NYC NOW - June 27, 2023: Midday News

Episode Date: June 27, 2023

New York City is buying nearly $100,000 in submachine guns for correction officers at Rikers Island. The Asia Society appoints Yasufumi Nakamori as its new director. It’s primary election day in New York, with polls now open in four of the five boroughs. Registered Democrats, Republicans, and, in a Bronx City Council district, Conservatives, can cast ballots until 9pm Tuesday. WNYC’s Michael Hill speaks with reporter Brigid Bergin about what's at stake. And finally, prominent civil servant Richard Ravitch has passed away. He was 89. Known for saving New York City from financial crisis in the 1970s and modernizing the MTA in the 1980s, Ravitch also served as lieutenant governor under Governor David Paterson. WNYC's Stephen Nessen has a remembrance

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Tuesday, June 27. Here's the midday news from Lance Lucky. Dismal weather may make the already expected low turnout for New York City's primary election even lower. Election officials say they've received only about 60,000 ballots out of some two and a half million New Yorkers who can vote in the primary. The polls close at nine tonight. New York City is buying nearly 100,000.

$1,000 in submachine guns. For correction officers at Rikers Island, WNYC's Matt Katz reports. A purchase order in the city record shows that a South Jersey gun dealer is sending the city MP5 submachine guns, which a correction spokesperson says will only be used by a specially trained team for extraordinary situations. Officers in the jails are actually forbidden from carrying weapons, but they are sometimes armed when transporting detainees or providing security on the jail's perimeter. The purchase comes at the same time the department is controversially eliminating $17 million in programs at the jails on job training, drug rehabilitation, and other life skills. Earlier this fiscal year, the correction department also purchased 10 sniper rifles, each costing

$10,000. The Asia Society has a new director, Yasufumi Nakamori, comes to the Park Avenue Arts and Culture Institution from London's Tate Modern, where he served as senior curator of international art and photography since 2018. Nakamori previously held positions at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. John D. Rockefeller founded the Asia Society in 1956. The institution is known for collecting and exhibiting arts of Asian heritage. Nakamori replaces Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe, who left Asia Society in June of last year. It is 72 right now. Light rain and scattered showers this afternoon. Thunderstorms were possible in near 78, though showers continue through the evening.

On WNYC, I'm Michael Hill, and it is primary day across New York. Polls are open in four, the five boroughs today for the June 27th, primary day elections, voters who are registered Democrats, Republicans, and in the case of one city council district in the Bronx, conservatives can cast their ballots by nine o'clock tonight. The voting part is pretty straightforward, figuring out when all the results will be in, well, that is a little more complicated. Joining me now with that information and what to keep track of before you go vote is W&YC's Bridget Bergen. Now, before we jump to the results, what should voters know as they head out to the polls today?

Well, remember, you need to be a registered voter in a party holding a primary to vote in these elections. New York has, as we talk about, a closed primary system, which means that only registered Democrats, Republicans, and as you mentioned, Conservatives in the 13th City Council District in the Bronx can vote in these elections. So it's really wise to confirm your poll site and who's on your ballot before you go out to vote. It's also important to remember that if you live in part of a neighborhood that's on the edge of a city council district, your representative may have changed after redistricting. There are definitely parts of South Brooklyn where that is very much the case. So check it out so you are not surprised when you get to a poll site.

and the best place to find that information is at the New York City Board of Elections website, which is vote.n.YC. There you can enter your address and find your primary day poll site and take a look at your sample ballot. Bridget, voters will have the opportunity to rank their vote in some other races on the ballot. Would you explain that once again? Yeah, so if you have a city council primary with multiple candidates, you have the option to select them in order of preference. Your top choice could be number one, your next choice is number two, and so on, up to five.

Now, this is the system that's been in place since 2021. The idea is that it extends the weight of your vote and allows you to vote your heart and not just your head. Meaning, say you really love a candidate, even though you're not sure the person can win. With ranked choice voting, there's really no reason not to rank the person that you love, number one, because even if they get the fewest votes and end up eliminated in that first tally, your ballot will still count if you picked a second choice candidate. So it's actually pretty empowering for voters. Now, in those other contests on your ballots that are not city offices, and so I'm talking DA primaries, judicial and party contests, that's where you just make your choice and that's it. If your candidate loses, your vote doesn't go any further.

Any more tips before people go vote? Well, for the past few years, the BOE has been sending out these tags that voters can put on their key chains as part of their annual mailer. Well, this year, they actually also sent out a QR code on that mailer that if you scan with your phone, you can add it to your digital wallet. And so that when you go to check in at the poll site, the poll worker can find you easier in the poll book. You can sign in faster, get your ballot fast printed more quickly. you know, there are probably not going to be huge lines at many poll sites for this election, Michael. But these are the types of things that it's good to try out now because next year there is a presidential election. And those poll sites will be a lot busier.

And you'll know how to use some of these tools to keep the lines moving faster. Helpful tips. Helpful tips. Let's talk results now. When will we know who won? So the BOE will post returns like they always do on election night. Those returns will include the votes from people who voted. during early voting, a big chunk of the absentee ballots, and people who voted on the machines on primary day. That means certain affidavit ballots and absentee ballots won't be in that tally.

And also, really important to note, there will be no ranked choice tally on primary night. So what we will see are just the results based on who people picked as their top choice. Then a week and a day later on July 5th because of the July 4th holiday, we're going to going to see the first ranked tally. And if they need more ranked tallies to come up with someone who gets more than 50% of the vote, they will take place and weekly intervals. Are you saying we might not know who won some of these ranked choice races until, let's say, mid-July? I am saying that. There's a possibility in closed contests, but the BOE is committed to getting it right. They know people remember what happened in 2021 when they published those erroneous ranks.

choice results. So they say they are working to make sure that does not happen again that the results are correct, even if they take some time. And keep in mind, valid absentee ballots can still be received up to a week after the election. There's also a process to fix some of those ballots that have errors, and that can add about a week into the process because the BOE has to notify you and the voter has to respond. It adds time, but it's all in the service of voters, and the BOE wants to get it right. If anyone experiences, problems, Bridget, at a polling site. What can they do? Well, I'll tell you, Michael, social media is surprisingly effective in these elections. Tweeting at the Board of Elections is very helpful. A voter can also

call 866 Vote NYC for information, or you can send tips or issues to us at gothamis.com. Primary day in New York, WNYC's Bridget Bergen on it. Thank you, Bridget. Thanks, Michael. One of New York's most important civil servants has died. Richard Ravage was 89. He helped save New York City from financial ruin in the 1970s. He followed that up by saving the subway system in the 1980s, creating the modern version of the MTA in the process.

He even served as lieutenant governor from 2009 to 2010 under Governor David Patterson. Back in April, Ravich sat down for an interview with W&YC. Stephen Essen, who has this remembrance. Dick Ravich kept his office on the 33rd floor of the Art Deco General Electric Building in Midtown. A secretary there ushered me into a conference room that had a mini replica token booth made out of wood. Ravich arrived shortly after. But before we could dive into an interview, his assistant, Dali, had an important question. So what do you want?

Because we're going to do like the deli or whatever. And here's the voice. DLT. Somehow, even a sandwich had. Gravitas when Ravich was ordering. But I was there to talk about debt. I was writing a story about how the MTA's business model, selling bonds to pay for subway upgrades, has been compromised by the pandemic. Ravich was the architect of that and only too happy to talk. But first, I asked him to share his earliest subway memory. It shouldn't have been a surprise, but it's centered on money.

He recalled when the MTA raised the cost of a ride from a nickel to a dime. And I had to get my father to increase my allowance so I could afford it because I want to make sure I had enough money for comic books and chewing gum. Years later, Ravich was meeting with then-Go Hugh Carey trying to get PBS more money when Carrie asked if Ravich would be MTA chair and fix the subways. I found the system in a state of serious disrepair. But he was up to the task. He convinced lawmakers to tax New Yorkers to pay for repairs to the subways. And it worked. Ravich quite literally saved the system. That was in many ways my greatest achievement in my life. And even up to his last days, he was still helping out. Ravage said he met regularly with MTA chair

Jan O'Leber for breakfast at Serebeths on Central Park South. He's a bright guy. We talk a lot. He asked my advice. I give it to him, mostly about how do we get money? Ravich also recounted a recent lunch with Governor Kathy Hokel, where he said he put in a good word for the MTA. I asked if he thought the governor would give the MTA the money it needs. He was confident. I think that's what they need for the MTA. He was right. They did.

Hockel agreed to increase taxes on New York businesses. And again, it was Ravich, working behind the scenes. A power broker to the very end. Stephen Nesson, WNYC News. 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. More this evening.