NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Wind Project Back On, Poll Shows Stefanik Leads GOP Field for NY Governor, NJ Rep Charged After Confrontation With Law Enforcement, American Guitars at the Met, and a Family’s Fight to Keep Their Apartment

Episode Date: May 20, 2025

The Trump administration is allowing construction to resume on a major wind farm off Long Island. Meanwhile, a new poll shows Representative Elise Stefanik as the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination for New York governor, Also, a New Jersey congresswoman faces federal charges after an incident outside an immigration detention center in Newark. Also, NYCHA opens its first-ever dog park in the Bronx. And in Upper Manhattan, a rent-stabilized apartment that’s housed four generations of one family is now at the center of a legal fight.

New York's wind project is back on. A New Jersey representative charged after a confrontation with law enforcement. Poll shows Stefanik Leeds' GOP field for New York governor. American guitars at the Met. And a family's fight to keep their apartment. From WNYC, this is NYC now. I'm Jene Pierre. The Trump administration is allowing construction to resume

on a major wind project off the coast of Long Island. Officials say Empire Wind One, as it's known, could power half a million homes and create 1,500 union jobs. The U.S. Interior Department halted the project in April, saying it was reviewing Biden-era approvals for the wind farm. Governor Kathy Hockel and others had lobbied the administration to restore the project. The developer, Equinor, says the first phase is about 30 percent complete and will be finished in 2027.

Representative Elise Stefaniq is the frontrunner to be the Republican nominee for Governor of New York. WMYC's John Campbell has this report on a new poll. The Sienna College poll found 35% of Republican voters back Stefanik, the House member representing Northern New York. That's compared to 22% backing Representative Mike Lawler of Rockland County and 11% for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. All three have been flirting with challenging Democratic Governor Kathy Hokel next year. Though none have officially thrown their hat, into the race. Forty-four percent of voters' polls said they have a favorable view of Hockel. That's compared to 46 percent with an unfavorable view. President Trump recently gave an early

endorsement to Lawler's reelection to the House. That was seen as a signal Trump would like Lawler to stay out of the governor's race. Democratic Representative LaMannica McIver is facing multiple federal charges after a confrontation with law enforcement. McIver was involved in an incident earlier this month when federal officers arrested Newark Mayor Ross Baraka outside an immigration detention center in the city. Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba says McIvor is being charged with assaulting, impeding, or interfering with law enforcement officers. Charges against Mayor Baraka have since been dropped. McIver's attorney called the decision to charge her, quote, spectacularly inappropriate.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is celebrating a new collection of one of the most important contributions to popular culture over the past century. The American guitar. WMYC. Sean Carlson has more. The collection of 500 guitars spans the so-called Golden Age of Guitar making from 1920 to 1970. The instruments were donated by collector Dirk Ziff. Some highlights include Leo Fender's first guitar made in 1948 and the Les Paul used by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards during the band's first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. Rock legend and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is celebrating the new exhibit, saying the gallery will serve as an epicenter and inspiration to celebrate the guitar. Up next, a family's hold on a rent-stabilized apartment is in jeopardy. Stick around. A two-bedroom apartment in Upper Manhattan has been home to four generations of the same family.

But after a recent death, that legacy is now in limbo, and so is their lease. WMYC's Samantha Max reports the case highlights how difficult it can be for relatives to pass down precious real estate when they don't own it themselves. Gabrielle Vines lives in an apartment that's both cluttered and empty. There are giant storage bins filled with her grandmother's possession. has some of her old documents in them. A closet stuffed with thick, creaky photo albums, including some pictures here. That's the front door.

That's right outside. Vine says this unit has been in her family since the late 1970s when her great-grandmother moved in. Her mom grew up here, and for decades it was the home of her grandmother, Gisela Venta-Perez. She went by Jessie. She hated the name Gisela. Vine says she grew up in Florida and started living here part-time in 2021, when she was in college in Westchester. It was her escape from the stresses of class and the COVID pandemic. My whole freshman year was just doing my classes and doing my work and running back to the apartment the second I could to go to the closest with my grandma or go see a movie or go out to eat.

Vine says her grandmother's apartment always felt more like her home than came. campus ever did. She says it was her sanctuary, where she could eat rice and beans and watch Charlie Chaplin movies and seek her grandmother's advice. She really became my best friend. In March 2024, Vanda Perez died suddenly just a couple months before Vines College graduation. Vines has stayed in the apartment on her own since last spring. I've been scared to put in any major furniture, like a new couch or a coffee table or anything or TV, because at any moment, I could just kind of be evicted. The apartment is rent-stabilized, which means tenants have special protections, and the rent

can only go up a certain amount. New York law allows family members to take over a relative's rent-stabilized unit, but only if they can prove that they lived there for at least two years before their relative died or moved out. Last fall, the landlord started removal proceedings against Vines in housing court. Building owner Jesse Deutsch didn't want his voice to be in this story. Deutsch told me on the phone that he's sorry about the loss of Vines' grandmother, and he's willing to let her move into another unit, but he says tenants need to apply and be screened.

Deutsch says it's Vines' responsibility to prove she has the right to stay, and that she hasn't done so. Attorney Adam Lightman Bailey is a real estate lawyer who represents landlords and tenants. She's got a definite losing case. I don't know what she's thinking. Lightman Bailey is not connected to this case. He says someone typically has to live in an apartment at least 183 days a year for it to be their primary residence. He says living on campus part of the week could jeopardize Vine's case. The reality is Thursday, Thursday doesn't do it.

There are possible financial incentives for the building owner to evict fines. Deutsch wouldn't comment on them. But property records show he could earn more each month if a new tenant moves in with a housing subsidy. Lightman Bailey says his property-owning clients have been desperate for extra income since 2019. That's when the New York legislature added a host of new regulations for rent-stabilized departments. One of the big changes is it's now harder for landlords to hike up the rent when a unit becomes vacant. They can't afford to pay their expenses. They can't afford to pay the mortgage, the repairs, the super.

They can't afford to meet the daily expenses. They believe the law is intended to bankrupt landlords. Okay. Let me not cry. Back in the apartment, Vines reads a text message her grandmother sent a few days before she died, when she thought Vines might move away after graduation. And she said, I want you to know that these last three years are a gift to me. I will always cherish it. I love you. Vine says she's not fighting for this apartment because of the low rent.

She says she's just not ready to let go of the place where her grandmother was alive, where she can sit in the kitchen and feel her grandma's presence. I miss her so much. I just want to make her proud, and I want to keep her. keep her around in her spirit for as long as possible. Vines is expected in housing court this week to make her case to stay in the unit. That's WNYC's Samantha Max. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC.

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