NYC NOW - March 13, 2024 : Evening Roundup

Episode Date: March 13, 2024

Mount Sanai is locked in a billing dispute with United Healthcare, one of the region’s largest health insurance companies. Also, PS. 55 in Staten Island has been accused of throwing out hundreds of books covering topics like race and LGBTQ themes . WNYC’s Jessica Gould reports. Plus, starting this week, Muslims across the region are marking the holy month of Ramadan. It comes as some mosques in the local West African community are sheltering and feeding migrants. But now, they're struggling to pay their bills. WNYC’s Arya Sundaram has more.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNMIC. I'm Sean Carlson. One of the region's largest health insurance companies is locked in a billing dispute with the Mount Sinai health system and it's sending some patients into a panic. Doctors affiliated with Mount Sinai will no longer be in United Health Care's network starting on March 22nd. Mount Sinai hospitals are already out. United says plenty of other health care providers take their insurance. But United member Kelly Foster has Crohn's disease and says, finding new doctors takes time.

They sent a letter that to me was pretty insulting that said, like, you know, feel free to find other providers. There's plenty in New York City, you know. It's like, that's just not so simple. Mount Sinai doctors who also have agreements with other hospitals may be able to keep taking United insurance. Mount Sinai and United say negotiations are ongoing. Up next, hundreds of new books covering diverse topics like race and LGBTQ themes were found in

the trash. in an elementary school on Staten Island. And if that sounds like book banning, well, you might be right. That story and more after the break. Book bans have rattled communities across the country, and as WNIC's Jessica Gould reports, that includes New York City.

This winter, Brooklyn resident Holly Spiegel learned hundreds of books had been left with the trash outside PS-55 in Staten Island. They were about black history, immigration, and LGBTQ-plus identity, and they were marked not approved. At its heart, this feels like censorship, and it feels like book banning. Spiegel is the steward of several little free libraries in her East Flatbush neighborhood,

those wooden boxes where people can take and leave books. One of her neighbors spotted the books outside the elementary school in Staten Island, put them in the trunk of his car, and brought them to her. Some of the books were part of a recent effort by the Education Department to diversify school materials, and they had little sticky notes on them. There's just a post-it on top of a stack of books called We Are Still Here, which is about Native Americans or Indigenous Americans throughout the country. The note says, negative slant on white people.

Then there was a book called The Derby Daredevils about Roller Derby. It says, Not Approved, discusses Dad being transgender, teenage girls having a crush on another girl in class. And then there's Black Panther, the young prince. It says, Not Approved. and then a post-it note on the inside has witchcraft in quotation marks and also human skulls. There's also a book about Nina Simone. And it's got a post-in-on-it that says,

this is about how black people were treated poorly but overcame it, in parentheses, can go both ways, which is confusing. Spiegel got in touch with someone at the school and asked if they had others they were getting rid of. They did. She picked up hundreds more books. She was glad to put them in her little libraries, but disturbed they wouldn't be shared with children at PS-55. The books aren't getting into the hands of kids who would identify with the characters, but it's also not getting into the hands of kids whose worldview would be broadened by reading about people who aren't like that.

After WNYC shared photos of the books and notes with the Education Department, spokesperson Nicole Brownstein said they had launched an investigation into what happened. It's unclear whether parents or staff led the effort to get rid of the books. And whoever it was did not follow department protocol. The books were never officially challenged, and no one received permission to remove them. The principal did not return requests for comment. I stopped by the school to see what I could find out. It's totally pouring here at PS-55 in Staten Island,

where cars are lined up to pick up kids at pickup. Hi, I'm Jessica. I cover education, and I'm here because I'm doing a story about some books that were disposed of from the school. During pickup last week, under umbrellas in the pouring rain, some parents said they'd heard rumblings about a controversy involving books. Nancy Hibranco has two kids at the school. I'm against censoring. It just makes me sick to think that you're keeping things away from us. Parent Angela Hartie, whose daughter is in the third grade, agreed. Parents should decide what their kids do and do not read, but I don't believe in banning books at all. I don't think it's right.

What about hearing that this happened here? Yeah, that's kind of disappointing. You know, I believe that it should be something that you and your child decide, not something that people decide for you. And it's kind of disappointing. It's supposed to be those subjects. Like, I don't see anything wrong with any of them, so. And I'm surprised that some parents maybe knew about it, but others didn't.

Yeah, I didn't hear anything about it. I think that's one step closer to Fahrenheit 451 where the firefighters were their job was to burn books. That's the novel by Ray Bradbury, where books have been outlawed and firefighters have to burn any they find. Many of the books Spiegel retrieved were part of the Mosaic Curriculum, an effort by Mayor Bill de Blasio to make lessons and materials more culturally responsive. Natasha Capers, director of the New York City Coalition for Educational Justice, championed that effort. But she says the Mosaic books often came without much information on how to use them. There should never be a time when we're just sending things out to schools with no guidance.

And it definitely should never be a time when we're just throwing away books. I watch my children throughout their schooling read so many books that use horrific language about black people. Like there's a book and it says the N-word you just have to start. it up. There was no just like throw it away because I don't like that. As for that witchcraft and skull in Black Panther, she says what about Shakespeare and Macbeth? It starts off with three witches around a culprit. Not to mention Hamlet. Like, that dude was legitimately talking to a skull at one point. While book controversies have become common in other parts of the country, there have only been three official challenges of books in the

city's public school system since 2019. And the education department says none of those books were removed. Officials vowed to figure out what happened at PS-55 and said they'll make sure the school follows the rules going forward. That's WNYC education reporter Jessica Gould. On Tuesday, in response to our story, schools Chancellor David Banks addressed the controversy on New York One's Inside City Hall. We're watching across the nation of huge assaults on the teaching of black history. We're watching books that are being banned. All this runs counter to what a good comprehensive education should be all about. Officials say the investigation into what happened at PS-55 is ongoing.

Starting this week, Muslims across the region are marking the holy month of Ramadan. It comes to some mosques in the local West African community are sheltering and feeding migrants. But now they're struggling to pay their bills. WNIC's Ariasandrum reports from one mosque in the North Bronx. After a full day of fasting and before even eating his evening meal, Imam Amarnias opens his mail. Look, this will want to be. 10,962. 76 cents.

The letter says the account is 90 days past due. Pay now before enforcement actions begin. In the past year, New York City has become a destination for a growing number of West African migrants, many of whom are Muslim. And many local mosques have stepped in to help. Imam Omar Niyaz says he allows anyone in need to sleep at his mosque, which is in the basement of his home.

But as he's taken in more migrants, most regulars stopped coming because of the lack of space, and he stopped receiving donations. How do you make do? What do you do? I need help. Nias is one of several imams who have struggled to pay their utility bills, sometimes racking up thousands of dollars in debt,

as they provide migrants with a place to get warm, charge their phones, and sometimes shower and eat. Some ammams have asked migrants to leave to make space ahead of Ramadan. But at least 20 mosques across the city still serve as informal hangout sites for migrants. That's something that Brennan Brink at the Interfaith Center of New York has been tracking. Without a doubt, mosques are doing the most as far as capacity.

Compared to other houses of worship, he says these mosques often have few resources to draw on, and they get little to know help from the city. Some amams say they're hoping Ramadan's emphasis on charity will help pull in more donations, especially with more people to feed this year. There's expectation that people would feel more sorry and provide more. Sheku An is a community health worker

who visits mosques helping migrants across the city. But, you know, the community has been doing that. So we don't know if they're going to do more because of the Ramadan. We hope. Ramadan or not, many imams say they're still committed to helping those in need who continue to show up at their door. Ariasundrum, W.N.YC. News. That's WMYC's race and justice reporter Ariasundra.

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