NYC NOW - July 19, 2024: Midday News

Episode Date: July 19, 2024

A global network outage is still disrupting some services around New York, including airlines and customer information systems. The problems stem from an update to a Microsoft program called CrowdStrike. Meanwhile, a proposed power plant for Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood is getting the green light from New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s administration. Plus, Mayor Eric Adams details the city’s response to the tech outage. WNYC’s Alec Hamilton has more.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Friday, July 19. Here's the midday news. And for WNYC in New York, I'm Alec Hamilton. A global network outage is still disrupting some services around New York, including some airlines and customer information systems. The problem stem from an update to a Microsoft program called CrowdStrike

that crashed every computer system that received it. That's according to New York City's chief technology officer. The city says the update did not affect the city's 911-3-1-1 or traffic light systems, which run on separate operational networks. The NYPD says their central computer systems are down, however. They are able to respond to calls, but can't access online incident information. The MTA and LIRR say some customer information systems are temporarily offline, but service is unaffected.

NJ Transit says services are not impacted, but ticket vending machines may be down. The Port Authority is advising anyone hoping to catch a flight to check with their airline first. A proposed power plant for Newark's ironbound neighborhood is getting the green light from New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy's administration. The State Department of Environmental Protection says it will allow the plant,

but it can only be activated if there's a power outage at a local sewage treatment plant in order to prevent raw sewage from spilling into Newark Bay. Some activists like Ironbound Community Corporation's Maria Lopez-Nunes say the neighborhood is already home to too many polluting facilities. You know, three power plants, a garbage incinerators, a sewage treatment facility. The longest superfund site in the country, it doesn't deserve a fourth power plant. State officials call yesterday's announcement a good compromise that keeps local waterways clean. Sunny today with a high near 86, tonight mostly clear a low around 71.

It's WNYC. Stay close. There's more after the break. We have more now on the tech outage. In a press conference earlier today, New York City Mayor Eric Adams talked through the cause and the city's response. CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity software prevalent in computers across the globe. Their goal, as the chief technology officer would explain, is to identify if there is a problem

and to immediately take action. And early this morning, they sent out a software update that inadvertently took systems offline. They sent out a software update that inadvertently took systems offline. This was not a cyber attack that was a hit or cyber hit on our city infrastructure. Our city's IT and security,

teams led by the Office of Technology and Innovation have been working nonstop to troubleshoot problems and restore services. The CTO, Matt Frazier, has been directly in touch with CrowdStrike to get real-time updates and identify the fastest path to getting all systems up and running as quickly as possible. And I just really want to emphasize this was not a cyber attack. This was an update that took systems offline. Mayor Adams emphasized the importance of exercises for handling these incidents.

There are no calls are being held or missed, and there is no backlog at the FDNY. And FDNY is reviewing to ensure this remains the case. We want to ensure New Yorkers that 9-11 call systems have not been impacted. Our infrastructure and emergency operations, they're all important. place and we're going to continue to do that. Life-saving complaints that come through 3-1-1 or city agencies are being prioritized. Our traffic signals are working and are fully operational, as is the Staten Island ferry. Our water systems are fully operational and our summerizing program will continue as schedule, including bus service. Although we want to tell parents,

you may see disruption on the bus tracking app. The systems are still operating. We expect to continue to see cascading effects of the outage throughout today, but New York City Office of Technology will be doing everything possible to minimize potential service disruptions and restore service to all system as soon as possible. MTA Chair Jana Lieber says subways, trains, and buses are running close to normal following the outage. He says so far the impacts are limited to online service information for commuter lines like the LIRR and Metro North. He says service info for subway letter trains is down as well.

The impacts are limited so far that are customer facing are limited. One portion of our countdown clocks on the B division, which is the letter trains, are not operating. But as old New Yorkers, know, the trains are coming. They're coming on regular schedules. And you can, can count on it, you just may not have the countdown clock available. Otherwise, the tolls are being collected. Bad news for some people, I know. But every single operating system is functioning. You may not have up-to-date information, just like the countdown clocks are not 100%.

You may not have up-to-date information on exactly when commuter trains are arriving, but all of that is coming back online pretty promptly. City hospitals are also functioning, but with some disruptions to their online systems. Join us later in the day for updates. 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.

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