NYC NOW - June 24, 2024: Midday News

Episode Date: June 24, 2024

A Texas man faces federal penalties after the TSA says he tried to pass through security at JFK Airport with a loaded gun on Friday. In other news, New York City’s heat emergency plan is now deactivated, but officials continue to monitor for health and safety impacts from the recent heat wave. Plus, Tuesday is primary election day in New York. Voters will weigh in on a number of races, including congressional and state legislative contests. As the general election in November approaches, WNYC is using laundromats across the New York metro area as hubs of civic engagement to understand what matters to people as they prepare to head to the polls. WNYC’s Janae Pierre speaks with George Bodarky, head of our Community Partnerships Desk, to share insights from the latest edition of “Suds and Civics.” And finally, as part of Pride Month, WNYC is highlighting LGBTQ+ voices in New York City. Meet Sam Grasland of Manhattan.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Monday, June 24th. Here's the midday news from Lance Lucky. A Texas man is facing federal financial penalties after the Transportation Security Administration says he tried going through security at JFK Airport with a loaded gun. The TSA did not identify the man, but says he was arrested after being caught carrying a 9-millimeter gun, with nine bullets in his carry-on items Friday. Civil penalties for illegally carrying weapons can reach up to $15,000. The TSA says this is the sixth firearm that agents have intercepted at airport checkpoints so far this year.

The Port Authority, which oversees JFK, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. City officials say their heat emergency plan has been deactivated, though the city's emergency management office continues to monitor for any health and safety impacts from the heat wave over the past week. They'll also continue to conduct outreach to vulnerable groups and plan for future extreme heat this summer. Maybe only 82 today. It's 76 now, but quite windy and a more comfortable 68 tonight.

And then 92 and sunny tomorrow. Lighter winds and 95 on Wednesday. This is WNYC. Stay close. There's more after the break. On WMYC, I'm Junae Pierre. Tomorrow is primarily. Election Day in New York. Voters will weigh in on a number of races, including congressional and

state legislative contests. As we inch closer to the general election in November, WMYC is using laundromats across the New York metro area as hubs of civic engagement. We want to get a better understanding of what matters to people as they prepare to head to the polls. It's a project we're calling suds and civics. George Bodarky heads our community partnerships desk. He joins me now to share a few insights from the project. So you've been visiting eight laundry mats once a month since February. What came up in your latest round of visits in May and June? We talked with 32-year-old Elena Kendall at Fountain Square Laundry and Beacon in the Hudson Valley.

The environment is her number one concerned. Just thinking about wanting to have kids, not feeling like it's the right choice because I don't want to bring kids at this point in time to a planet that I don't know that they would enjoy living in. Candle says issues around the economy are also top of mind as she looks to build her future. Wanting to buy a house, but not feeling like I can afford it and feeling like something is going to come, like a recession or something like that. Kendall says she doesn't always feel well informed on where candidates stand on the issues, and she wants more opportunities to gain that insight. I would love to vote more, but there's a lot of times where there's so much fine print that I really have a hard to.

time realizing what I'm voting for and making sure that they are actually following up with what they promise. I know a lot of people can relate to Kendall there. George, who else did you talk to in Beacon? We talked to 34-year-old Amber Cassella, and she expressed concerns about extremism on both sides of the spectrum, as she called it. She says that's standing in the way of progress. There isn't any compromise, And I think that's really kind of difficult to watch that, you know, you're with your bubble and you keep that same mindset. And it can be detrimental. And I think we're seeing that happen firsthand. That's something that Ronald Myers, who was washing his clothes, just a few feet from Kassella, talked about a lot.

Meyer says he's very concerned about the level of divisiveness in America. We don't compromise no more. Either you are on my side, you're with me or you're against me. Which side you're going to be? There's no in between no more. We don't fix the wall now. She is going to crack. So that was in Beacon.

What did you hear elsewhere in the region? Stacey Lucas was doing her wash at 14th laundry in Astoria Queens. She's a resident of Astoria Houses. She had a message for elected officials and candidates, and that's to put your ear to the ground. Having meetings and hearing the opinions of others is very important because we all have an opinion. We all want to express what we're going through.

We all want to be, we all want to be hurt. And while she has voted in the past, Lucas says she's not sure about going to the polls in November. Honestly, I wasn't going to participate with the upcoming election due to the fact that I feel like it's not being taken seriously. I feel like they're taken as a joke. And we're trying to set foundations, new foundations and new paths for our families and our children. So when we're dealing with people who are only caring about themselves, there's nothing that's going to change. Wow. George, what else are you hearing about how people are feeling ahead?

of the November election. It's a mixed bag, Janae. Some people have made up their minds about the presidential election. We need Mr. Trump back. That's 63-year-old Russell Howout, who was doing his wash at Star Laundromat on Staten Island. He'll make it better than, as he did before than it is now. There's just too much going on with Biden. The guy's too old.

He can't handle a job anymore. He should retire. Yeah, a lot of talk has been focused on age in this presidential election. related to both Biden and Trump. Biden is 81 and Trump is 78. But besides what Russell Howell out had to say, has that topic come up a lot for you in your conversations at laundromats? Not as much as you might think, but it does come up. Ronald Myers at Fountain Square Laundry and Beacon says it's time to level the playing field. Pass an amendment for everybody after the age of, let's shall we say, 70, you cannot run for office.

you must step down whether you are the president, the Supreme Court, the Senate, the Congress, but if we're going to just attack one person because he's a senior citizen, if you want to say that, then attack them all. Another sentiment we hear frequently isn't about age but about choice, Janay. A lot of people we're talking with aren't excited about either candidate running for the White House. Some have even told us that they plan to sit out the election. Dan Delaventora at Star Laundromat on Staten Island says he's an avid voter, in his words, if you don't vote, don't speak, but he's underwhelmed about going to the polls in November. Monetarily, what happens in this country, what happens around the world, that's what you worry about.

Quite honestly, I don't think either one of them are fit to be president, which there was a third somebody that we could find. But, you know, the way this country's built, we've got to choose one of them. You know, George, I sense a lot of pessimism coming from the people you're talking with at laundromats. Is that a fair assessment? I think so. But at the same time, there is a lot of hope. And that hope isn't necessarily rooted in Washington politics. It's rooted in on-the-ground work in communities.

Here's Stacey Lucas and Astoria again. In my community, we all come together. So when we have one who does here, we can do an event to create for the kids that can't get their hair done. We have food drives. Group clubs where we have the kids coming to park for barbecues and stuff like that, just for them to get to know each other, teaching them social skills, teaching them how to communicate, or other ways of getting through life without having us suffer.

And Lucas simply encourages everyone to get more involved in their community. Now, George, you'll be out in the community this afternoon at Star Laundromat on Staten Island, right? That's right. We'll be broadcasting live there on all things considered this afternoon. We'll hear from several different people in the laundromat. We're also going to be hearing from two youth ambassadors with NYC votes. They're teenagers who are very committed to encouraging others to get more involved in their communities and the electoral process. George Bodarki is WMYC's Community Partnerships Editor George.

Thanks so much for talking with us. Thank you. As part of Pride Month, WMYC is highlighting LGBTQ Plus voices in New York City. Our Community Partnerships Desk recently set up shop at the Brooklyn Community Pride Center in Crown Heights to talk with people about what it means to be LGBTQ plus in today's society and explore the meaning of pride in their lives. My name is Sam Grassland. I currently live in Manhattan, but I'm from Florida.

I identify as a butch lesbian. It's my history. It's, you know, a lot of my identity. It's who I look up to. It's my role models. It's kind of how I pave my path forward. It's definitely all wrapped up in my queerness. My role models are Leslie Feinberg, Julie Ender,

just random dykes I've met in my life that have just made dinner for me or talk to me about their histories. I think it's, you know, growing up to not see yourself in older people. I'm 32, so I didn't see a lot of hard butch lesbians growing up in rural Florida. So I think it can be hard to have to forge your identity, but it also gives you a sort of freedom to be anything you want to be. So I would say if you're feeling anxious about your identity

or feeling like you have to mold yourself to something, also consider the freedom that comes with getting to just be your own person. Pride to me feels like gay Christmas. I love it because the whole month of June, you're just like going outside and gay people are giving each other to nod and saying happy pride. And it reminds me of the way during the holidays, people are just like happy holidays, but it's kind of coated. And it's something just for the queers.

And I love it because I just feel like I go out in the whole summer of Pride Month and people are just happy to be gay. Of course, we've come away, and I think what's important now is to celebrate our wins. And I think pride is a way for us to celebrate our wins and remember what we had to do to get here and to rejoice and now get to sit in the shade of our trees. Sam Grassland lives in Manhattan. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WMYC. Check us out for updates every weekday, three times a date, for the latest newshead.

headlines and occasional deep dives and subscribe wherever you get your podcast. We'll be back this evening.