NYC NOW - January 12, 2024 : Evening Roundup

Episode Date: January 12, 2024

Governor Kathy Hochul is on board with the decision to seek the death penalty against a man who killed ten people at a Buffalo grocery store. Plus, the Department of Buildings is ordering emergency work around a historic synagogue in Brooklyn. And finally, former Governor David Paterson and his cover band made their debut this week at a corner bar in Albany. WNYC’s Jon Campbell checked it out.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. Governor Kathy Hokel says she's on board with the decision to seek the death penalty against a man who killed 10 people at a Buffalo grocery store. The decision was revealed Friday in a court filing by the Justice Department. It says that Peyton Gendron intentionally sought out black people when he opened fire at the top supermarket in 2022. Hogle says it's the right call. This community is still reeling from the atrocity of 10 innocent people on May 14th in 2022, simply going about shopping and were targeted, targeted because of the color of their skin

by a white supremacist who was radicalized online. The shooter is already serving a life sentence after he pleaded guilty to state charges. The decision to seek the death penalty is connected to his ongoing federal case. The Department of Buildings is ordering a murder. emergency work around a historic synagogue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, after a secret tunnel was discovered underneath. WNYC's Ramsey Caliphate has the details. The buildings department says that the tunnel is 60 feet in length, eight feet wide, and five feet high, stretching from the Chabad Lubavich World Headquarters on Eastern Parkway.

The DOB issued several vacate orders for neighboring buildings that were made unstable by the illegal tunnel, which was built to access a defunct mikva or a spiritual bath. The property owners now have to shore up the buildings. Earlier this week, leaders of the Shabbat attempted to seal off the tunnel, leading to a brawl and 12 arrests. There's been a push to expand the headquarters for years, but some young worshippers recently took matters into their own hands and started digging out the tunnel without authorization.

Stick around. We'll head to Albany after the break. Some of New York's most powerful elected officials were in Albany this week to hear Governor Kathy Hockel's state of the state address. But the night before, they crammed into a small bar to catch an unexpected musical act. WNYC's John Campbell was there and has the story. I'm standing shoulder to shoulder with a few dozen politicians and lobbyists in a bar called The War Room. It's in an old brownstone around the corner from the Capitol building, where the governor will give her big speech the next day.

But the star of tonight's show is also a governor, a former governor, that is. Hi, Governor, John Campbell with WNYC. How are you? How are you? Good to see you, by the way. That's David Patterson, who took over the governor's office for a couple years after Elliot Spitzer resigned in disgrace in 2008. Patterson was the first black governor of New York, the first blind governor of New York. And tonight, he's likely the first governor to front a cover band in an Albany watering hole. He only started playing the guitar a few years ago.

Well, it all started when my wife, Mary and I were walking in Central Park, and we were trying to think of creative things to do during the pandemic. He took lessons in high school, but they didn't stick. So he thought maybe I'll take another crack at it. And I signed up with a man named Dan Smith. Dan Smith, we'll teach you guitar. Yep, well, we'll teach your guitar. Signs are all of them in Ed.

After a few lessons, Smith invited Patterson to a gig on the West Side. He goes, well, why don't you play with me? I'm like, play with me. Are you kidding? That's why I'm here. I don't know how to play the guitar. But he did anyway. And sure enough, a video went viral the next day,

and Patterson's played in public a few times since then. But tonight? Tonight's different. Well, we have a whole band. There's seven of us, seven stranded castaways. They call themselves Blind Gov, Dave, and the Pirate Thong. This isn't your normal bar crowd. It's jam-packed with bigwigs from all over the state. Attorney General Letitia James is in the front row. State Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs is standing next to the stage. Carolyn Maloney, the former Congresswoman, is here. And so is Suffolk County Executive. Ed Romaine, not to mention more than a dozen state lawmakers, too. I asked Patterson if he was nervous.

People say, you've spoken in audiences all over the world. Why would you be frightened? I said, when I spoke all over the world, I didn't have a guitar in my hand. The gig's in a small lounge on the third floor. There's only space for two of Patterson's bandmates tonight. Waiters are handing out swigs of champagne as we stake out our seats. A little after 10 p.m., the Attorney General stands up to the mic to introduce the governor. She takes note of the politicians in the crowd, mostly Democrats, but a few Republicans, too.

David, you have brought us all together, and there's one thing that we can agree on, and that is, you can't sing. It's finally time. The former governor straps on a sunburst fender stratacaster and walks on stage. I'm David Patterson. I'm a recovering governor. The band jumps right in. They kick things off with a... an old John Lee Hooker tune. The crowd. I like the way you walk. I like the way you talk.

And when you whisper in my ear, you say, governor, I love you. I like the way you want. The crowd's into it. They're taking video on their phone. They're clapping and cheering and singing along as Patterson and the band play hits from the 60s. So I'm just going to sit on the dock of the bay.

Watching the tie away. He's mostly playing the right chords. He's relatively on pitch. He has the lyrics down cold. Things really get rolling when the band kicks into My Girl by the temptations. Patterson dedicates it to Governor Hokel, who isn't in the crowd, by the way. The next day, it was Hockel's turn to take the stage for her big state of the state speech. She gave a nod to Patterson early on.

The former governor sat toward the back of the crowd. There was no guitar to be found. That's WNYC's John Campbell. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. Quick note, we'll be out for the MLK Holiday Monday, but we'll drop one episode in the afternoon. Shout out to our production team. It includes Sean Bowdage, Amber Bruce,

Ave Carrillo, Audrey Cooper, Leora Noam Kravitz, Jared Marcel, Wayne Schoemeister, and Gina Volste, with help from the entire WMYC newsroom. Our show art was designed by the folks at Buck, and our music was composed by Alexis Quadrado. I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be back next week.