NYC NOW - May 10, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: May 10, 2024

New York City's Department of Mental Health and Hygiene says we can expect longer tick seasons, thanks to warmer temperatures due to the effects of climate change. Plus, New York City is facing a discrimination lawsuit because its health benefits for city employees don't cover in vitro fertilization for gay male couples. And finally, WNYC’s Arun Venugopal follows a group of migrants who are hoping to break into New York City’s restaurant industry.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. I'm Jene Pierre. As temperatures get warmer earlier or stay warmer for longer, we're seeing tick season start earlier and end later. Tick season is well underway in the New York City region. These days, the season can start as early as March and extend as far as into early November. Ashwin Vassan is the commissioner of the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. He says the effects of climate change are changing the season's usual pattern. Vassan says if you head into a grassy or wooded area, all the same precautions apply.

Wearing tick spray, wearing longer-legged, longer socks and long-legged pants. The similar guidance, in fact, that we have for sun protection. Here's a tip. The commissioner says, make sure to do a tick check after you come home. They say ticks are typically concentrated in less populated areas of the city, like Staten Island and the northern part of the Bronx. A Brooklyn couple is suing New York City over its employee health plan, which they say discriminates against gay men.

Currently, New York City will cover up to three rounds of IVF, but only if employees try and fail to get pregnant through other means first. The lawsuit argues it's impossible for same-sex male couples to meet that standard. A city spokesperson said the health plan follows state guidelines. Coverage for IVF is becoming increasingly common across the country, but eligibility rules very widely. A group of migrants are hoping to break into New York City's restaurant industry. More on that after the break. A group of migrants in New York City is undertaking a new challenge after fleeing their homelands.

They're trying to break into New York's restaurant industry. But officials say the industry needs them as much as they need it. WMYC's Arun Vana Gapal has more. There's a lot going on in this commercial kitchen in Sunset Park. Some frying, some whisking, and some chaos. This is a five-week cooking class run by the nonprofit group Hot Bread Kitchen. The kind of course that happens all the time in one of the world's culinary. capitals. But the 16 students who are taking part in this class called Culinary Career Pathways

for New New Yorkers are all Latin American migrants. They're equipped with work permits and they're being groomed for jobs in the restaurant and hospitality industry. The students include Sandra Patricia, a 47-year-old from Columbia who obsessively watched Master Chef. She says my passion. And I see those people there, I wanted to live that experience. She says she saw the show and wanted to live that experience. Patricia once ran her own restaurant. She says she has a gift and she wants to use it.

She's motivated, which is what supporters of this initiative are counting on. Drive. program is partly funded by the State Department of Labor, which says there are 40,000 jobs around the state that can be filled by migrants. Governor Kathy Hokel echoed that point at a press conference at Hot Bread Kitchen last fall. She said this wasn't just a matter of helping migrants, but helping businesses that can't find native workers to fill certain hospitality roles. We have a two-for-one solution here. Now we have all these people who want to be here. I've all these jobs that are open. You marry the two together and you've solved.

the problems. Okay, I would put the muffins, and everybody has the scones, right? Right? For this group, the coursework involves learning how to make apple muffins, raisin scones, and other delicious things. But their bigger challenges learning English, fast, not just cooking terms like broil, poach, or saute, but the kind of sophisticated back and forth that might come up in a job interview.

Mario Aveni is the ESOL, or English for Speakers of Other Languages, instructor. He asked the class for answers to one. potential interview question about what their shortcomings are. One student takes a stab. I take a lot of responsibility. I take on. A lot of.

A lot of. A lot of. A lot of. Responsibility. Responsibility. Responsibility. Yes. But I am learning to ask for more.

Support. Support. Very cool. The program is bolstered by all the ties that Hoppera Kitchen has to the private sector. Abe Monzon is Senior Director of Talent at Union Square Hospitality Group, whose 15 restaurants include Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Cafe. He says graduates of this program could land full-time jobs as prep cooks, earning $17 to $20 an hour. And then eventually they can become a lead-line cook and then become a sous chef,

the second name's sous chef, chef the cuisine, and then eventually, the un-executive show. Jesus Gonzalez is 33 and fled Venezuela several years ago in the midst of several personal tragedies. His mother was badly injured after she was kidnapped and then held for ransom. His father was arrested by military officers, then died of injuries during his detention. Jesus was homeless on the streets of Colombia when the owner of a pizzeria gave him a job. Pizza saved him and became his calling. He moved to New York last year and dreams of the day he'll have his own pizzeria. Pizas of chocolate, pizzas of fruitas, a pizzeras. He'll make traditional pizzas,

chocolate-based pizzas, fruit pizzas. Some of his ideas and ingredients are so novel, he can't share them yet. But eventually, he's certain it would be one of the ten best pizza places in all of New York. Well, my motive principal are my kids, and, sobre total, please, to thank you to my father, for the He says any success that comes his way is thanks to his late father. Hot Brack Kitchen says it plans to run culinary career pathways from New Yorkers three more times this year. And it encourages anyone who's interested to learn more at its website. That's WMYC's A Room, Vinegapal. Before we go, this week was Teacher Appreciation Week,

and we wanted to take the time to say thank you to all the teachers in our region. Here are a couple of voices to help express some gratitude. Hello, my name is Mira Cleffey. I'm eight years old. Also, I'm in third grade. I go to PS130. I appreciate my teachers because they help us learn how to be kind to our community and teach us how to read, write, and communicate.

They show us how to be equal to each other and help us out when we need help. That's why I'm thankful for my teachers. Thank you, Ms. Gonzalez, and Ms. Taub from IS-145 Queens, for being my teachers, and thank you for teaching me things I have never learned before and making the class activities fun and not boring. Hi, my name is Caitlin. I'm a seventh grader at PSI-26Q. As this week is Teachers Appreciation Week, I wanted to talk about all the things I appreciate about my teachers. The teachers I have have shaped me as a person because of the connections I'm here.

have with them. Ms. Nolan has helped me so much throughout the years, especially going through quarantine and being my teacher for all three years. She has always been there for me, looking out for everyone, and to this day, she still invites me to her room for lunch. I'm also incredibly grateful for Ms. Friedland, who gives me every opportunity to succeed. She's one of the nicest people I have met, always keeping her word, and doing more than needed to keep her students happy. overall, I'm incredibly grateful for all my teachers, as they are all constantly looking out for us and putting us before themselves, which is very appreciated. Thank you so much for everything you have done. Again, thank you to all of our teachers.

And thank you for listening to NYC now from WMYC. We're not done yet. Got a shout out our production team. It includes Sean Bowdoge, Amber Bruce, Ave Carrillo, Audrey Cooper, Owen Kaplan, Leora Noam Kravitz, Jared Marseille, and Wayne Schoenmeister, with help from all of my wonderful colleagues in the WNYC Newsroom. Our show art was designed by the people at Buck, and our music was composed by Alexis Quadrado. I'm Jene Pierre. Have a great weekend. See you on Monday.