NYC NOW - January 18, 2024 : Evening Roundup

Episode Date: January 18, 2024

The NYPD says it was able to arrest 27-year-old Jermain Rigueur with the help of a Queens resident’s security footage. Plus, WNYC’s Samantha Max provides an update on Daniel Penny, the man charged with fatally choking Jordan Neely on an F train last year. Lastly, as the special election in New York’s third congressional district approaches on February 13th, WNYC’s Brigid Bergin discusses the pivotal race with Sean Carlson.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news and and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jared Marcel. The NYPD says the man they've taken into custody in connection with five recent stabbings in Queens is also responsible for a sixth stabbing in Brooklyn that happened on the J train. None of the stabbings were fatal and police say the 27-year-old suspect does not have a documented history of mental illness or any prior arrest. NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban says, says police conducted a citywide search and interviewed countless residents to crack the case.

Somebody knows him. They know his name. They know where he lives. And they know who his friends are. And they know the fastest, safest way to get this menace off of our streets. Police officials say it came down to one Queen's resident who gave police crucial access to footage from their security camera system. Up next, we get an update on Daniel Penny, the man accused of fatally choking Jordan Neely on an uptown bound train last year. That's after the break. A Manhattan judge says he's not dropping the criminal charges against Daniel Penny, the man accused of choking Jordan Neely, an unhoused man to death on the F train last ring. My colleague, Sean Carlson, caught up with WNYC reporter Samantha Max, who was in the courtroom when the news unfolded. So Daniel Penny was a college student and he's former Marine.

He was riding on the F train when Jordan Neely got on around the Lower East Side. and Penny and others on the subway have said that Neely was yelling, saying that he wanted to go to jail, that he was maybe throwing things, and Penny put him in a chokehold for about six minutes and Neely ended up dying. So a video of this whole incident went viral, and it kind of became a litmus test for people. Some saw Penny as a hero. Others saw him as a vigilante who went too far and there were protests across the city. Some people even jumped onto the subway tracks and stopped the trains. A week and a half later, Manhattan DA charged Penny with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, and he pleaded not guilty to those charges. So his attorneys had asked the judge to toss the charges against him.

They say that Penny was acting in self-defense to protect himself and others, and that people on the subway were really scared. They say that he didn't mean to kill Neely. Meanwhile, prosecutors say that he was recognized. and that he went beyond what a reasonable person would do in a situation like that and that the charges should stand. So the judge agreed, which means that this case is going to move forward. The whole thing lasted about 10 minutes. Penny, the whole time was looking ahead, never glanced back at the gallery, which was crowded with onlookers. Now, Jordan Neely's father was there, along with an attorney representing Neely's family, what was their reaction to the judge's decision? So attorney Dante Mills praised the ruling on the snowy sidewalk outside court.

It's a win for Jordan's family. It's a win for the people who stood on that subway platform and stopped the trains from moving. It's a win for everybody who stood up for houselessness, for mental health, and said that they matter. Neely's father, Andrea Zachary, did not speak to reporters, but I did overhear him privately celebrating the decision with his attorney in court. What are the next steps here, Sam? What happens now? So a judge still has to decide whether some evidence obtained by law enforcement should be blocked from the jury. They say that it was obtained illegally. That decision should be coming in the next few weeks. Penny's attorneys also want to conduct further testing on Neely's blood.

Initial tests found cannabinoids in his system. That is a compound that's found in marijuana and CBD. They want to know how much was in his blood. his body when he died. Penny is due back in court in March, and the judge said he doesn't expect a trial before this fall at the earliest. That's my colleague Sean Carlson in conversation with public safety reporter Samantha Max. In less than a month, voters in New York's third congressional district, which includes Eastern Queens and Nassau County's North Shore, face a special election. This vote will fill the seat left vacant by former Congress member George Santos after his expulsion last month. Early vote by mail has begun with in-person early voting starting February 3rd and the election day set for February 13th.

WNYC's Bridget Bergen has been covering the race and sat with Sean Carlson for an update. Real quick, let's recap who's running and why they are the candidates. So just remember this is a special election. So the party leaders chose the candidates. Democrats tapped former Congressmember Tom Swazi and the Republicans picked a relative newcomer, Mazi Pilup. She's currently in her second term as a Nassau County legislator. She's actually a registered Democrat, but she serves in the legislature as a Republican, and she is on the ballot in this race as a Republican.

The third congressional district, it's just along the edge of Queens, most of it's in Nassau County, along the North Shore, like we said. How are the candidates making their pitch to voters there in that district? Sean, I have to say, it's really been a pretty lopsided campaign so far. Swazi has been on the trail, holding events, talking about his positions on issues like, immigration and gun safety, something that he was actually just talking about this afternoon. And Pillop really has been keeping her schedule pretty close to the vest. She doesn't probably publicize her events.

You don't get the sense that she's necessarily trying to reach voters beyond her Republican base and engage in a more traditional retail kind of politicking that we're seeing Swazzy do. Voters in this area coming off a pretty embarrassing moment after their former Congressmember George Santos was kicked out of the house for lying about his background, allegedly defrauding donors. How are voters responding to this campaign so far? Yeah, Sean, the George Santos of it all continues to be an issue, particularly among the Democrats. You hear the Swazi campaign talking about it a lot. And there were definitely voters who are coming to this race with their minds made up. I went to an event that was initially supposed to be the first debate between the candidates. It was with the Lakeville

Estates Civic Association in New Hyde Park last week. Pillip did not end up attending. Her campaign blamed a scheduling snafu with organizers. They reached out to her government office. This was a political event, et cetera. But Swazi still showed up. It turned into a meet and greet instead of a debate. And I spoke to a voter named Carol Caravala who was there. And she was not trying to hide her bias in any way. She had in a blue sweater and sported a rhinestone studded brooch shaped like a donkey. Of course, symbol of the Democratic Party. And she says she was there to support Swazi. I was a county worker under him. And I know that he was a very good county executive. He came in with a budget problem, and he solved that.

Instead of layoffs, we had a 10-day lag pay. So Swazi's coming at this. He's got name recognition. He's a known entity. But, Sean, when you put yourself out there to talk to voters, not everyone is going to respond as favorably as that previous voter. So at this same event, Swazi was asked about his plans for immigration. And one of the ideas he talks about is to build what he calls an Ellis Island.

on the southern border. Here's what he was saying. You come into the facility, you check the people's health, you check their background, and you actually do the processing there. The immigration law judges have to process the case. That was your man in Mexico. Did you guys just open enough to the floor? Excuse me. No questions from the floor. No questions from the floor. And, Sean, since that was a little off, Mike, a man in the audience interrupted Suasi to say that the policy he was describing sounded like a Trump-era policy that required certain people

seeking asylum to stay in Mexico while their cases were processed. And that was a policy that the Biden administration did reverse. Did Swazi have any response for that voter who spoke at that amendment? Yeah, he did. Not surprisingly, he pushed back. He said that there really hadn't been any meaningful compromise in immigration since 1986 under President Reagan. And he said the only way forward was to come up with a plan that both parties can get behind. Swazi will often point to an op-ed. He co-wrote with former Long Island Congress member Pete King back in 2019 that offered another way forward on immigration. I tried to speak to that voter after the event. He didn't want to give his name out of privacy concerns. But he did say he was disappointed that Pillop was not there because he wanted to hear an alternative take on these issues.

This is such an interesting window into this race. What does it all say about the candidate's strategy so far? So, Sean, I think Swazi understands that this district has some really strong Republican pockets. And he wants to emphasize that he's a centrist, that he was a member of the problem solvers caucus when he was in Congress and remind people that, you know, he's a known quantity, unlike Santos. And frankly, he will say like Pillop. For Pillop, the campaign is really leaning into her GOP base. Her social media feed features pictures of her at private events with large crowds. She's flanked by other Republican elected officials in D.C. and in the district. She's had a couple surrogates putting out videos on social media.

like this from former rep, Pete King. I can't think of anyone who's more qualified to serve in the Congress and represent the people of Long Island. She will stand with the men and women in blue. She will fight for a secure border. She'll fight against illegal migration. And she will also fight to restore the economy for middle-income Americans. But for voters who really want to get a sense of where these candidates stand on the issues,

there aren't a ton of options. Pillop has only agreed to one debate that will take place five days before the election. And that seems to be part of her strategy. It's really about doing no harm. As we close in on this election, what are you going to be watching in the coming weeks? Well, we're going to see if the PILIP campaign steps up their outreach. Do they go up on television? Do they end up agreeing to any other forums with Swazi?

And what are the fundraising halls tell us about what we see in terms of support for these candidates? That's WNYC's Bridget Bergen in conversation with my colleague, Sean Carlson. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. Catch us every weekday three times today. I'm Jared Marcel. We'll be back tomorrow.