NYC NOW - May 19, 2023: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: May 19, 2023

Doctors training at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens are planning to walk out on Monday if they don't get a wage increase. Plus, a federal monitor threatens legal action over the NYPD's refusal to release records on racially biased policing. Also, the New York City Comptroller is calling on state leaders to support a proposed Climate Change Superfund Act. And finally, WNYC’s Precious Fondren shares everything you need to know about the return of the Public Theater’s Mobile Unit.

Good evening and welcome to NYC now. I'm Jene Pierre for WNYC. In Queens, doctors training at Elmhurst Hospital are threatening to walk out Monday if they don't get a wage increase. Elmhurst Hospital is part of the NYC Health and Hospitals Network, but medical residents there are employed by Mount Sinai's I-Conn School of Medicine through an affiliation agreement. Irfa Khan is a second-year resident in psychiatry. She says it's unfair they get paid less than their peers at other Mount Sinai facilities. Everyone is hurting, everyone exhausted, everyone is tired, everyone's burnt out, and everyone feels like no one cares.

And all we are asking for is parity with their peers. The Elmhurst trainees are part of the Committee of Interns and Residents, the largest House Staff Union in the U.S. Mount Sinai Hospital residents who earn more are not unionized. A federal monitor is threatening legal action over the U.S. NYPD's refusal to release records on racially biased policing. WNYC's Matt Katz has the story. Monitor Mylan Dennerstein oversees court-ordered reforms to the NYPD. She wants the NYPD to turn over information on officers under investigation for racially biased policing,

including prior complaints against those officers and their disciplinary records. The NYPD has so far refused to provide the records to the watchdog agency that handles complaints against police. That agency, called the Civilian Complaint Review Board, has new powers to investigate racial profiling and other biased policing. Before the board took over, the NYPD's own Internal Affairs Bureau conducted such investigations, but only found officers guilty in 0.1% of cases. New York City Comptroller Brett Lander is calling on state leaders to support a proposed Climate Change Superfund Act. The legislation would require fossil fuel companies to pay $3 billion annually for 25 years. years. That penalty is less than 2% of the 2022 profits of the oil company Aramco, one of the largest climate polluters in the world. Louise Young is the Comptroller's chief climate officer.

We need them to do what's right by the planet, what they should have been doing a long time ago, and they need to be on the hook for the pollution that they have directly caused that is affecting our collective climate. The bill is currently in committee in the state legislative process. Supporters say they're confident it will come to a vote this year. Stay close. There's more after the break. It's almost the weekend. And if you're feeling artsy, here's a treat. The Public Theater's mobile unit is back with the new traveling production touring New York City's parks and community centers. WNYC reporter Precious Fondren has more.

It's almost curtains up for the public theater's later show. A 90-minute bilingual musical version of The Comedy of Errors, a play by Shakespeare. The production team is busy hauling around props and equipment. But this show is a little different. It's not happening at a conventional venue, but instead at Herbert Von King Park in Brooklyn. It's part of a presentation by Mobile Unit and outreach program the public theater started in the late 50s. Here's interim director, Precious Wilson Gay.

The special thing about Mobile Unit is that it's free and open to the public. It's also accessible. And another element is that we've really come to you. So we have no expectation for you all to come to the public theater and see our shows because we come directly to your neighborhood by partnering with these various organizations. There's no backstage here. No place where actors run to change outfits or prep for the next scene. Props are minimal and outdoor shows are performed with natural light.

A comedy of airs was adapted by director Rebecca Martinez and composer Julian Meser. From Syracuse, and when he got married, his wife had some news. They're having twin baby boy. Martinez says they chose this play for a couple of reasons. I wanted to have some comedy. I wanted to have some joy. I wanted to have just a feeling of celebration.

But in reality, this is a play about family separation. And it's a play about a country that has put up borders and has actually made it illegal. for people from another country to enter. And those are very serious stakes. This is the first time Martinez is directing a show for Mobile Unit. She says it's important to make theater accessible for as many people as possible.

I think it was last week where someone wrote in one of the post-show surveys that it was their first play that they had ever seen. And that's huge. Sarah Isman is an actor herself and came to see the show with friends. She hopes free opportunities like this. helped to build community. We have proven that art in general, theater specifically creates empathy, creates community, and brings people together.

So bringing all of that to the community so they don't have to pay for it means that we are developing our collective imagination, we're developing our collective empathy, we're developing our community together, and the art is doing that. The Comedy of Errors pop-up shows tour through Sunday. Then it opens at the public theater on May 25th with free performances that run through June 11th. That's WNYC reporter, Precious Fondry. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. If you like what we're doing, subscribe, leave a review, and share widely.

We want to give a shout out to our production team. It includes Sean Boutage, Ave Carrillo, Audrey Cooper, Liora Noam Kravitz, Jared Marcell, and Wayne Shalmeister with help from the entire WNYC Newsroom. Our show art was designed by the people at Buck, and our music was composed by Alexis Quadrato. I'm Jenae Pierre. We'll be back Monday.