NYC NOW - July 10, 2024 : Evening Roundup

Episode Date: July 10, 2024

New Yorkers are chiming in on Mayor Eric Adams' sweeping new housing plan, the “City of Yes.” Plus, the NRA's former finance czar, Wilson "Woody" Phillips, is barred from managing money for nonprofit companies in New York for a decade, as part of a settlement after a lawsuit filed by State Attorney General Letitia James against him. Meanwhile, Kara Ahmed, the top official in charge of early childhood education in New York City, is leaving her job after years of criticism. Also, WNYC’s Michael Hill and Bahar Ostadan discuss the laws and ethics of taking video of police. And finally, WNYC’s Giulia Heyward follows a group of New Yorkers known as "line-sitters" who are cashing in by holding people’s places in line.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City. From WMYC, I'm Jenei Pierre. Everyday New Yorkers are chiming in on Mayor Eric Adams' sweeping new housing plan. The City Planning Commission held public hearings Wednesday on the City of Yes Plan. The mayor's agenda will ensure new housing gets built in every section of the five boroughs. Housing is a New York City problem, not just one community or one neighbor. But plenty of New Yorkers are saying no to the city of yes. Several civic groups say the plan will lead to overdevelopment in suburban-style sections of the city.

And some community boards argue the plan cuts them out of the planning process. The National Rifle Association's former finance czar, Wilson Woody Phillips, is barred from managing money for any nonprofit company in New York for a decade. The ban is part of a settlement after a lawsuit filed by State Attorney General Letitia James against him, along with the NRA and other senior executives of the organization. A jury found Phillips liable in a scheme to use the organization's money to bankroll personal expenses by the NRA's former CEO, Wayne LaPierre. Phillips is also on the hook for $2 million in damages to the NRA as part of the settlement. His lawyer did not respond to a request for

comment. The top official in charge of early childhood education in New York City is leaving her job after years of criticism. WMYC's Jessica Gould has the details. Kara Ahmed led the early childhood division under Mayor Eric Adams, and it was an especially rocky time. First delayed payments to 3K and pre-K providers pushed some of them to the brink of closure. Then Mayor Adams proposed major cuts to the city's popular 3K program. He promised every parent who applied would get a seat, but then more than 2,000 families wound up on wait lists. The teachers' union voted no confidence in Ahmed's leadership. But school's chancellor David Banks praised her efforts to fix problems he blamed on the previous administration.

Ahmed says she's leaving her post to work on early education on the national level. Next week will be the anniversary of the police killing of Eric Garner, which was recorded using a cell phone. Since then, cell phone videos of police encounters have become commonplace. After the break, we dive into the laws and ethics of taking videos of cops. Stick around. Next week, July 17th, marks 10 years since the police killing of Eric. The video of an NYPD officer choking the 43-year-old black man to death shook the city and the nation. Since then, cell phone videos of police encounters have become commonplace and in some cases have had major reverberations. My colleague Michael Hill talked with WNYC's Baha Oostodon about the laws and ethics of taking video of police.

A man named Ramsey Order became somewhat famous after filming Garner's death. Bahar, remind us who he is. So actually a week before Garner was killed, Orda filmed police beating a black man on Staten Island with a baton. So Orda yells to the man, you know, don't worry, I got this on camera. He actually then films a police officer sort of pushing him back onto the sidewalk, cussing him out to back up. And he puts this on YouTube. Then a few days later, he was with Garner when Officer Daniel Pantaleo choked him to death. And of course, filmed what happened.

Now, in the weeks and months after, Orda said he was targeted by the NYPD. He claimed he was set up by police after they arrested him for allegedly planting a gun on a teenage girl. And he claims that an officer told him it was, quote, karma. What does the law say about the public's rights in filming police officers? So you have a First Amendment right to film the police, but you have to stay on public property. You know, you can't zoom in with your camera through someone's apartment. window to see what's going on inside. You can't stand in the driveway of someone's house. Remy Green is a civil rights attorney who's done some work on this. And they say that some police

officers actually change how they act when they know they're being filmed. You know, the sooner the camera goes on the better. And often when somebody is filming, the police will behave better. Green also reminded me that officers have to give you their name and badge number if you ask for it. But it's best to wait until they're not. not in the middle of an arrest or a police stop to ask for that information. Now, what do police say about being filmed? I've heard from some officers that they feel like the culture of filming police has created a sort of hostile relationship between officers and the community, that it can, you know,

escalate a situation sometimes. But it's important to remember that the NYPD's own mandate says that officers cannot prevent New Yorkers or anyone from recording the police. They can't discourage people from filming. even if that person is using, quote, vulgar language or refusing to leave an area. And officers are not allowed to delete footage you take. What are some considerations to keep in mind here, though, Bahar, especially for communities who consider themselves over police? That's right.

You know, understandably, not everyone is comfortable filming the police. You can be arrested for what's called obstructing governmental administration, which is basically when police say you're getting in the police. away, you're interrupting what they're doing. Now, that's punishable by one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The other thing is, you know, though smartphones have spread since Garner was killed, though there have been new city and state laws requiring the use of bodyworn cameras, police accountability by many measures is still slim in this city. In almost half of police misconduct cases in 2022, the NYPD disciplined its officers by suspending them for just one to 10 days or taking away just one to 10 days of vacation.

Something that plays a large role in whether a case gets played out is whether or not a person has captured an officer's name or shield number when they're filming alleged misconduct. That's WNYC's Bahar O'Sodon talking with my colleague Michael Hill. A group of New Yorkers known as line sitters is cashing in by holding people's places in line. For a price, good. Don't wait to snag restaurant reservations or even queue up at an arraignment like Donald Trump's trial last month. WMYC's Julia Hayward has more.

New York's first heat wave was in full effect, but that didn't stop some people from lining up outside a Chelsea storefront shortly before midnight. Their plan? To camp overnight for their clients who are desperate to be first in line for a sample sale from luxury designer Valenciaga. Brian Patterson works for same old line dudes, Elginzegu's Elfeyer. We all just, you know, talk, giggle, and have a good time, which helps past it. Sun shows up, and we all just go about our days. Hiring a line sitter is pretty straightforward. You simply call the company and wait until one of its employees decides to take on your request.

The requester meets the sitter a half hour before the event. Then they swap places. Robert Samuel, who runs the business, said he came up with the idea after being asked from a job in 2012. He went on to Craigslist and offered to hold someone spot in line for the new I've owned That kind of anticipation of wanting it, but also being turned off by the weight to get it, is kind of what positions us in a good spot. Well, we're the solution to your problem. But not everyone is a fan of the line sitters.

Some people think using a line sitter is cheating, and some businesses don't like how upset it makes their other customers. Samuel says he suspects some of the criticisms same old line dues receives could also be racially motivated. He's both black and gay, and largely hires black and Hispanic New Yorkers to work for him. When you see people that don't look like you that are in a line for something that you don't normally expect us to see us in. Tennis courts, perfect example, we always stood out like a sore thumb. So people became curious. As for Patterson, he says holding spots in line has taught him a lot about his clients.

New Yorkers are greedy. Okay. It is not even a cliche. everybody got to have something new to say relevant. But as long as New Yorkers are tight on time and willing to pay, it'll help keep hustlers like Samuel in business. That's WMYC's Julia Hayward. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC.

Catch us every weekday, three times a day. I'm Jenae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.