NYC NOW - July 14, 2023: Midday News

Episode Date: July 14, 2023

Police on Long Island have a suspect in custody for the long unsolved Gilgo Beach murders, sparking reactions from locals. Meanwhile, as heavy rainfall threatens the Hudson Valley, a flood watch remains in effect until midnight for Westchester, Rockland, Orange, and Putnam counties. Finally, reporter Lee Helland, as part of the new series "I Tried It," shares her cryosauna experience with WNYC host Tiffany Hanssen.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Friday, July 14th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. The suspect is in police custody on Long Island and the long, unsolved Gilgo Beach murders. Stephen Grosziano lives on the blog in Massapequa Park, where police have encircled a house where the alleged suspect is presumed to live. He says the heavy police press.

is unusual for his neighborhood. It's very quiet, very family-oriented. You know, it's a great neighborhood. So it's a bit shocking. A law enforcement official tells WNIC the suspect is expected to appear in court this afternoon in Riverhead. Eleven sets of human remains have been found in the area since 2010. Most of the victims were young women.

WNIC's Charles Lane will have more throughout the day. A flood watch till midnight for Westchester, Rockland, Orange Putnam counties because of heavy rainfall as the Hudson Valley recovers from last weekend's devastating flooding. The warning includes parts of Connecticut as well. Saturated grounds of runoff could spell more trouble later today. Here's Orange County Executive Steve Newhouse. The storms add to just the chaos that we have out there, which is really what you have after a storm. The difficult stage was Sunday when it was, you know, came out of left field. Newhouse says more than 70,000 people had no power as of last night in Orange County.

78 in cloudy now risks for flash flooding because of heavy rainfall, 50-50 chance of showers and thunderstorms afternoon today, mostly clouding 86. On WNYC, I'm Tiffany Hanson. We're checking in this afternoon with a new series called I Tried It, which is just what it sounds like. One of our reporters checks out a new and unique experience in the city and reports back to us. Today we're talking about something called a cryosana. Lee Helen is a reporter here in New York and she's with us now to talk about her experience in a cryosana. Hi, Lee. Hi, thanks for having me. All right.

So for folks who may associate sauna with something that's hot, that's not what a cryosana is. So explain it to us. Of course. A cryosana is actually a device that they have in a lot of spas around the city. and now around the world that blasts you with liquid nitrogen vapors really, really cold. We're talking temperatures in like the negative 250 Fahrenheit range. Well, I have to say getting blasted by liquid nitrogen doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun, but I'm assuming there are reasons why folks do this.

Are there health reasons that folks think it might help with something or? Yeah, so cryotherapy in general has. been a very hot topic, ha ha, in the wellness industry for quite a long time now. In fact, I mean, even ancient Egyptians played around with getting really cold for health benefits. And now you've got celebrities talking about it like Joe Rogan, the mega podcaster, and then like Lizzo, Haley Bieber. What they say is that it's supposed to in some way relieve inflammation. So people talk about using it for pain relief, whether that's acute pain or chronic pain that they're dealing with. People talk about using it for post-workout recovery. And people talk about mood benefits, too,

like just feeling happier after you do it. So I personally really love the feeling of cold, but I don't seek it out very often. So I just thought I would give it a try. I was super curious about it. And it's not FDA-approved. We should say that, right? Yeah. So one thing to keep in mind is that this therapy is not FDA approved. They say they do not have evidence to support clearing it or approving it for use for these benefits that I just spoke about. And of course, anytime there's medical information involved, always talk to your provider. So all right, what did it actually feel like? What did it feel like to you? So to me, I was really nervous going into it. I didn't know if it was going to be super uncomfortable or even maybe a little bit scary or anxiety inducing. But in the end, I

actually really liked it. So you stand in there and first of all, someone is standing there outside of the chamber to kind of control the coldness level and also, of course, they can shut it off if you don't like it. So as the vapors got colder and colder, I really felt my body and brain sort of come alive. It's like that sensation of like kind of tingling and aching, almost like you might be lying in the snow or something, but, you know, and I got all jittery and I was bouncing around, but it was invigorating. So it was very, very cold, but not unbearable. And by the way, this is only for two or three minutes at a time, no longer than that. And then afterward, I felt like I was in actually a very good mood. And I had purposely done a really, really hard leg workout that morning to

try to test this out. And I have to say, my legs did feel lighter when I left. So, It was an interesting experience. Do you chalk that up to the cryosonna itself, or do you think you were just a little bit, you know, high on the whole experience, maybe? Yeah. I think it's not possible to know. And they do say, the proponents say you have to do this regularly to really understand whether it would have any benefit for you.

I think it's probably a mix. I believe it's possible that the treatment itself just kind of had some certain physiological effects that made me have that buzz, you know? But like I said, it hasn't been extensively studied these devices in particular. So it's really not possible to know. And I think because I was nervous beforehand and had gotten through an uncomfortable experience, that could definitely explain the great mood I was in afterwards. Okay. So where did you go when you went to do this? And then also, is there, do they have some sort of class or like informational meeting that you need to go to before you do this? Or are they just shoving you in?

there. So I went to a meta spa called Collective in NoHo. You know, you don't do an extensive prep beforehand, but you do read through and sign a waiver that, you know, details sort of what you're about to experience and also any health risks. They say, like, if you have a heart condition, this is not for you. And they really encourage you to talk to your doctor before doing it. Well, Lee, I have to say, this is one. I'm glad you tried it. And I didn't try. try it. Happy to be the guinea pig in this case, no problem. Great. All right. Lee Helen is a reporter with Gothamist. You can read all of her. I tried it articles right now over at gothamist.com. 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. More this evening.