of Classical fan. He was among those at the Catacomb concert. I mean, the acoustics here are amazing, especially for a space that you don't really think of as a performance venue in New York. Death of Classical has a number of shows coming up. That includes Nightfall later this month, a sprawling annual festival of macab delights,

with everything from storytellers and musicians to circus acts performing by moonlight along Greenwood's paths. Hannah Frischberg, WNYC News. Nightfall will take place this Friday and Saturday, October 15th and 16, Check it out. And thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.