NYC NOW - January 30, 2024 : Midday News

Episode Date: January 30, 2024

The City Council is trying to override two criminal justice reform bills Mayor Adams vetoed this month. Also, New York City says they're inspecting more apartments than ever before and say they're on pace to surpass last year's inspection and violation totals. And living in New York City can be loud. But just because the city never sleeps, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. WNYC's Catalina Gonella spoke to some experts about some ways New Yorkers can quiet their homes. Lastly, WNYC's Janae Pierre speaks with New York City's Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan to discuss what the city wants to do in light of the decision to declare social media a "public health hazard," pointing to the mental health affects social media has on children and teens.

Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Tuesday, January 30. Here's the midday news from Lance Lucky. At this hour, the city council is trying to override two criminal justice reform bills. Mayor Adams vetoed this month. One bill would ban solitary confinement in New York City jails. The other would require NYPD officers to report more types of civilian stops. The mayor says the bills would compromise police and corrections officers' ability to do their jobs. Stay with WNYC for the results of those votes. New York City says they're inspecting more apartments than ever before. The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Developments,

as inspectors visited about 223,000 departments and issued nearly 84,000 violations for poor conditions between July and October, the first four months of the fiscal year. They say they're on pace to surpass last year's inspections and violations totals. The city is releasing a full review of agency performance called the preliminary mayor's management report later today. Living in New York City can be loud, but just because the city never sleeps doesn't mean you shouldn't. WNYC's Catalina Gonella spoke to some experts about some ways New Yorkers can quiet their homes. Noise isn't just a nuisance. Experts say it's harmful.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, problems related to noise include stress-related illnesses, high blood pressure, sleep disruption, and lost productivity. The city's Department of Environmental Protection suggests New Yorkers seeking relief from noise consider some DIY remedies, like getting heavy curtains, applying gasceting to doors, and playing white noise to mask more unpleasant sounds. Commercially available acoustic panels can also be used to cover ceilings and walls to absorb excess sound. Stay close. There's more after the break.

NYC. New York City has declared social media a public health hazard. Mayor Eric Adams made the announcement last week during his annual state of the city address, pointing to the mental health effects of social media on children and teens. The city health department says the number of high school students in the five boroughs experiencing hopelessness increased by more than 40 percent between 2011 and 2021. City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vassen joins us now, to talk more about what the city wants to do in light of the new advisory. Dr. Vosan, welcome back to WMYC. Thank you for having me. Of course. Now, this advisory is interesting, considering that social media and its negative effects have been known for some time. So tell us, what is the city planning to do that it hasn't done before, and when can we expect to see some of those plans implemented?

Thanks for the question. Yeah, it's the most important thing here is that we are raising an alarm using the tools of public health to do so. And that really draws a distinction from other calls for attention to this issue, because we have a playbook in public health that has been used very successfully to control different kinds of exposures and toxins in our environment. And most notably and most recently, things like cigarette smoke. And, you know, once you declare something, a public health crisis grounded in data,

and the data is very clear on the impact of social media on young people's mental health, then you can deploy a number of tools at our disposal to try to bring it under some control. And some of those tools include better research and data. Some of that includes information and education to parents, to young people, to other stakeholders like teachers that are working with young people. Some of this is around harm reduction because no one, including our health department, is saying social media should go away. We are saying we need to reshape our relationship with it. And then, of course, you know, everyone's aware of active legal and other processes out there right now.

And so we're going to be exploring every single tool. But the first step is really raising that alarm. And there's much more to come in this space. Yeah, it seems that Governor Kathy Hochel and state attorney general Letitia James are also stepping up to the plate, making social media regulation a part of the 2024 legislative agendas. Now, the two, as you know, are supporting a bill that would prohibit social media companies from subjecting users under 18 to an addictive algorithm-based feed of posts unless, you know, they get parental consent. So are state and city levels of government working together on this issue?

And if so, could you tell us what those conversations are like? Well, I think the entire world is fairly consistent. with the critiques of social media. And that is things like boosted algorithms that both encourage young people to stay on the platform, but also can boost content that is harmful, whether it be content that promotes violence or bullying or bad body image or other negative thoughts that really harm mental health. And, you know, this is also a call that has been placed at the federal level through the kids online. Safety Act. So I think there's actually quite a bit of consistency, whether it's at the state and the

local level, but across this country, we're seeing a galvanizing movement and really coalescing around some very clear demands of the tech companies to start to bring some shape and regulation and control to these currently, almost entirely uncontrolled platforms. I mean, really the only other exposure I can think of, the only other industry, that's as deregulated as social media right now is guns. And that's a very dangerous place to be for our kids, our most precious kids. Yeah, I want to talk about kids a bit more here. You know, I'm wondering what feedback your office has received from children and parents.

Well, we held a convening back in June of last year on a day off from school, a New York City public school day holiday, in order to solicit feedback from young people, directly, but also in the same room as national leaders, health and city officials from other parts of the country, parent stakeholders, teachers, and a whole host of people who are invested in seeing change here. Because one thing is clear, we have to empower everyone to take action and to start to reshape our relationships with social media. And while our focus on this advisory is the impact on youth mental health. It's also clear adults have a lot of work to do too, especially as we model behavior for our young people. And as a parent myself of three kids growing up in the social

media age, I know that it starts with me and my own practice as well. So we need to get everyone in the room around the table. And we've been doing that for the better part of a year. And it's culminating in this call to action and the subsequent steps will be taking. That was New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin-Vosan. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day,

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