NYC NOW - January 16, 2024: Midday News

Episode Date: January 16, 2024

Rex Heuermann, the suspect in the infamous Gilgo Beach serial murders now has been charged with killing a 4th woman. Meanwhile, Governor Hochul wants New York State to contribute more than $2 billion dollars to help cover the costs of caring for recent migrant arrivals. Plus, this month marks 10 years of New York City's Vision Zero policy. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his intention to implement the policy back in 2014 after city traffic killed some 299 people a year before. The initiative lowered the default speed limit from 30 to 25 miles an hour, increased enforcement and redesigned intersections and streets to better protect pedestrians, cyclists, and those in vehicles. Yet over the last few years, the number of traffic deaths has not seen a major decline. In fact the number of deaths never drop below 200 in a year. All this week on NYC Now, we'll be hearing stories about how the policy affects your everyday life. WNYC’s Michael Hill sat with De Blasio to reflect on the initiative. After that, Michael and WNYC producer Amanda Ronzon head to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn to hear their thoughts on traffic.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Tuesday, January 16th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. The suspect in the infamous Gilgo Beach serial murders now has been charged with killing a fourth woman. Authority said a grand jury has indicted Rex Hewerman for the killing of Maureen, Brainerd Barnes. Prosecutors say a hair found with Brainerd Barnes body. is genetically similar to a DNA sample from Huraman's wife. Bernard Barnes was 25 when she went missing in 2007.

This past summer, Huerman was arrested and charged with killing three other women. He pleaded not guilty and has been held without bail. Governor Kathy Holcomb wants New York State to contribute more than $2 billion to help cover the cost of caring for recent migrant arrivals. The governor introduced her $23 billion spending plan at the same. state capital this morning in Albany. She says this spending benefits migrants and more. We also know that companies won't do business in New York if there are thousands of people sleeping on the streets or the quality of life is dramatically impacted because the city is forced to cut essential services. Mayor Adams has been asking for more state and federal assistance

to help the migrants. Governor Hokel also says because tax forecast came in higher than expected, the state is able to close a budget gap. New York City's no snow streak ends at 701 days. The National Weather Service says snow levels in Central Park topped an inch this morning at 7 o'clock. Right now, snow, freezing rain, a high of 31, but the real field right now is 22. Tonight, a low of 20, but the real field down to 10, and then sunny tomorrow in 26. Stay close. There's more after the day.

a break. This month marks 10 years of New York City's Vision Zero policy. Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced its intention to implement the policy back in 2014 after city traffic killed some 299 people a year before. The initiative lowered New York City's default speed limit from 30 to 25 miles an hour, increased enforcement and redesigned intersections and streets to better protect pedestrians, cyclists, and those in vehicles. Yet, over the last few years, the number of traffic deaths has not seen a major decline. In fact, the number of deaths never drop below 200 in a year. All this week on NYC Now, we'll be hearing stories about how the policy affects your everyday life. Joining us now in the studio to reflect on this last decade is former mayor Bill de Blasio.

Mr. Mayor, thank you so much for joining us. Good to be with you, Michael, and thank you for talking about this really important topic. First, I'm curious how this came to be such a major part of your two terms. A lot of voters drives, so making a change that, among other things, lowered the speed limit on many streets in the city, must have felt like a gamble. Why take that political risk? The reality was that the number of people dying on our streets was almost as high as the number of people we lost to murder.

I always use the example of Queens Boulevard, that we all got used to the name Boulevard of death. Like that was the tabloid headline, it kind of dawned on me that that was a profoundly unacceptable way to think, that it was not just we were dealing with the organic challenges of a big crowded city, but there was something else wrong. We were becoming used to the idea we were going to lose a certain number of people. And the Vision Zero mindset, the worldview of Vision Zero is it doesn't have to be that way. Mr. Mayor, everywhere we turn to in the city, we see e-bikes and other micromobility devices.

You signed a law in 2018 clearing the way for more pedal assist bikes. Do you think streets are designed to accommodate the amount of e-bikes and mopeds that are out there now? No, I think it's a real challenge. I signed that law because it was necessary to recognize that the reality on the ground had changed. And Albany also acted, I think, a little quickly to start to legalize the different forms of micromobility before we had ideal regulation and safety rules in place. So we were playing catch-up honestly as a city and trying to reckon with a new reality. I've heard over the years, especially from seniors, how vulnerable they feel.

So I think it's important to sort of say, okay, we need micromobility. But it's a real different ballgame than what we were dealing with city bikes. It's a much more complex reality. And I do think we need tighter safety rules. These last 10 years, as I said in the introduction, and we never got below two, 200 deaths from traffic per year. What do you think it's going to take to make this city get traffic deaths down in a major way? We were on that path before the pandemic. So I do think it's important to recognize how disruptive the pandemic was. I mean, you can see a really clear parallel in terms of

traffic safety and in terms of gun violence. Both of them were going down consistently. So I absolutely believe we can get under 200 and keep going. I think it's going to take more and better mass I think we've seen some improvement in the subways lately in terms of reliability. I think it's going to take continuing to innovate with bus service, making it faster, things like select bus service and busways. I think there's a lot of room for ferry expansion with NYC Ferry. And then there are people who violate the law regularly with their cars, and I'd like to see just a real tightening up of the laws to make consequences much clearer to those who drive

recklessly and endanger other people's lives. Mr. Mayor, street safety advocates credit you with launching Vision Zero, but you also face criticism during your time in office for what some would say was moving too slowly on key elements of the program, such as in the summer of 2019. It took a surge of cyclist deaths before you launched a major plan to expand the city's network of bike lanes. What would you have done differently with this program? I think it's always fair to say, can you go faster? We had a massive expansion of bike lanes in my time in office. I think advocates rightfully said, you know, can you do more? Can you go faster? We worked closely with the city council on it.

We did find a way to do that. But I don't think in the end there was anything but massive commitment. We put a huge amount of resources into it. It was not just department transportation. It was NYPD. It was TLC, a licensing limousine commission. It was really a government-wide effort. I'm curious. Last question here. What impact do you hope congestion pricing will have on Vision Zero and or making the streets safer with perhaps fewer vehicles? I understand why some people are concerned about congestion pricing or uncomfortable with it. I think over the years it became clearer to me that unless we had some really reliable funding source for the subways, we're going to be in terrible shape for the future.

And nothing is more about working people than the subway system. And that's crucial to Vision Zero. But the second point is just fewer cars. You know, we certainly, after the best of my understanding, I saw this with London, and it just stands to reason. When the prices go up, a certain number of people are not going to use their car. So it's not the easiest policy, but I think it is a policy that will benefit us and make us safer in many ways.

I've been speaking with former Mayor Bill de Blasio. Mr. Mayor, pleasure. Thank you so much. Thank you, Michael. It's been 10 years since former Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Vision Zero, setting a goal of no traffic deaths in New York City. One of our producers and I recently asked New Yorkers their thoughts on traffic while standing along one of Brooklyn's busiest roads.

To understand the promise and failure of Vision Zero look no further than Atlantic Avenue. To watch this aerial on a Friday afternoon in December and to describe it as bustling, I would say you really don't do it any justice. A lot of retail here, a lot of traffic. A lot of foot traffic and vehicle traffic and just so many people crossing paths here. One of the first things I'm also noticing is not a lot of green space too.

I mean, this is very much for cars. Yeah, as wide as the streets are, I would say it is. Atlantic Avenue is a six-lane road stretching from the East River to Jamaica, Queens. It's Brooklyn's only east-west truck route, and it's been notoriously dangerous for years. On a recent visit to Atlantic, producer Amanda Roson and I spoke to residents who crossed it regularly. They had a long list of concerns. Brooklyn resident Sanam Skelly. I call Atlantic Ab a highway.

It terrifies me. I'm constantly watching my back whenever I cross the street to make sure some car isn't flying out of nowhere on a turn. Brooklynite Katie Mark. I have a six-year-old. We walk home to and from school every single day. it's like a pretty scary place. Cyclists in a bowl. Being on a regular bike with delivery drivers going on electronic bikes.

Feels like a bit of a fight sometimes. When then Mayor Bill de Blasio launched Vision Zero in 2014, traffic killed seven people on Atlantic Avenue. Ten years later, not much has changed. Traffic killed six people on the avenue last year. Most of the people we spoke to say they've either with, witnessed a car hitting someone or a car has hit them. Katie Mark says her six-year-old daughter had a close call

walking home from school with her father. She actually got clipped by a motorcycle a few months ago with her dad. They were okay, but he got knocked over, and it's just like really scary. Ninth grader Anaya John says a driver clipped her a few months ago near the intersection with Flatbush Avenue. The lady thought that she could still go, so she just started driving.

The car had rolled over my foot. As Salam Skelly describes her fear whenever her elderly mother crosses Atlantic, a driver speeds around the corner. Two women pushing strollers had just crossed that intersection. Speak of the devil. The guy did not slow down at all feet away from them. I mean, that was too close for comfort for me. And that happens constantly.

The speed limit here is 25 miles an hour, like most city roads. The city transportation department has added enforcement cameras along Atlantic snapping photos of drivers running red lights or speeding. The department says data show the cameras do change driver behavior, but state law limits the number of red light cameras to just 150 intersections across the city. Skelly says they don't make any difference. Nobody acknowledges that red light. If they think no one's around, they just go through the red light. There are signs of change on the horizon. Local council member Crystal Hudson is pushing for a rezoning that would transform the street. That was one of the big priorities as part of this rezoning plan was to make sure that we had tangible improvements for the Atlantic Avenue corridor that runs through my district.

Hudson's Atlantic Avenue mixed-use plan reimagines the car-centric industrial corridor. It would narrow the car lanes to allow for wider sidewalks, introduced a protected bike lane along a nearby road, and add speed cameras at key internet. sections, it would also bring more affordable housing, jobs, and parks. You know, I'm sure if it was a little bit more appealing and felt safer and had shorter crossing times, then more people would commute between the neighborhoods than they do currently. But nothing will happen quickly.

The proposed rezoning still has to go through a lengthy public review process, which typically takes at least two years. For many Brooklynites who rely on Atlantic Avenue, The changes can't come soon enough. 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 vibes.

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