NYC NOW - February 29, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: February 29, 2024

New legislation aims to streamline certain requirements for street vendors in New York City. Plus, Democrats see more chances to take back the House through New York after Tom Suozzi’s congressional win. Also, the MTA is nearly finished installing tolling equipment for congestion pricing. And finally, WNYC’s Michael Hill and Elizabeth Kim discuss the NYPD’s new political strategy.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City. From WNYC, I'm Jenae Pierre. New legislation aims to streamline certain requirements for street vendors in New York City. The bills made their way through the City Council on Wednesday. Councilmember Julie Menon says the city owes it to street vendors to reduce the amount of red tape that comes with doing business. What we're really trying to do is ease of bureaucratic burdens that are plaguing street. vendors. One bill modifies bookkeeping and display requirements, while another cuts the red tape for renewals. A third bill prohibits vendors from selling in bike lanes. The bills are a result

of recommendations that came from a report issued by the street vendor advisory board. After Tom Swazzi's larger than expected congressional win in eastern Queens and Nassau County, Democrats see more chances to take back the House through New York. One race is on the east end of Long Island. WNYC's Bridget Bergen has more. The seat is currently held by Republican Nick La Loda, a relative moderate who endorsed former President Trump for re-election. Democrats say he's vulnerable given the ongoing chaos in the House. Hofstra University's Larry Levy is an expert on suburban voters. He says Democrats have a chance, but a slim one. Of all the swing districts in the state, La Lodagh is probably the least swingy, but it still swings.

John Avlon, a former speechwriter for Mayor Giuliani, and more recently a CNN political analyst, and Nancy Goroff, a retired chemistry professor from Stony Brook University, are both vying for the Democratic nomination. The primary would be in June. The MTA is just about done installing tolling equipment for congestion pricing, and it's using some cutting-edge equipment. WMYC's Stephen Nesson has the details. The new devices that will toll vehicles that enter the zone south of 60th Street are equipped with easy pass readers and cameras. But unlike the equipment on bridges and tunnels now, these use infrared illumination. Alison DiSreño is the chief operating officer at MTA Bridges and Tunnels. She says that means the cameras won't use a flash to capture the plates.

This will help with respect to those working or living nearby, but it's also important for birds and other wildlife that are sensitive to light pollution. The devices can also detect the size of a visual. vehicle, which determines the toll. Installation is nearly done at 110 locations in Manhattan. The MTA hopes to begin tolling in June. The NYPD has a new political strategy, attacking judges on social media. We'll discuss some of the salty tweets after the break. Top-ranking NYPD officials, including Chief of Patrol John Schell, are taking the unusual

step of publicly criticizing a sitting judge by name on social media. Critics say the statements amount to intimidation, but the NYPD says, expect more attacks in the future. My colleague Michael Hill talked with WMYC's Elizabeth Kim, who's been following the story. This reminds us who Chell is and what is it he wrote. John Shell is the chief of patrol. This is a high-ranking position within the NYPD. he's about one out of about a dozen chiefs. It's considered a leadership position and chiefs report directly to police commissioner Edward Caban.

And how common is it for top police press to make public statements about another part of the criminal justice system such as a judge? Police in New York City, they have a long history of shaping public perception around crime and safety. And they've not been shy about talking about their views. on policies and the criminal justice system. The people we often associate with being outspoken are the police commissioner and the head of the union. If you look at the history of the NYPD using social media, it's been probably about a

decade since the department decided to use these platforms as a tool to engage the public. A lot of people use social media to opine. What is the concern with these particular statements? Some experts have a problem across the board with the police sounding off on the criminal justice system and the different actors within it. They would argue that it's not the place of the police to make opinions on the law. Their job is to carry out the law. But even if you disagree with that and you want to give the department more leeway to talk about something that they arguably have expertise and experience in, The act of naming specific people, in this particular case, a judge for a decision that she made on bail,

that can be viewed as an escalation of their rhetoric, especially in this politically charged environment. You know, I'll give you just one example. Just yesterday, there was a scare over an envelope of suspicious white powder that was sent to 60 Center Street. That's the office of a judge who had been at the center of the Donald Trump civil trial. What does the NYPD say about all this? The NYPD is not backing down. You know, we reached out and their spokesperson basically defended Shell's post. And he said that other judges would be targeted as well.

You know, what he said was they totally support the post that the chief put out. And, and quote, it's not the last judge. we're going to look at. But Liz, don't they realize that this endangers judges potentially? Apparently not. The argument they make is, you know, our names are in the paper all the time. Why are judges somehow above this kind of scrutiny? The mayor himself is a former NYPD officer who's taken a hands-on approach with the department.

What responsibility does he have for the public rhetoric, top brass, is engaging in? Because the mayor was a former police officer, and because he state his mayorality on public safety, he's very closely connected with the department in more ways than previous mayors. In many ways, he's the de facto commissioner. He's the de facto spokesperson for the NYPD. So when it comes to messaging on public safety, you should expect that this mayor would be very deeply involved. But wouldn't rank and file members be in trouble with the department if they went online on social media and did the same thing? The short answer is probably yes. You know, there are rules for how officers engage on social media, even if it's their personal accounts. And this dates back to 2011 when offensive Facebook posts by NYPD officers surfaced.

But I think that this territory is very similar with other companies in the private sector. How do you police employees, you know, political opinions, for example? And I think that NYPD is also sort of in this territory of trying to figure out the rules. I mean, this is very different because this is out of their official accounts. And it appears that when it comes to something like criticizing a judge, this is an action that they have all gotten on board with, and they're okay with it. I'm wondering if there's been any feedback on social media or otherwise from any elected public officials like the borough presidents or council members or anybody like that that we know of.

So we reached out to the city council speaker, Adrian Adams, yesterday. We were at her press conference, and we asked her about these social media posts. And she was aware. of them, and she called them troubling and concerning. She said, you know, this is certainly not something she would teach children to do, and she does think that this does pose a threat to the judge. You know, thinking down the road, if something were to happen to one of these judges who's criticized on social media, it would be the very NYPD potentially investigating what happened. That's exactly true, and that's the irony. I mean, I think we should hope that nothing. thing does happen to the judge. I did reach out to the Office of Court administration, which

oversees the courts in New York City, and they did not return a comment. But you have to wonder, you know, especially in this climate, how this individual must feel. That's WMYC's Elizabeth Kim, talking with my colleague, Michael Hill. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday, three times a day. I'm Jenae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.