NYC NOW - February 8, 2024: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: February 8, 2024

Get up and get informed! Here’s all the local news you need to start your day: Delays in building affordable housing in New York City grew longer after the city lost key staff during the pandemic. Meanwhile, state parks, historic sites, campgrounds and trails hit record attendance in 2023 with more than 84 million visits, according to Governor Hochul’s office. Plus, Thursday is the last day to name a cockroach at the Bronx Zoo in someone’s honor.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Thursday, February 8th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. Delays in building affordable housing in New York City grew longer after the city lost key staff during the pandemic. WNIC's Charles Lane has the details on a report, a new one from the city controller. The report found the city's Department of Housing Preservation, and Development, or HPD, lost nearly 300 employees during the pandemic.

That led to a 14-month delay in financing new affordable housing projects and 12,000 fewer affordable apartments built in 2022 as compared to the average number built before COVID-19. Here's city comptroller Bradlander. For affordable housing projects, HPD is the critical choke point. HPD has since increased staffing and is now approving projects at Neutral-B-D-Rowling. near pre-pandemic levels. People just keep flocking to New York State's parks. Governor Kathy Hockel's office says state parks, historic sites, campgrounds, and trails

hit record attendance levels last year, beating the previous attendance record set the year before. The state sites had more than 84 million visits in 2023. That's up 6% from 2022. Officials claim it was also the largest ever one-year jump in visitors. There are more than 250 places. overseen by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. Today is the last day to name a cockroach at the Bronx Zoo in someone's honor just in time for

Valentine's Day. Debbie Schneiderman directs membership for the Bronx Zoo's Wildlife Conservation Society. She says she's always surprised by how enthusiastic people are year after year. when I'm on the subway and someone's wearing like a roach beanie that we produced or you see like a pair of socks like under someone's pants when they're sitting and you're like okay you're one of us I see it. Schneiderman says she hopes the zoo's Valentine tradition makes people think positive thoughts about cockroaches for once I don't think so it's redemption for roaches right like I hope that people are like looking at them and thinking about them differently embracing

you know, the love for all things, all wildlife, all things nature. Okay. We can find more info at Bronx Zoo.com slash Roach. 37 and clear out there, mostly sunny and 54. High today. Tomorrow, mostly sunny and 53. And then this weekend, slim chance of midday showers on Saturday, mostly cloudy up near 60, then Sunday, partly sunny and lower 50s.

Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you this afternoon.