NYC NOW - February 15, 2024 : Evening Roundup

Episode Date: February 15, 2024

New York Governor Kathy Hochul wants to make to-go cocktails permanent. Plus, a minor is in custody in connection with Monday’s subway shooting in the Bronx that killed one man and injured five others. And finally, WNYC’s Michael Hill and Samantha Max discuss concerns over two recent violent incidents in Times Square.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. New York Governor Kathy Hokel wants to make to-go cocktails permanent. The state law allowing bars and restaurants to sell cocktails and glasses of wine with to-go food orders is set to expire next year. But the governor wants to get rid of the pending expiration date. Her office says Hokel will propose it as part of her amended state budget proposal due on Thursday. The restaurant industry is on board with the plan. According to the National Restaurant Association,

it would make New York the 21st state to legalize to go cocktails since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A minor is in custody in connection with Monday's subway shooting in the Bronx that killed one man and injured five others. The NYPD has not released any other information about the person yet or any charges they may face. The shooting erupted Monday afternoon aboard a four train as it reached the Mount Eden Avenue station.

Police say two groups of teenagers were riding a northbound train when a dispute unraveled and at least one person took out a gun and started firing. We all know Times Square to be one of the main tourist attractions in New York City,

but two recent violent incidents involving migrants have some local residents and workers on edge. More on that after the break. Two recent high-profile crimes in Times Square involving migrants have stoked strong discourse about immigration, safety, and policing. Some conservatives and members of law enforcement are blaming progressive immigration laws and bail reform,

while advocates say migrants are being scapegoated for political gain. For more, my colleague Michael Hill talked with WNYC's Samantha Max, who's been covering the story. Things first really heated up when a group of people was caught on surveillance videos scuffling with police in Times Square outside a migrant shelter. The video's gone viral. remind us what we know about what happened there. So initially there was this video that was released by police, and it showed a group of people surrounding officers trying to pull them away.

Some were trying to punch and kick the officers. We could see actually kicking the officers, and that video went viral. It was, I mean, on the local news, the national news, and it really just kind of became fodder for political spin. Then last week, the DA's office releases additional footage, and that actually shows the moments leading up to this very viral situation. And it shows a group of people standing on the edge of a sidewalk outside a migrant shelter on 42nd Street. Police say that someone had complained that they were maybe harassing or cat-calling people.

So the police tell them to move, vamos. And one of the officers, you can see kind of tapping someone. on the stomach and kind of trying to push him along. And that's when the person starts saying in Spanish, don't touch me. He starts to move along, but then kind of pauses for a minute and says that the officer looks like ugly Betty. And that's when the officer, we can now see shoved him against a wall as the person tries to break away. The other officer who's trying to arrest him, they all fall to the ground. That's when we get to this moment that now we've seen in the other clip of surveillance footage where people start trying to pull the officers away,

swinging their arms, kicking fast forward. There are a series of arrests, but initially most of these people were released after appearing in court. That's when police start claiming that they've fled the state. This is a claim that prosecutors and defense attorneys have denied. And now several are due back in court tomorrow after being indicted last week. and prosecutors say that five people are currently in police custody. And then there was news just yesterday, Sam, involving one of the migrants caught up in this incident? Yes. So one of the people who had initially been released after they were charged was re-arrested in a separate case. Police say that he acted as a lookout and a robbery at a Macy's and Queens.

And then there were some other news as well. Two more people who police had been looking for. One was arrested apartment in the Bronx, one somewhere else. And when one of those people was being arrested, they were in an apartment with two who had been charged already, been released, who are now actually in ICE custody. Police, including Commissioner Edward Caban, are warning of what they call a migrant crime wave. Is there one? So it's hard to get too granular because the NYPD is not sharing specific data. And that's because they actually don't ask people about their immigration status.

So there just aren't hard numbers that we can know. But several studies have found that immigrants are less likely to be arrested, less likely to be incarcerated. And both the NYPD and the mayor have said that migrants, though they are occasionally committing crimes, really account for an insignificant fraction of crime overall in New York City. Last week, Sam, there was a shooting in Times Square where police say a migrant was also involved. What happened in that one? So police arrested a 15-year-old who they say recently came to the city from Venezuela. According to prosecutors, he was shoplifting in a store in Times Square.

And then when a store employee tried to take back the merchandise prosecutors say he took out a gun and fired it, did not hit the security guard, but hit a tourist in the leg. And then as he was running away, he also fired at police who were not hit. The Torres survived, but it was a rare instance of a gun being in Times Square, there being a shooting in Times Square, which it's actually supposed to be a gun-free zone. Is the crime rate in Times Square any worse than it usually is? You were just there. How are people who spend time there? How are they feeling?

So the NYPD, again, does not publish data specifically for Times Square, but it does for Midtown South, which is the precinct that includes Times Square, and that shows that serious crimes overall are down this year, which kind of follows the general trend for the city. The main exception is theft, which is up compared to this time last year. I spoke with Jahangir Kabir Bushan. He's a Bangladeshi immigrant who has worked at a new stand in Times Square for about two years now. And he told me that lately people have been stealing from him basically every day, sometimes even multiple times a day. And his stand is right in front of a subway entrance. So it's just a very busy spot. And he said people often grab candy and then they just

run down the stairs before anyone can catch them. And he tells me that he will tell the police or try to tell the police, but they often just can't get there in time because people are moving so fast. And he can't chase them either because he typically works alone and can't leave his stuff unattended. I'm not feeling good today, but I change for work. If I don't work, how I pay them, I spend money every day. So outside his stand, on the other hand, tons of tourists were posing for selfies, looking at maps, you know, keeping at the bright lights and flashing signs. They had shopping bags, suitcases. And they were just blissfully unaware. Several told me that they had no idea what was going on with crime in Times Square. They felt completely safe and hadn't even considered crime when

deciding whether to visit. And that kind of speaks to a larger trend. NYC's Samantha Max talking with my colleague Michael Hill. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. Catch us every weekday, three times a day. I'm Jenae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.