NYC NOW - June 25, 2024: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: June 25, 2024

Get up and get informed! Here’s all the local news you need to start your day: City Schools Chancellor David Banks says many New York City schools will soon teach math using new curricula. The new materials aim to address chronically low proficiency rates. In other news, police are looking for a man they say assaulted a woman in Central Park around 1:30 p.m. on Monday. Also, if you're eyeing a downtown apartment but can't meet the landlord’s income requirement, corporate guarantors might help, but it'll cost you. WNYC's David Brand reports on the rise of these services. Plus, the MTA has announced that Long Island Rail Road bathrooms will begin using posters with QR codes for reporting complaints.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Tuesday, June 25th. Here's the morning headlines. I'm Jene Pierre. Many New York City schools will soon be teaching math using new curricula. City Schools Chancellor David Banks says the new materials will help address chronically low proficiency rates. So listen to this.

In 2023, half of our students in grade students in grade. three through eight were not proficient in math. And that was an improvement from the year before. The materials will be used in some middle and high schools starting in the next school year. Eventually, all grades will adopt the new curriculum. The math overhaul mirrors efforts already underway to improve literacy in the city's elementary schools. Bank says teachers will receive training on the coursework, which emphasizes how math can be used in real-life situations, like at the supermarket and the bank. The police are looking for a man, they say, assaulted a woman in Central Park Monday afternoon. Police say the victim is a 21-year-old woman who

was sunbathing by herself in the area of 104th Street and Central Park Drive around 1.30. The assailant, who the authorities identified as a black male in his 30s, allegedly tackled the woman. Officials say she eventually fought him off repeatedly before he fled the scene. Want that sweet downtown apartment but can't quite meet the landlord's income requirement? You might be able to get it, but it'll cost you. WMYC's David Brand reports on the rise of corporate guarantors. Housing costs keep going up. And that's making it harder for tenants to show landlords they earn 40 times the monthly rent, a common requirement to land in New York City apartment. Not everyone has a rich uncle to co-sign the lease. So now owners of hundreds of

thousands of apartments are accepting corporate guarantors. That's up from a few thousand a decade ago. Several companies are offering what they call lease guarantee insurance. Tenants pay about a month's rent for coverage that will reimburse their landlord if they miss a payment. Experts say the insurance helps unlock apartments for more renters, but it also sticks them with another upfront cost in the pricey rental application process. Dirty floors, no soap or toilet paper, an awful stench. Those complaints of a train's public restroom may become a thing of the past on the Long Island Railroad.

The MTA announced Monday that the railroad's bathrooms will now have posters with QR codes. A commuter can scan the code and report a problem. with a specific bathroom from a list of preloaded options. There will even be a box to leave a comment. And if a user gives their email, the MTA will notify them when the issue has been addressed. The program is expected to be up and running next month. 70 degrees right now, mostly sunny today with highs around 90 degrees. It'll be partly cloudy tonight with a low around 74.

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.