NYC NOW - June 3, 2024: Morning Headlines

Starting point is 00:00:01 Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Monday, June 3rd. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. The city is opening up news sectioning applications today for the first time in 15 years. As WNMC's David Brand reports, New Yorkers have just six days to get those submissions in. The application portal will stay open through Sunday until the clock strikes midnight. The New York City Housing Authority runs the program in the five boroughs.

Starting point is 00:00:35 They say they'll do a random lottery to pick 200,000 applicants for the final wait list. That means it doesn't matter exactly when you apply, as long as you get the application in before the deadline. They also say they'll be removing duplicate submissions. Visit the NCHA website to apply. Or you can visit NITHA's Customer Contact Center in Brooklyn or the Bronx to apply in person. More details on how to apply on our news site, Gothamist. Fires caused by faulty lithium ion batteries used in e-bikes are a new public safety threat in New York, but attorneys for the victims and families are facing a major hurdle in winning monetary compensation for those victims.

Starting point is 00:01:16 WNYC's Matt Katz, Explains. The FDNY says 25 people have died and nearly 350 injured from such battery fires since 2022. But the uncertified batteries, which are prone to explosions that are difficult for firefighters to extinguish, are often manufactured in unknown factories in China or cobbled together in the backrooms of e-bike shops. Lawyers for victims say that means they are unable to locate and file suit against those responsible. At times, corporations that own e-bike shops dissolved within days of a lawsuit. So lawyers told WNYC that they are now focusing their suits against landlords whose buildings violate the building code, making escape from fires difficult.

Starting point is 00:01:56 In San Francisco, Yankee slugger Juan Soto hit its 17th home run. his second of the game in the ninth inning. It was a dramatic go-ahead two-run shot, and the Yankees beat the Giants 7-to-5. The bomber sweep of the three-game series gave them seven wins, that is, over their nine-game West Coast road trip. They'll try to extend their five-game winning streak against the Minnesota Twins tomorrow night in the Bronx. At City Field, the Mets lost to Arizona, five to four to split their four-game series with the Diamondbacks. 69 and partly sunny right now.

Starting point is 00:02:30 we have slim chances of showers this morning and thunderstorms this afternoon. It'll be a mostly sunny day with the high of 84. And then tomorrow mostly sunny in 78. Wednesday looks dry as well, partly sunny in 77. But on Thursday, here come those shower and storm chances in the forecast. Mostly sunny or mostly cloudy on Thursday and 81. Stay tuned. There's more up next.

Starting point is 00:02:59 NYC. I'm Gene Apeier. New Jersey voters head to the polls Tuesday to vote in this year's primary election. Voters in New York will get their chance later in the month. And of course, the main event, the November election, is just 150 days away. As part of our election coverage, WMYC is using laundromats across the New York metro area as hubs for civic engagement. We call the project Suds and Civics. For some insight, my colleague Michael Hill talked with George Bordarky, who leaves,

Starting point is 00:03:33 our community partnerships desk. George, what are people telling you between their washing and folding cycles and what are the big concerns ahead of this election? Yeah, well, a lot of people we talk with are concerned about their wallet. They've noticed prices going up and they say they're just trying to manage. I had a newborn and the cost of milk is crazy. I got to buy milk every day. The cost of diapers is high now. It's kind of rough. That's Kenny Grant. We met him at Bubbles or us in Patterson on a previous visit. He's 32 years old. He has three kids, and at the moment, he's out of work.

Starting point is 00:04:09 50-year-old Anne Farkas was doing her wash at Star Launchermatt on Staten Island. She has a job, but also says she's feeling the pinch of higher prices. Groceries, costs more money. You put gas in your car, eggs. I mean, just daily necessities, things we need every day. Milk, bread. It's just insane. Farkas is the mother of a 23-year-old son. She says she thinks a change in the White House could help her pocketbook. My Donald back, listen, he may not know how to speak, but my pockets were fatter. Barkas also expressed concerns about the costs associated with migrant care, and she says she wants to see more action around that issue. Close the border.

Starting point is 00:04:48 You know, you have to take care. We have vets. We have our own homeless people. We have people with drug problems and everything, and they're on the streets. And listen, I'm a product of immigrants. I have nothing against immigration, I swear. But I just feel like, you know, we have to do things the right way. George, it seems that immigration is once again central to people's thoughts about this election.

Starting point is 00:05:08 No question. It's been a theme since we started this project back in February. Here's 42-year-old James Wolfe we also met at Star Laundromat on Staten Island. I'm concerned about the border. I want people to come here. I want people to come here. But I would like for it to be legally. This issue hits close to home for Greville-Avado Bennett Cassada. We met him at Jason's Laundromat and Huntington. Station on Long Island. He's 60 years old. He moved here from Honduras seven years ago. He says he thinks Trump was better for the economy, but Biden has more compassion for Hispanic immigrants like himself.

Starting point is 00:05:43 President Biden, as a person, he, if we, not in a certain form, compassion, respect, as a society, that's a lot of the world, no? Because, not because we're Hispanic, we need to discriminate. Because if we're in America, and we're not in this He's saying we are in America and we are also Americans. He says he doesn't think it's right to discriminate against Hispanic immigrants. George, what else came up in your recent SUDs and civics visits? Over the last few months, the economy, jobs, and immigration have dominated our conversations. But during our last round of laundromat visits in May, we also heard from people on the issue of abortion rights.

Starting point is 00:06:26 Anna Singh is married with two young kids. she was doing her wash at Star Laundromat on Staten Island. She works two jobs and says inflation is her number one concern, but she's also very concerned about the rollback of abortion rights. Especially what happened with Roeb v. Wade, that is a big issue because I am a woman. I have a daughter. Like, you know, why is our rights being taken away by a bunch of, no offense, you know, men who have absolutely no idea what's going on in a woman's body.

Starting point is 00:06:56 Still, Singh says she hasn't made up her own. her mind about November. At Jason's laundromat in Huntington Station, 36-year-old Josh Fairman described himself as pro-life and says this issue will be a factor when he heads to the polls. There's obviously other things, too, that we're divided on in this country. But just to know that there is someone in office that is hearing that and advocating for those things as well, too, I think it does sway how we as a family, my wife and I look to vote and look to see who we, you know, want to align with as far as policies and things of that nature. Michael, another issue that we hear about is gun violence.

Starting point is 00:07:36 Kim Budram was getting her clothes done at Madison Avenue Laundry in East Harlem. Young children, you know, getting, you know, getting gun down for no reason. And now on the street you can talk hard or harsh to nobody because they're pulling out gun and, you know, like they're ready to shoot you. Budram says she votes because she wants her voice heard on issues like this. George, are the people you're meeting in laundromats expressing any level of excitement to cast a ballot this year? That varies, of course. James Wolfe at Star Laundromat on Staten Island says he'll be voting and encourages others to do the same. It's your constitutional right. You should do it. If you don't vote, don't complain.

Starting point is 00:08:20 Joe Shope at Madison Avenue Laundry in East Harlem says he'll be going to the polls, but he's not too stoked this year. I do vote blue. I will vote for Biden, even though I am not excited about him. Carl Mason Jr. was doing his wash at Stye, Wash & Dry in East New York, Brooklyn. He says he's still undecided. I just hope I make a good choice. In the past, I've made good choices, I would say, and some I haven't. George, we'll be hearing from you again this morning, live from Bubbles Arras in Pattison, New Jersey, talking to voters and working to put these perspectives in greater context, right? That's right. The laundromat opens at 7 this morning, and we'll be bringing you more voices from Patterson, along with insights from political analysts on voting trends and behaviors. We'll also be hearing from the League of Women Voters in New Jersey about their efforts to increase political participation in the Garden State. So more suds and civics to come. George Bodarky is the Newsroom's Community Partnerships editor. George, we'll catch up with here at Bubbles or Us and Patterson, as we said, later.

Starting point is 00:09:21 Thanks for listening to NYC Now. Be sure to tune in for the midday. and evening episodes to hear some of the voices recorded live at Bubbles Are Us.

NYC NOW - June 3, 2024: Morning Headlines

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