NYC NOW - July 29, 2024: Midday News

Episode Date: July 29, 2024

The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office is investigating a fatal police shooting in Fort Lee after officers shot and killed a woman early Sunday morning. Her brother called 9-1-1, reporting she was having a mental health crisis and holding a knife. Officials say the woman approached officers with the knife. Meanwhile, the city Transportation Department is rolling out a proposal aiming to make the streets surrounding Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn safer and increase pedestrian space. Finally, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has declared a state of emergency in city jails over the weekend, halting parts of a new law that limits solitary confinement to four hours. WNYC’s Michael Hill speaks with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams for his reaction.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Monday, July 29th. Here's the midday news from Carrie Nolan. The New Jersey Attorney General's office is investigating a fatal shooting by a police officer yesterday in Fort Lee. Authorities say police officers responded to a home around 1.30 yesterday morning after a man called 911, reporting his sister was having a mental health crisis and holding a knife. The Attorney General's office says police had to breach a door to gain access to the home

and ultimately fired a single shot striking the woman in the chest as she approached officers. Officials say she was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Her identity has not been released and investigation is ongoing. The City Transportation Department is rolling out blueprints as it considers how to make the streets surrounding Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn safer. The proposals aim to expand pedestrian space there by up to 67%. The department says its goals are to improve pedestrian and cyclist connections, speed up buses, and simplify traffic.

The DOT will present its final renderings to the public later this year with hopes of securing funding next year. Stay tuned for more after the break. For WNYC, I'm Michael Hill. Mayor Adams has shut down parts of a new law that banned solitary confinement in city jails. Over the weekend, he declared a state of emergency in city jails. The move stops the Department of Correction from enacting certain parts of a law that requires a four-hour time limit on holding prisoners in isolation. Jermani Williams is the New York City public advocate, and they join us now.

First, tell us quickly. How did we get to this point? Well, it's unfortunate. It's another day, and our mayor seems to think he's a king and can do whatever he wants, regardless of the process set forth and the laws that have been passed. So we have legislation that's been discussed for two years and the previous legislation for about five years. We are simply saying and asked the Department of Corrections to create another housing unit that they do this all the time. And the one thing we're saying you can't do is you cannot use pro-lo. You can use separation. You can use other tactics, just not the prolonged isolation that everybody knows is harmful and hasn't kept Rikers Island safe now for people who are detained there, off the corrections offices and others that work there. And the mayor has fought us in every single step of the way. And it's unfortunate that he would abuse this state of emergency, which is dangers in him itself. We wish he'd agree with us a few years ago when we said there was a state of emergency. And maybe we could have come together to figure out how best to address it. Adams had veto the original bill from the council banning solitary confinement.

The council then overrode that veto in January. Are there other parts of the law? I know you mentioned some of it there. Are there other parts of the law that are in, that are out? Can you help us clarify that? Well, just to be clear, the city council actually overrode the veto by a higher margin than they passed it. This is how much that folks are agreeing. we have to stop prolonged isolation.

The mayor has been lying about parts of the bill, and so one of the things he said is that you can't use restraints when you are transporting detainees to Rikers Island or people who are being transported within Rikers Island. That's just not true. And what we found from this executive is similar to other executives. One, he has an inability to accept that he's lost an argument, and two, that he will make up information to make things sound worse

than they actually are. And what we are finding is that we have a right as island where detainee has just died, so a couple of weeks ago, where corrections officers are being harmed. And we're saying, let's change the culture that exists there. And if you want to train something and create something new, you have to do something different. And that's all this bill is. We're saying, again, the one thing you just should not do is use prolonged isolation. So we say you can isolate somebody for four hours to de-escalate.

and then you can separate them from the general population in a different way than is just isolating them by themselves for a long time period. And that leaves a lot of open. Yes, pardon me. Adams' executive order says banning solitary confinement, the jail could hinder the correction department's ability to make the facility safer. I have to ask, is he finding anything he can to oppose and block the enactment of this law? And how do you respond to that? He is. And it's interesting if you're going to say that there is no solitary confinement,

and then say blocking his heart attack confinement will be harmful. So it can't be both of those. And I think he is doing whatever he can, abusive or not, to try to find the way to continue to be able to isolate people for a prolonged time period. And that's the exact thing that everybody says is dangerous for the person when they eventually leave. They have higher rates of death and overdose. And for people who are actually in jail. Mr. Williams, pardon me for interrupting. I have to ask us, what does the council plan to do now?

now? Well, the council had already teed up the ability to sue on this. So we have to hopefully wait and see what they're going to do. My office is looking to actually suing as well. We're trying to find what all of our options are because he did this in the middle of the night without any public input. I've been speaking with New York City public advocate, Jamani Williams, about the mayor doing something with this law that the council, as you say, overwrote his veto by an even larger margin than when they actually approved it. And we will get much more on this. We have reached out to the mayor's office, but not received a response yet.

Mr. Williams, thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday three times a day for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcast. More soon.