NYC NOW - June 26, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: June 26, 2024

Mayor Eric Adams says New York City needs to address gridlock by focusing on an age-old culprit…double parking. Plus, New York City Public School students bid farewell to the school year. And finally, WNYC’s Sean Carlson and Jessica Gould discuss the stress parents endure while figuring out what to do with their kids this summer.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jene Pierre. Mayor Eric Adams is turning his attention to traffic congestion, but without the word pricing, he wants to address gridlock by focusing on an age-old culprit. One of the biggest problems with congestion is double parking. On delivery, double parking, vehicles of double parking and slow up traffic, it's a safety hazard. Adams added that the city could be doing more to enforce double parking rules, but didn't get into specifics.

The mayor made the remarks while fielding a reporter's question about how the city could address traffic after Governor Kathy Hokel unexpectedly delayed congestion pricing. Adams also says bike lanes and subway improvements are critical. Transit advocates say cracking down on double parking is important, but that the mayor should also follow through on his pledge to build more bus lanes. It's the last day of school for more than nine. 100,000 New York City public school students. Some kids say they're thrilled for summer to start. But others, like 10-year-old Rustam Nikita Hassan, say they're sad that classes are over for the year. I'm upset that school's ending because I want to have fun with my friends. And I'm most excited for the end of the summer because we start school again.

Eight-year-old Evan Williams of PS-139 in Brooklyn agrees. He's having some mixed feelings about the end third grade. I feel kind of medium, I guess. I had a really good teacher and a pretty medium class, and I really don't want to leave. But he says he is looking forward to go into the beach. Five-year-old Sinaya Bala Sharma is graduating kindergarten from Dos Puentes Elementary School in Washington Heights. She also has some conflicting emotions about the moment. I'm looking forward to spending time with friends and family. I will miss my school teachers and my school friends. Six-year-old Arjuna Montas attends the program, too.

How is she feeling about the summer? Well, I feel a little happy and a little nervous. But she is looking forward to the break. Why? Well, I'm going to get to go to my camp and swim two times a day. Well, I hope you enjoy it. Congratulations to all the graduates, and we hope you all have a wonderful

summer. Public schools resume the Thursday after Labor Day on September 5th. With students looking forward to the summer break, some parents find it to be a stressful time trying to figure out what to do to fill their kids free time. More on that after the break. Summertime means warm days, sometimes too warm, and fun in the sun. But many parents face the stress of figuring out what to do with kids during the two long months between the end of one school year and the start of another. My colleague, Sean Carlson, talked with WMYC education reporter Jessica Gould, who scanned the city for free options to keep kids entertained in the sweltering days ahead. Okay, Jess, what did you find? I found a lot of things. Why don't we start with kids who love nature

and the outdoors and sports? There are a lot of quintessential camp things that they can do in the city for free. So there's kayaking and you can go canoeing and that's all across the boroughs. Plus, the City Parks Foundation has sports programs like soccer and golf and tennis. And then at playgrounds across the city, Parks Department staff offer drop-in options called Kids in Motion and Staff Lead Activities and Games and Water Sports. I even saw options for archery and insect exploration, but some of these require registration in advance. Now, I got to say, Jess, when I was a kid, I was more the one to be like inside reading goosebumps or whatever during the summer months. What if maybe you're not kind of into this whole sports thing?

Yeah, it wasn't my thing either. Maybe that's why we both ended up in public radio. Yeah. So what options are there for the usses of the world? How about theater kids? Yeah, theater kids. So not surprisingly, the city has a ton of artsy stuff to offer. One place to look is Lincoln Center.

Check out Summer for the City with events all over the Upper West Side campus. There are hundreds of events all free or choose what you pay. The ones that stood out to me are workshops where pros. from New York City Ballet and Alvin Ailey teach choreography from masterpieces like a midsummer night's dream and revelations. Cool. What if you want to be inside with some air conditioning? Right.

It's been very hot these last few days. Understandable. The public libraries have lots of events and activities. The Brooklyn Public Library hosts Reed with a therapy dog, and that's at various times and locations. So furry fun. At the Queens Public Library, there are coloring clubs and Lego builds. for the little ones and creative writing workshops, American Sign Language, and then there's improv for older kids. And that's just really a sample. There's so much more. Yeah, and I feel

like just it can be hard for older kids, like the ones who are too old for camp, but maybe not yet old enough for work. Do you have any options for that? Yeah, I found some. I looked at some volunteering options for teens. There's a place called Service Collective in Brooklyn, which partners with nonprofits to help out senior centers and food pantries and you can do park cleanups. You can also see if your local animal shelter needs help walking dogs and taking care of the animals. And you can also contact your local library about opportunities to tutor or be a volunteer or computer coach. And you can find details on these options and much more in Jess's guide on our news website, Gothamist. That's WMYC's Jessica Gould, talking with my colleague, Sean Carlson.

Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday, three times a day. I'm Jenae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.