NYC NOW - July 31, 2024: Midday News

Episode Date: July 31, 2024

A new $4 million grant program called “Funds for the Newest New Yorkers,” which provides social services for migrants, is now available to local nonprofits that help newcomers. Meanwhile, a heat advisory is in effect through Thursday night. Plus, Timothy Pearson, a close confidant of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, is facing new allegations of sexual harassment. The New York Times reports the latest allegations against Pearson come from a high-ranking senior NYPD official. WNYC’s Michael Hill speaks with Times reporter Dana Rubinstein, who co-wrote the report.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Wednesday, July 31st. Here's the Midday News from Lance Lucky. A new $4 million grant program is being made available to local nonprofits, helping migrants navigate New York City. It's called funds for the newest New Yorkers, and the New York Community Trust and the Robin Hood Foundation run it with input from the city. Sean Moorhead oversees grants for the trust. People are going to continue to want to come to New York. It's a great city and that we need long-term infrastructure to support newcomers as they arrive. The money will supplement government aid and focus on groups providing legal help,

case management, education, and child care. Many groups helping migrants say they've struggled to keep up with the need. Organizations have until September 16th to apply. Well, staying inside and air conditioned is a very good idea this afternoon. A heat advisory goes into effect an hour from now at one and last through tomorrow night. The National Weather Service says with Jay Engel, who's with the NWS, says real field temperatures could reach 100 today and may linger for a while. We're in the dog days of summer as we get ready for early August where you tend to get more of that combination of heat and human conditions. City officials are recommending that people avoid strenuous.

us outdoor activity and stay hydrated. That's especially important for those with respiratory or other health issues that put them at higher risk for heat-related illnesses. Again, it's 83 now, some clouds and near 90 today, those showers and scattered thunderstorms are possibility toward evening. And again, it'll feel closer to 98 with that heat advisory going into effect at one. Tomorrow, humid highs in the mid-90s, and it'll feel right around 100. Again, around 90 and humid for Friday and Saturday. Chance of showers the next few days. WNYC. Stay close. There's more after the break. On WNYC on Michael Hill, a close confidant of Mayor Adams

is facing new allegations of sexual harassment. The New York Times reports the latest allegations against Timothy Pearson come from a high-ranking senior NYPD official. Dana Rubinstein is a reporter with the New York Times and co-wrote a story on it. She joins us now. Hi, Dana. So this is the fourth lawsuit this year against Pearson. Remind us quickly if you would who he is and what his connection is to the mayor. Hi. Yeah. So Timothy Pearson is a longtime friend of the mayors. They serve together in the NYPD. And when Eric Adams became mayor, he named Timothy Pearson as a sort of senior advisor with a

broad, broad portfolio of responsibilities that include overseen in some fashion security at migrant shelters. He was involved in the reopening of the school system when we were still in the middle of COVID. So he just has a broad sort of loosely defined series of responsibilities. And what are the allegations against Pearson? The allegations against him are that he sexually harassed a number of subordinates and that when subordinates sought to bring that harassment to the attention of higher-ups, he retaliated against them by effectively destroying their careers. Now, the mayor says that Pearson is well-respected in the law enforcement community, and as far as you can tell, has the administration or the NYPD taken any disciplinary action against it? No, not as far as we can tell. And yesterday at the mayor's Q&A, several of us asked him whether this fourth suit in less than a year alleging sexual harassment would in any way impact his responsibilities or his standing in the administration. And the answer was effectively know that, you know, you have to let the process run its course. And, you know, there has been discussion in the past of due process. and all of that. So, no, the mayor defended him, and I, it seems like he will continue to

defend him until, you know, perhaps forced to do otherwise. Dana, this latest suit also names the NYPD's highest-ranking uniformed official, Jeffrey Madri, and chief of patrol John Schell as defendants. What are they accused of? They're accused of sort of being complicit in the retaliation against the people who were complaining about sexual harassment and seeking to sort of file official claims about it. But the main defendant in the suit is, of course, Timothy Pearson himself for both the actual alleged acts of sexual harassment and retaliation. The lawsuit delts into Pearson's history of alleged misconduct as far back as the 1990s

and says former police commissioner Ray Kelly, quote, shelved Pearson's career at the NYPD due to sexual misconduct claims against him, including for alleged incidents at police headquarters in Manhattan. What other actions appear to have been taken by NYPD officials aware of this behavior, if at all? We're not aware of any other actions that appear to have been taken regarding his alleged behavior. One thing that Milton Murmara, who is the assistant chief who served in the NYPD for more than 30 years, said, is that, you know, Timothy Pearson had a sort of a long-standing reputation for this sort of behavior and that the way in which he's alleged to have retaliated against those who brought it to light is sort of indicative of a broader sort of cultural problem at the NYPD.

The chief theory you mentioned, Marlowe says he frequently brought up Pearson's behavior with Bernard Adams. That's the mayor's brother. As far as your reporting file, was any action taken by either Bernard Adams or others in the Adams administration? Bernard wouldn't talk to us when we reached out to him for comments. I'm not sure what he would say, but what Marmara alleges in the suit is, no, that he was speaking to Bernie Adams, you know, at times on a weekly basis, you know, discussing Pearson's behavior and asking him to do something to intervene and that Bernard Adams would kind of laugh off the whole thing and say, you know, that's just Tim being Tim. He's just a ladies man, you know. So we have not heard any,

any evidence that Bernie Adams did anything. But again, he hasn't spoken to us. So perhaps there is evidence that we're unaware of. Well, keep an eye on this one. Dana Rubinstein is a reporter with The New York Times. Dana, thank you for this. Thank you for having me. Thanks for listening. This is a NYC now from WMYC. Check us out for updates every weekday, three times a day, for the latest news headlines and occasional deep dives, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back this evening.