NYC NOW - June 11, 2024: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: June 11, 2024

Get up and get informed! Here's all the local news you need to start your day: Governor Hochul says congestion pricing is not canceled, just “on pause,” but WNYC’s Stephen Nessen reports the MTA is slashing its major projects. Meanwhile, the Port Authority is expanding license plate readers to crack down on car theft and other crimes. Also, the state education department recommends phasing out the Regents test requirement for high school graduation. Plus, WNYC’s Sean Carlson speaks with Councilmember Chi Osse, who represents Bed-Stuy and northern Crown Heights, about a bill requiring the person who hires a broker to pay the broker fee. The bill will be debated in the City Council on Wednesday.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Tuesday, June 11th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. Governor Hokel says congestion pricing is not canceled. It's just on pause. But WMIC Stephen Nesson reports the MTA is slashing its big projects. Now that the transit agency can't count on the $15 billion that budgeted to pay for new signals,

elevators and train cars, it's focusing on the basics. MTA chair Jan O'Leber outlined the agency's plans. It may feel right now like things are a little crazy and even that there's a crisis, but we need to stay focused. He says the agency is figuring out how to use the money it does have just to keep the trains running. That means making repairs so riders don't start to see service slipping and finding elevated stations that need to be painted to prevent rust. Big ticket projects like the next phase of the 2nd Avenue subway are up in the air, at least for now. The Port Authority is expanding the use of license plate readers to crack that on car theft of the crimes. W.M.C. Catalina Gonaela explains. The agency is committing $10 million to install the devices

at the Outer Bridge Crossing and the Goughville-and-Bey-owned bridges. Officials say they help law enforcement identify stolen vehicles, find missing people, and collect tolls from evaders. But critics like Albert Foxcon, who founded the surveillance technology oversight project, says the devices post-privacy concerns that contradicts some of the values state leaders like Governor Hockel have espoused. We can't be a sanctuary state. We can't be an abortion sanctuary state if we're giving everyone's driving movements to any law enforcement agency that wants them.

The Port Authority says the project will be completed by the end of 2026. The Port Authority did not immediately return a request for a comment about privacy concerns. The State Education Department is recommending phasing out the region's test requirement for high schoolers to pass in order to graduate. Juliet Eisenstein with advocates for children of New York says exit exams create unfair obstacles, especially for students with disabilities and those learning English. Learning happens in a lot of different ways and proficiency can be shown in multiple ways. The recommendations say students should be able to use presentations, performances, or work experience to demonstrate they meet standards. The department will hold hearings on the proposal this summer with a vote to come at a later date.

61 and mostly sunny now in the city. We have a slim chance of afternoon showers today, partly sunny and 77, and then tonight at low around 64. Tomorrow, mostly sunny and 80 as these temperatures climb through the week. Stay close. There's more after the break. On WNYC, WNYC, I'm Sean Carlson. Any New York City renter is familiar with paying thousands of dollars up front for a broker that they didn't hire. Councilmember Chiosay, who represents Bedstuy and Northern Crown Heights in Brooklyn, is pushing a bill that would require whoever hires the broker to pay the broker fee.

The bill will be up for debate in the City Council on Wednesday. O'Say joins us now to talk more about the issue. Councilmember, can we start with what led you to introduce the bill? Absolutely. So obviously prior to getting elected, I heard from many tenants about this issue. And I was living at home at the time when I got elected. But when I was looking for an apartment a year ago, I was shocked at how restrictive broker fees were for me when looking for an apartment, especially if I did not hire a broker, seeing how people in my constituents and myself were put in in a situation where I would have to be forced to pay a broker fee. was extremely problematic. And I did a lot of research found that New York City and Boston were the

only cities in this country where that was the scenario. And I wanted to do something about it. So you introduced this bill last year too, right? What's different about this year? Yeah. So last year, unfortunately, the former chair of the committee where this bill comes through killed the bill. I think Rebney really got to her and she stopped the bill in its tracks. This year, we have a hearing. 32 council members signed on over a dozen of labor unions. signed on, including the Central Labor Council, 35 plus advocacy organizations. The coalition is huge, and we really made some movements in terms of showing that this is a priority of New Yorkers and the council is taking it seriously. So you talk about opposition to it. You mentioned

Revting, the Real Estate Board. Folks trying to block this bill saying it would be bad for both renters and brokers. How do you plan to overcome that opposition? Yeah, so I refute all of the claims in terms of why this bill would be bad for renters coming from MN. One, nearly 50% of housing for tenants in New York City is rent stabilized. So landlords cannot bake a broker fee into the rent in those apartments. Two, you know, rents are dictated by what renters and tenants can pay, not by what landlords could charge. If your landlord could increase your rent tomorrow, they would have done so yesterday.

And also, with the passing of this bill, we believe that this bill would give tenants bargaining power, where currently they do not have bargaining power. They're restricted in the housing that they're in because they know and their landlord knows how wild it is out there and how expensive it is out there to find new housing. With the passing of this bill, this gives tenants more bargaining power, and we believe it will put a downward pressure on rents. You mentioned something that we wanted to ask you about as it relates to this bill. Like, if we stop brokers from being able to charge these kinds of fees, at least on the backs of renters, you're saying that landlords wouldn't be able to then pass that on to the renter by increasing their rent, right?

Is that what you're saying? In nearly 50% of the cases, that is true. Also, you know, if landlords again, could increase their rent anyways. They probably would have in any case. Also, if a landlord does bake it into the rent, and if we do see that in a situation, many tenants rather pay that over the span of 12 months or 24 months rather than saving multiple paychecks just to move into housing. This eliminates that expensive upfront cost and allows people to move into housing easier without having to save $10,000 just to move in.

Yeah. I remember a couple of years ago when this happened. myself, I'm a renter, so I follow these things fairly closely. State regulator's briefly eliminated tenant paid broker fees. But then there was a lawsuit by the real estate industry and that reinstated the ban. There was also another bill in the city council that attempted to limit broker fees to a month of rent. Why is it so hard to control broker fees here? Sure. So with the state case, agency tried to act as a legislator. And I believe that that's why there was a lawsuit that was able to to kill that proposal. In the past, you know, I know a city council bill was trying to cap broker fees

and, you know, Rebney was able to kill that bill as well. You know, what the oil lobby is to Texas, the real estate lobby is to New York City. You know, they're really pretty powerful and they're able to push back against proposals such as this one. However, this is the closest New York City has ever gotten to reforming the system. The most amount of co-sponsors on this bill, the hugest coalition with unions and advocacy groups alike. With the public support of this bill, I truly believe that this is our chance to make sure that New York City replicates every other major city in America except for Boston. I don't want the city to be anything like Boston. In the last minute we have here, council member, I know this is a big topic, but what else needs

to be done to make housing more affordable for New Yorkers? We need to build more housing, right? There's an extreme housing shortage within New York City. I'm currently working on a comprehensive rezoning within my district on Atlantic Avenue. We need to utilize underutilized spaces, whether it's warehouses, whether it's open lots. We need to build old types of housing, but mainly prioritize affordable housing. And that's been a huge priority for me within the time that I've been in office. That's Councilmember Rcio-C. Councilmember, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you so much for having me. 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. See you this afternoon.