NYC NOW - June 14, 2023 Morning Headlines

Episode Date: June 14, 2023

Get up and get informed! Here's all the local news you need to start your day: Mayor Eric Adams reveals he didn’t want NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell to leave the department, health care provider Aetna responds to a lawsuit filed by retirees, the Rent Guidelines Board prepares for a final vote next Tuesday on increasing one and two year leases in New York City, and according to airnow.gov, the air quality in our region has returned to moderate levels.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Wednesday, June 14th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. 65 and partly sunny now, chance of showers and a storm, maybe even some hail today and damaging winds in a high of 76. New York City mayor, Eric Adams, says he did not want NYPD Commissioner Kishat-Soul to leave the department. The commissioner announced her plans to resign Monday. The mayor says he told Sewell she could serve for the length of his administration if she wanted to. He also denied that he had micromanaged Seul and said he plans or plays an active role in every agency, not just the NYPD. Now, some people may call out a micro-manager.

I call it being a mayor of a city that you love and taxpayers elected me to give them the product they deserve. Adam says he has a short list of potential replacements, but he hasn't shared his list or his timeline. About 250,000 New York City retirees are supposed to switch from traditional Medicare to a private Medicare Advantage plan on September 1st, but WNYC's Caroline Lewis reports an ongoing court battle could derail that move. Retirees filed a lawsuit against the city last month to try to keep their existing coverage. Many believe their coverage will get worse under Medicare Advantage. But Aetna, the company that's supposed to administer the new plan, wants a chance to defend itself. Etna filed a motion this week to intervene in the lawsuit.

One concern from retirees is that the new plan will refuse to cover medical services more often. In documents submitted to the court, Etna says it only required prior approval for 3.4% of the medical claims made under its other Medicare Advantage plans last. year, and only about 0.5% were rejected. The panel that sets the rent for New York City's 1 million rent-stabilized departments will take a final vote at Hunter College's Assembly Hall on the Upper East Side next Tuesday instead of Cooper Union. The rent guidelines board is considering an increase of 2 to 5% on new 1-year leases and 4 to 7% on 2-year leases. The public can attend the meeting in person or they can

live stream it on YouTube next Wednesday night, starting at 7 o'clock. The air is back at a moderate rating of 57. That's according toairnow.gov. That means that those considered unusually sensitive to particle pollution may want to shorten their time outdoors. Pollin levels are moderate for tree and grass pollen. 65 and partly sunny, we have a small risk for severe weather today, so be careful.

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.