NYC NOW - June 6, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: June 6, 2024

Some New York City families who say they were rejected from universal preschool for three-year-olds are taking their fight to the Mayor's office. Also, the New York Working Families party is pulling financial and ground support of congressional candidate Mondaire Jones. Plus, WNYC’s Stephen Nessen reports on an unusual practice on the AirTrain. And finally WNYC’s Karen Yi reports on a New York City nonprofit that is housing young moms in foster care under one roof.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City. From WMYC, I'm Jenae P.A. The fact that there was a promise of 3K and pre-K made us feel like it would be ridiculous to leave. But now we're deeply concerned about the future of our city. As the city gets more unaffordable, all but the most wealthy will be unable to stay. Some New York City families who say they were rejected from universal preschool for 3-year-olds are taking their fight to the mayor's office. They delivered 6,000 petitions demanding that Mayor Eric Adams

fulfilled their promised 3K seats and rallied to call for a restoration of proposed cuts to early childhood education. Second grader Axel Abraham was among those at the rally. If the mayor takes 3K away, he's hurting a lot of families. He should think about all the kids he is impacting. 3K is important because it is free and it helps families have school. City Hall says, while the families may not have been able to go, go to the specific locations they wanted to, due to space considerations, there are seats available

for them. Adams has rolled back some education cuts and said his administration is invested in helping young families afford care. The New York Working Families Party is pulling financial and ground support of congressional candidate Mondair Jones. Party leadership says Jones strayed from the values that earned their support in 2020. They specifically cited his endorsement of Westchester County Executive George Latimer in the primary race against WFP-backed Representative Jamal Bowman. Latimer supports Israel in its war with Hamas. Jones is running for a competitive swing seat to the north of Bowman in Hudson Valley's 17th Congressional District. Jones's campaign says he has no regrets over his support for Latimer or Israel. Latimer's campaign has not commented.

MTA officials have been trying to crack down on fair evasion on the subways. But over at the Port Authority, that agency is leaving the gates wide open. WMYC's Stephen Nesson reports on an unusual practice on the air train. On a recent Tuesday afternoon at the Howard Beach Station, travelers are hustling off the A-Train and racing up the stairs to catch the air train. In their haste, they could be forgiven for skipping the E-Train. $8.50 fare. You know, you just walked through those gates and you didn't pay?

Like 30-year-old UK tourist, Harry Schaefer, and his partner. Did we? I thought we paid when we got in the subway, or is this a separate? It is separate, because the MTA runs the subways, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is in charge of JFK Airport and the air train. Does that mean you pay twice? Exactly. Well, seems a little unfair for one journey. It can be confusing because the way you pay for the air train is with a subway metro card,

and in recent months, with the MTA's tap-and-go payment system Omni. But there's a problem. The Port Authority went ahead and installed Omni readers on several of its old turnstiles. But the two are not compatible. So for now, whether you tap to pay or not, the turnstiles with Omni readers are always left wide open. And whether riders choose to pay is up to their conscience, and a lone Port Authority employee in a red vest who can only encourage people to do the right thing. Please tap and go and make a left.

This glaring mistake is problematic to transit agencies fighting a spike in fare evasion. The MTA expects to lose $800 million this year because of it. That agency is upgrading its turnstiles to make them harder to hop. But 28-year-old Mack Ahmed, who works at a kiosk at the Howard Beach Air Train Station, selling snacks, says when the Port Authority installed the new Omni readers, they just made it easier for travelers to not pay. All the time. They do it every day. They just cross the gate, I know, every day.

A Port Authority spokesperson denies this is happening and says nearly 100% of its customers pay. But it doesn't take long to see someone else skipping the fare. like 47-year-old Jacinta Ramos from Queens, who's returning from a trip. I think it's not fair because if you have to pay twice... You're talking to take the air train and the subway. Exactly. You know, it's a lot of money. It's supposed to be a public transportation, but it's expensive. The Port Authority calls the Open Gates a creative and temporary move.

It plans to install new turnstiles that are compatible with Omni, and can open and close by the end of the year. That's WMYC's Stephen Nesson. A New York City nonprofit is housing young moms in foster care under one roof. More on that after the break. Young moms in foster care often have a hard time finding housing or struggle to learn how to live on their own. That's why a New York City nonprofit is trying a new approach,

housing new moms 14 to 21 years old under one roof. WNYC's Karen Yee has the story. Hi, Brie! You're going to have pizza? Aranis Galendez is with the mother and child program at the New York Foundling that works with kids and youth in foster care. Today is the big moving day. Galendez shuffles up and down a four-floor building on a quiet residential street in the Bronx's Castle Hill neighborhood. She checks in on the nine girls, mostly 15 or 16 years old, who are moving in. The girls unpack their boxes, check out the kitchen cabinets, and play with their infants or toddlers as they settle into their brand new bedrooms.

I'm hoping that this will bring everybody together because before we were scattered in different apartments here, we'll be in one building. The New York founding has been around for 150 years. It partnered with the city's administration for children's services to build and open a pair of buildings where 18 young moms and their children can reside under one roof. The goal is to help teens learn how to live and succeed on their own when they age out of foster care at 21 years old. On every floor on this side is a washer and dryer. The new arrangement comes at a time when the city is grappling with an unprecedented number of people in its shelter system. That's been driven by newly arriving migrants in an affordability crisis. The number of vacant affordable apartments is at its lowest point since the 1960s, and rents are rising faster than wages.

But the founding hopes securing stable housing now can ensure the new families can find stable housing later. 15-year-old Safia Dixon is just getting home from school. She greets her dimpled, 14-month-old daughter, and soaks in her new home. This looks like the apartments with the TikTok people we have. And I'm like, this looks fancy. And when I seen the kitchen, I'm like, oh, okay, it's fancy.

Safia has been in foster care for about two years. She says the day she was placed in the city's custody, she found out she was pregnant. I was in the darkest, how can I say it, the darkest spot in my life because of certain things I was going through with my family. But she says her daughter changed all that. She's now on the principal's list, a higher accomplishment than the honor roll, and her sights are saying. said on being a veterinarian or a flight attendant.

I said, okay, I got to do this for her, not only for her, but for me. Now I have a motivation. I have someone to encourage me. Someone I have to give my all. The founding was established in the 1860s to save babies that had been abandoned on the street. Now under its partnership with the city, the organization's capacity to serve young moms will double. Melanie Hartzog is the CEO and president of the founding. To be able to give stability to a 16-year-old mom in foster care with other peer supports, moms who are also in foster care who are pregnant or parenting, that is a very powerful model.

Hartsog previously worked as a deputy mayor overseeing the city's social service agencies. She says she wanted to make sure the new apartments catered to what parents need. The moms will be able to access 24-7 support staff who can help them with child. child's care, feeding their children, or life skills like cooking, all in one place. Each apartment will be home to three mothers and have a washer dryer and unit. Another perk, a dishwasher. That's a game changer when you're a parent. Back in the apartment, Safia says her last place, which wasn't managed by the founding, was older and falling apart.

Sophia says her new apartment already feels more like home. Everything's going to, it has to look amazing. and I'm going to order some lights and put it around it. I have stickers. I was going to put on that wall, like the baby, wherever she's going to be at, and some stuff for her. It's going to be beautiful. Her bedroom is spacious and bright.

There's a colorful rocking chair in the corner in a big closet. Safia says she's looking forward to her child growing up in a safe place. It's a start for the kind of life she wants for her daughter. That's WNYC's Karen Yew. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. Catch us every weekday, three times a day. I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.