NYC NOW - July 1, 2024: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: July 1, 2024

Get up and get informed! Here’s all the local news you need to start your day: The New York City Council has adopted its $112 billion budget deal. Meanwhile, ambulance response times in New York City are getting longer, reaching the highest levels since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago. WNYC's Matt Katz reports. Plus, New Jersey Transit is raising its fares statewide for bus and train service by 15% starting July 1st. WNYC's Catalina Gonella has more.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Monday, July 1st. Here's the morning headlines from David First. It's official the New York City Council has adopted its $112 billion budget deal. Council Speaker Adrian Adams says lawmakers found ways to stave off cuts to libraries, cultural institutions, and parks by supplanting expiring, expiring, pandemic-era funding. But she says more work on that front is needed.

Our city will need additional contributions from state government to help sustain the level of funding needed for these programs. We cannot afford to do this work alone. The budget deal adds $100 million in spending on early education, a portion of which will go toward ensuring pre-k seats for 1,600 families who are currently on a wait list. It doesn't fully reverse all of Mayor Adams' proposed cuts. two popular programs that he blamed on the migrant crisis. Ambulance response times in New York City are getting longer. WNYC's Matt Katz found that they've reached the highest levels

since the start of the COVID pandemic four years ago. City data for the most recent period available, the week of Memorial Day this year, shows that it took EMS an average of 12.8 minutes to respond to life-threatening medical emergencies, and almost half an hour to get to non-life-threatening emergencies. That's the longest on record since March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. EMS chief Michael Field said worst traffic is one reason.

Another is high call volume to 911. EMS workers say low pay and low staff levels are to blame. Studies show that long response times can increase the chance of death from serious medical conditions. New Jersey Transit is raising its fair statewide for bus and train service by 15% starting today. WNYC's Catalina Ginella has more. The increase has come as NJ Transit faces a nearly $1 billion budget deficit in the coming fiscal years. A one-way train ride from Princeton Junction to Penn Station in New York will grow by more than $2. A one-way bus ride from Tom's River to the Port Authority in New York will increase by more than $3.

The one-way fare for Newark Light Rail will go up by 20 cents. NJ. Transit also plans to hide. the price of rides by 3% annually starting next year. 64 degrees. It's going to be mostly sunny today with a high around 80 degrees this afternoon. This is WNYC. 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 dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

See you this afternoon.