NYC NOW - Feburary 7, 2024: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: February 7, 2024

Get up and get informed! Here's all the local news you need to start your day: The 70 NYCHA employees arrested for corruption on Tuesday prioritized their personal gain over the welfare of residents, according to Homeland Security agent Ivan Arvelo. Meanwhile, a 33-year-old man accused of stalking Taylor Swift, following more than 30 visits to her apartment last week, is set to appear in court Wednesday. Additionally, in response to challenges with dating apps, some gay men are opting for "ManMate," a professional matchmaking service.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Wednesday, February 7th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. More than 70 current and former NYCHA employees have been accused of bribery and corruption charges at the agency. The Justice Department alleges employees took kickbacks from NYCHA vendors through the so-called no-bid contract process for small jobs. Ivan Arvello is a special agent with Homeland Security. He says the superintendents arrested yesterday prioritized their own financial gain over NITHA residents,

ultimately driving up costs. This offender allegedly enriched themselves at the expense of NITU residents and the contractors who were pursuing the real American dream by lining their own pockets through these illegal backdoor deals. Federal prosecutors say these employees solicited more than $2 million in bribes across housing development, in every borough. Nica, CEO Lisa Bova Hyatt says the agency has zero tolerance for illegal activity. A man accused of stalking Taylor Swift goes to court this morning. Record show 33-year-old David Crowe visited Swift's Tribeca apartment more than 30 times within a week last month. Police arrested him three times and charged him with violating a restraining order. Renee Williams directs

the National Center for Victims of Crime. She said the vagueness in the legal definition of stalking makes it hard to prosecute. The technical definition is any pattern of behavior that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. And so it's what is a reasonable person and what is feeling fear. Crow was jailed at Rikers if convicted. He could spend three months in jail for misdemeanor stalking. His attorneys declined to comment. Some gay men are turning to a professional matchmaking service called man-made because of challenges

they find on dating apps. Kevin Barry Mute is a client. I spent time on the different apps, and I paid for the apps as well just to get my filters down to not seeing 90-year-old men sending me nudes. Moot says he looked online for an alternative. Man mate came up, and it was a really interesting concept. Like, old school meets new school in a way. A basic package introduces users to three. potentially compatible guys and cost around $1,000.

The company is almost 40 years old, but seen an increase in new clients since the pandemic. 34 and clear now on our way to a sunny day and a high of 45. 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.