NYC NOW - January 24, 2024: Midday News

Episode Date: January 24, 2024

Mayor Adams is expected to lay out his priorities for the year, including the housing crisis and his controversial veto of the "How Many Stops Act" during his third Mayoral State of the City address Wednesday afternoon. Plus, outreach workers and volunteers for BronxWorks spent a rainy night counting those dealing with homelessness. Also, a new report by the national nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund shows that 1 in 3 New Yorkers live close to warehouses used for online deliveries that cause air pollution. Finally, as migrant families face eviction from their shelters under new rules from the Adams administration, some of their Brooklyn neighbors are looking for ways to help them earn money, find housing and stay in their communities. WNYC’s Jessica Gould reports.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Wednesday, January 24th. Here's the midday news from Lance Lucky. Mayor Adams is set to deliver his third mayoral state of the city address later this hour at Ostos Community College in the Bronx. He's expected to lay out his priorities for the year and address issues such as the housing crisis and his controversial veto of the How Many Stops Act. protesters, including some calling for Rikers to be closed, may also be there. Outreach workers and volunteers spent a rainy night counting those dealing with homelessness. Issa Asato is an outreach coordinator for Bronx Works.

I feel like this is a test of the services and the resources that we have, right? If it's working, then we should see less people. If it's not, then maybe we should try something else. Asato has been participating in the count for more than 10 years. He says there are now more drop-in centers in beds for homeless people, but there's still a need for more housing and shelter beds. Last year's count identified more than 4,000 homeless people on the streets. This year's numbers will be released in the summer.

More than 3 million New Yorkers live close to a large warehouse used for online deliveries and all the truck traffic and air pollution that goes with it. That figure comes from a new report by the National Nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund. Eileen Nowen directs the organization's policy. Because of the density in New York, you're seeing communities where every child lives within half mile of a warehouse. Children are specially vulnerable to air pollution from diesel fuel. The EPA says it can cause or exacerbate asthma, heart problems, and other conditions. Older adults and pregnant people are also at increased risk.

Many new warehouses sprouted up in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx during the pandemic to meet increased demand for online shipping. Stay close. There's more after the break. On WNYC, Michael Hill. As migrant families face eviction from their shelters under new rules from the Adams administration, some of their Brooklyn neighbors are looking for ways to help them earn money, fine housing, and stay in their communities. WNIC's Jessica Gould explains. Hello.

In a narrow kitchen at a home in Ditness Park, Johann Herrera is making dough. He's mixing cornmeal, water, and salt. According to a recipe that's been in his family in Venezuela for generations. There are various pans sizzling on the stove, with eggs, tomato and onion, beans and cheese. Herrera worked as a cook back home in Venezuela. His family traveled by boat, rode on top of. a train and hike the Darien Gap between Columbia and Panama, sidestepping dead bodies they

passed along the way. When they got to Texas, he says they were told they weren't wanted there. So they got on a bus and headed to New York. For weeks now, he and his family have been living at the temporary shelter at Floyd Bennett Field. His two young children go to PS315 in Flatbush, where parents have rallied around them, connecting them to people who want to help, like Megan DeMarcus. So what are you doing today? So today I've offered, not much actually, today I've just offered the use of my kitchen to a family who are producing delicious arepas for sale in the community. The whole point is embracing people who are new to New York City, show all of the things

that we love about New York, hustle, compassion, industriousness, persistence, and giving them an opportunity to put those skills and values to work. It's an effort that's become increasingly urgent. Mayor Eric Adams recently placed a 60-day limit on how long migrant families can live in a shelter. The first wave of eviction notices went out earlier this month. That means for many families at PS315, time is running out. Legally, the city has to let kids stay at their current schools if they want to. But if a family is placed at a new shelter across the city, it may be too far.

This is their chance to find a way to integrate themselves with the into New York. city to build community and networks in the neighborhoods where their children are at school and where they would like to live. Parents like DeMarcus are worried about more upheaval for migrant families and for local classrooms. They're developing friendships. They're connected to their teachers. They're learning.

They're starting to heal from the trauma of migration. She says that's why neighbors like her have swung into action, looking for spare rooms where the families can live, inviting them into their homes, offering their kitchens so the migrants can make and sell arepas. Two pepias and I think the two domino, which is like black bean and cheese. Customer Marcy Abrego says she loves Arapas. So I'm Latina, I love Aerepas.

And so I figured my parents are immigrants themselves. They've been here for like almost 50 years. I just think it's harder for families now. You know, my parents, they didn't struggle as the families that I feel like the border policies are definitely tighter now. Herrera says he's run into some anti-migrant protesters. But he says overall the community has been extremely generous. He says he'd like to build a business, keep making rapas, and experiment with sauces.

Johan, what's your dream restaurant? Like, where would it be in the United States? Would it be in New York? He says he'll go anywhere there's opportunity. But he'd love to stay right here in Brooklyn. Jessica Gould, WNYC News. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WNYC.

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