NYC NOW - June 20, 2023: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: June 20, 2023

New York's Office of Cannabis management is staffing up its enforcement division to crack down on shops selling marijuana without a license. But some critics say the state should focus on opening more legal dispensaries. Plus, New York State Assembly Members return to Albany for some unfinished business. And finally, a local chess program provides a sense of comfort and inspiration for migrant children who are ending their first New York City school year.

Good evening and welcome to NYC Now. I'm Jene Pierre for WNYC. New York's Office of Cannabis Management is staffing up its enforcement division to crack down on shops selling weed without a license. The move comes after Governor Kathy Hokel ramped up fines for illegal vendors last month. Dan Hackney directs enforcement at the Office of Cannabis Management. He says he's optimistic the fines of up to $20,000 a day will be effective. I am more excited that I have been ever to be able to actually have the ability to deal with these locations as we go forward and get them shuttered.

Hackney says his agency can petition the courts to padlock shops that don't respond to fines. But some critics say the state should focus on opening more legal dispensaries. Paula Collins is a lawyer who represents unlicensed vendors. She says they get plenty of business, even though competition has increased. Where would those sales go if you think? could magically shut them down, say, tomorrow. Those sales would revert to a sort of underground network, which is where they were before. Colin says the state should create a pathway for existing stores to sell marijuana that's taxed

and regulated. Similarly, many growers in New York say they're struggling because they don't have enough legal dispensaries to sell to. In Albany, the legislative session just won't seem to end for state assembly members. They're back at the Capitol a few more days. for what's scheduled to be their final votes of the year. Supporters are hoping they'll take up measures to extend health coverage to low-income New Yorkers

regardless of their immigration status. There's also a bill known as Sammy's law that would allow New York City to lower its speed limits. Assembly leaders haven't committed to putting either bill to a vote. The state Senate already wrapped up its session a week and a half ago, but the Assembly was forced to return this week after failing to finish up on time. Stay close.

There's more after the break. Later this month, thousands of migrant children will mark the end of their first New York City school year. Many arrived after difficult journeys, speaking little or no English. Since last fall,

educators have mobilized to meet their needs, meeting with families at shelters, hosting clothing drives, and doing their best to overcome the language barrier. Amid at all, a loo chess program is providing a sense of comfort and inspiration. WNYC's Jessica Gould has the story. When 11-year-old Mary Anhehl Vargas Gomez plays chess, she looks serious and focused. Her brow furrows, she touches her thick black glasses.

Then, with a hint of a smile, she makes her move. Check. She says she's very nervous, but now I feel very confident in to play. She says she's become way more confident playing chess than when she first started last fall. She grew up in Colombia, where her parents ran a non-profit for people displaced by the long-running conflict between the government and militant groups. Her mother, Alexandra Gomez, says they began to receive death threats and fled.

Mary Annail's not going to worry and say, Mommy, but this is not going to vacation. Why not we touch to come to, because we don't talk to go,

I don't have a word. Mary Anheel's mother told her children they were going on vacation. But the trip was harrowing. She says

they got lost in the desert in Mexico and their skin was scarred by thorns. And I'm going, and go and, gore and corry, and I'm a chakrigen

in my my piernas, and she me cuted all the front with spina. After they crossed the border into Texas, officials told them to board a bus to New York City. In October, they landed at a shelter in Times Square. Marianjo, who spoke little English, was enrolled at PS11 in Chelsea.

She told her mother she felt like a scared mouse. PS11 has offered chess classes for years in English. This year, it created new chess classes for Spanish-speaking students, taught by bilingual coaches. It was part of their efforts to make the new students feel welcome. Russ Mokovsky is founder of a nonprofit called the Gift of Chess and runs programs at schools across the city. When I had spoken to the principals, they had found it overwhelming

to receive so many Spanish-speaking students so quickly so we thought that we could provide some structure to the school day by bringing in Spanish-speaking chess coaches and creating Spanish-speaking classes only. McCovsky says the game teaches math, critical thinking, and strategy. But in this case, it also gave the kids community and a sense of belonging. And the response was incredible. The kids gravitated towards the game immediately, and it became a highlight of the kids' week.

Hundreds of migrant kids participated during the school day. Then two Stuyvesant students, Kyle Lankman and his twin brother Caleb, suggested starting an after-school program. They speak Spanish and have been playing chess since they were in elementary school. Here's Kyle. He's 16. We get to help the kids and teach them. the knowledge that I've acquired over many years. They found some space at a church in Times Square

where they offered a chess club four days a week. Kyle says he had to push his homework till later at night, but he didn't mind. There's a lot of homework, but the priority was the chess club, so I would just do it when I get home. Sometimes I'd stay up late, but it didn't matter. Because I think the chess club is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Coach Makovsky sent kids home with chessboards. Parents sent him photos of them playing on bunk beds in their hotels and shelters.

They'd send these two kids, it'd be 11 o'clock at night, and these two kids with their chessboard on the light of the cell phone playing chess, and it was an escape, a home away from home. Well, me ensignixtrable, much values. For example, concentration, studio. Mary Anheu says chess has increased her concentration and confidence, and she's good at it. She plays in tournaments and is among the top 100 girls her age in the country.

This spring, she went to the national championship, in Baltimore. She says she wants to be a surgeon, a chess master, and a chess coach when she grows up. But she's also happy just to have some fun.

That's WNYC's Jessica Gould. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. Catch us every weekday. Three times a day. We'll be back tomorrow.