NYC NOW - July 5, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: July 5, 2024

New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he’s committed to helping build a trauma facility in the Rockaways, despite the city only allocating $50 million in funding instead of a proposed $200 million. In other news, phase two of the G train shutdown has begun, with no trains running between the Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand stops from Friday, July 5th, until August 12th. Meanwhile, a new court settlement aims to make it easier for people to change their names to match their gender identities in New York. WNYC’s Samantha Max reports. Finally, WNYC’s David Furst speaks with food critic Robert Sietsema of Eater NY about some of his favorite dishes to help us stay cool this summer.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Sean Carlson. Residents of the Rockaways often say they have to travel too far to get treated for serious injuries. But thanks to new funding in the New York City budget, they're one step closer to getting a trauma facility on the peninsula. The budget includes $50 million for the center, which is less than the $200 million advocates were pushing for. But Mayor Eric Adams says he's committed to seeing the project through. We think this is crucial and we would make it happen. And I would be meeting with Governor Hokel, along with the Speaker and Majority with Brooks Powers in the near future,

so we can deliver health care access to the people of Rockaway Peninsula. Even with the funding, a new center is still a few years away, and city officials have to determine what hospital system would run it. Phase two of the G-train shutdown has begun. Starting this Friday, July 5th, until August 12th, G-trains won't run between the Court Square and Bedford-Nostron stops. The final phase is scheduled between August 12th and September 2nd. G-trains won't be running between Bedford-Nostrand and Church Avenue stops. The MTA says they have to shut down parts of the G-train all summer in order to replace the signal systems along the line. You can see all the details of the G-train shutdown spelled out on our news website, Gothamist.

Up next, if you're searching for dishes to help you stay cool throughout the summer, we've got you covered those stories after the break. New York has some of the strongest laws for people who want to change their name to match their gender identity. But some lawyers say court clerks often refuse to sign off on the paperwork. As W.M.I.C. Samantha Max reports a new court settlement aims to change that. Lane Nelson has been thinking about changing their name for years. In some ways, it's terrifying because it's just a word, but it also feels like I'm choosing my identity. Lane wanted to pick something they were comfortable with every day. when they feel more masculine and when they feel more feminine.

Not just even like 70% of the time or 85% of the time. Lane just finished their sophomore year of college. In between classes, they were navigating the complex legal process of officially changing their name. A court clerk said Lane didn't provide sufficient proof of their address and wouldn't accept their application. Lane's attorney thought the clerk was making the process too burdensome. So they challenged the decision in court. This is a pattern in practice. Like, it's happening all the time.

I asked Lane's lawyer, Julian Castronova, with Brooklyn Legal Services, how often this impacts their clients. It was every time. If it didn't include photo ID, proof of address, whatever else the clerk wanted that day, denied. After months of negotiations, New York City's chief civil court clerk agreed to give new instructions to her employees. They made clearer what applicants. need to provide. She also agreed to publish more information about how residents can change their names. Lane says the agreement isn't perfect, but they felt like their voice mattered. I think that it's really cool. I'm very grateful that I got to be a part of it.

Lane says they're excited to hear their old name less and less and their new name more and more. I love seeing it. I love saying it. It's just a little bit of a warm feeling because it feels like something that belongs to me. Lane says they've already updated their social security card. But there are still plenty of documents to get through, like their high school diploma and their passport. Lane says they're ready for the day when this whole process is over. That's WNIC reporter, Samantha Max. This summer, we've already experienced a heat wave with temperatures reaching the high 90s. And from the looks of it, there's more where that came from. So our friends at Eater, New York are back with a list of dishes to help us stay cool through the hottest days of summer in

New York City. My colleague David Furr spoke with senior critic Robert Sitsima about some of his favorites. So Robert, you don't want to fire up the grill when it's 95 degrees outside? Oh, God, no. I want to run into an air-conditioned restaurant and eat some food that's like not only cool, but cooling. What would you suggest? Well, one of the best things to do is to find a raw bar where there are gigantic expanses of crushed ice. Now, just sitting and looking at the ice will make you feel cooler. But then you should go ahead and select some of those things. And the place I'm going to suggest that you go is the Fulton Fish Company, which is in the Tin Building.

Now, this is in the Tin Building, 96 South Street in Manhattan. That's right. And it has like millions of tons of crushed ice sitting out in front of. you, you sit at a stool with your face, almost in the ice. There's a sneeze guard, of course, but you still feel like you're in the Arctic. And there in front of you are lobsters, raw clams, all sorts of things, oysters, of course, but they have these razor clams, which is one of my favorite sea creatures. It looks not like one of those Bick razors with multiple blades, but like an old straight razor. And served raw with a little bit of herbs on top and maybe a little bit of

little dribble of olive oil is just fantastic. All right. Well, if you're not interested in shellfish, do you have another option for us? Yes. And I'm going to kind of go towards some of the more unusual dishes. You know, you could go to any ramen parlor, and almost all of them have cold ramen dishes, which I highly recommend. But why not go for a century egg? A century egg. I think I've had expired or maybe slightly expired eggs, but what is a what is a century? Yes, it sounds very alarming, doesn't it? This is a Chinese recipe. An egg is plunged into a mixture of clay and ash and quick lime. And this is allowed to sit there sometimes for weeks or even months. And the white of the egg develops this clear black color that's like obsidian. And the yellow

becomes even creamier and turns greenish. It's a rather alarming looking, but in incredibly beautiful. And they take these eggs as if they were normal hard-boiled eggs at a Sky Pavilion, among other places, and they cut them up into quarters, and they put some chilies on top. And it's just the most engaging and delicious appetizer. And you're recommending trying one of these Century Eggs at Sky Pavilion in Manhattan? Sky Pavilion is in Hell's Kitchen, very near Times Square. And is the Century Egg truly a cooling experience? Well, it's served cold, and it makes you feel cool as in hip. Oh, they are so much fun. From Century Egg, what else would you recommend? There's so many things, but how about going to

Al-Badawi, a Yamani and Palestinian restaurant in Brooklyn Heights, right on Atlantic Avenue, and they have this thing called the Maze of Philistini, a large assortment of Middle Eastern bread dips. And of course, these are served cold too or room temperature. The beautiful thing is that they give you a beautiful pita bread, a giant one that they have just made. So the bread is a little bit hot, but by its contrast to the thickened yogurt and the hummus and the hummus and the mohamara, which is a kind of a red pepper dip, it's fun to eat and it's cooling because only the bread is hot. And you could let that cool down if you want.

You're not eating a giant heap of hot rice with lamb on top or something. You know, the idea is to eat things that not only are cool, but kind of make you feel cooler because of what you're not eating. You're not eating a big greasy hamburger or beef stew. And a big thing in summertime, too, is also thinking about portions, right? Maybe not eating quite as much during that meal. That is absolutely right. And all of these dishes we mentioned are tend to be smaller, although the maza that I just mentioned. the Philistine Mesa is a dish for sharing.

That's WMIC's David First in conversation with Robert Sitsima of Eater, New York. To see Robert's fullest of foods to help you chill out this summer, head over to Eater, New York's website. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. Shout out to our production team. It includes Sean Boutich, Amber Bruce, Ave Carreou, Audrey Cooper, Owen Kaplan, Leoraeoanom-Cravitz, Jared Marcel, Jen Munson, and Wayne Schoemeister, with help from all of my wonderful colleagues in the WNMyce. I see Newsroom. Our show art was designed by the people at Buck, and our music was composed by Alexis Quadrato. I'm Sean Carlson. Have a great weekend. We'll see you on Monday.