NYC NOW - July 13, 2023: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: July 13, 2023

Get up and get informed! Here’s all the local news you need to start your day: In yesterday’s City Council hearing, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams questioned the preparedness of the Adams administration for last month’s air quality emergency. Today, the New York City Council is expected to override Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of a package of housing bills that would expand housing vouchers. Meanwhile, New York City’s public housing system is in dire financial shape with NYCHA estimating repair costs for public housing at nearly 80 billion dollars, almost double previous estimates.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Thursday, July 13th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. 76 and sunny now, 91 today, but it's going to feel hotter than that. City leaders are expressing concern over whether the Adams administration was properly prepared for the air quality emergency last month that turned the skies orange and degraded the air quality. public advocate Jamani Williams had this exchange with emergency management commissioner Zach Iskell while testifying at the city council hearing yesterday.

What you're saying is that given the information and circumstances as they played out, the city did the best it could. Is that accurate? 100%. Which worries me and troubles me a lot because that means given the same set of circumstances, again, you would do the same thing. Commissioner Iskul says the city did the best communicating to the public with the forecasting at hand. Today, the city council is expected to override Mayor Eric Adams' veto of the package of

housing bills that would expand housing vouchers. That could have resulted in a legal battle. WNIC's Elizabeth Kim explains how the fight signals are returned to a more contentious city hall. The last time New Yorkers witnessed such an adversarial relationship between the two branches of city government was during the mayor Michael Bloomberg era. Mayor Bill de Blasio didn't issue a single veto over his entire eight years in office. Christine Quinn, a former council speaker, calls such harmony between a mayor and 51 member council, quote, crazy.

How in the city of New York did 52 people get along so much? Adams has not said whether he would sue the council to overturn the laws. Should he refuse to enforce them, the council could sue the administration to force the city to comply. New York City's public housing system is in dire financial shape with a new analysis pegging repair costs at close to $80 billion. The agency's latest fiscal needs assessment was released yesterday and the tab is nearly double what NYCHA said it would cost to make upgrades and repairs just five years ago. The agency blames the increase on rising equipment and construction costs along with intensive mold and lead paint cleanup efforts. More than 360,000 New Yorkers live in NITHA apartments. Housing advocates say years of disinvestment and neglect have left buildings in a constant state of disrepair. 76 and sunny now, partly sunny today in 91, but it's going to feel hotter than that.

And then tonight is slim chance of overnight showers and storms. Those storms could produce some small hail, gusty winds, and heavy rain. Lower temperatures the next couple of days, but it might not feel like it because the humidity is going to be up. 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.