NYC NOW - May 22, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: May 22, 2024

A new report from the health nonprofit KFF says nursing homes in New York and New Jersey are ill-prepared for new federal staffing rules that require about 3.5 hours of clinical care per resident each day. In other news, a state appellate court has upheld the decision to prevent New York City from moving about 250,000 retired city workers to a privatized Medicare plan. Meanwhile, major delays are expected for JFK travelers this summer due to increased traffic and the construction of two new terminals and roadways. Also, it’s the 40th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical "Sunday in the Park with George." Plus, WNYC’s David Brand tours an office building being converted into housing in the Financial District. Finally, amid investigations into anti-Semitism at CUNY campuses, some Jewish students say they don’t feel safe, but WNYC’s Arun Venugopal reports the investigation has also sparked fear among CUNY faculty.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Sean Carlson. Nursing homes in New York and New Jersey are ill-prepared for new federal staffing rules, according to a report from health policy nonprofit KFF. The new rules require nursing homes to provide about three and a half hours of clinical care to residents each day, spread between a registered nurse and a nurse's aid. But the report finds that in most states across the country, fewer than a quarter of nursing homes are already in compliance, 15% in New Jersey and 14% in New York.

So nursing homes will have time to get up to speed. Staffing minimums will be phased in starting in 2026. A new state appellate court has upheld the decision to bar New York City from switching about 250,000 retired city workers onto a privatized Medicare plan. A group of retirees sued New York last year to stop the Adams administration from pushing them off of traditional Medicare and onto a Medicare Advantage plan. They first won an injunction against the city in court last summer, but the cities argue the switch would actually improve retiree health care and save about $600 million annually. A spokesperson for the city law department says they'll petition the state's highest court to review the latest ruling. If you're traveling through JFK this summer, be prepared for some delays.

WNIC-StevenSsen reports the port authorities expecting a record high number of people flying, just as construction on two new terminals and roadways is most busy. One thing the Port Authority doesn't want this summer is the nightmare scenario it saw during construction at LaGuardia in 2016, when people abandoned their taxis and walked on the highway to their terminals. With roadways under construction at JFK this summer, officials are urging everyone to take mass transit. Executive Director Rick Cotton says if traffic does get bad, he'll consider making the air train free at the Howard Beach and Jamaica stations. If we need to take more aggressive action, we will. Cotton says for now, if riders get on the air train at Lefferts Boulevard, they won't have to pay. 40 years ago this month, a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Sunday in the Park with George opened on Broadway.

To celebrate the big anniversary, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lickon Center is displaying a small collection of composer Steven Sondheim's belongings. That includes an original play bill for the show owned by Sondheim, who died in 2020. 21 at the age of 91. The Performing Arts Library is open from 1030 in the morning to 8 at night on Mondays, and from 1030 to 6 from Tuesday to Saturday. Up next, we'll take a look at one of the city's many empty office buildings that's being converted into housing. Love that story and more after the break. The pandemic has left many office buildings across New York City empty.

Now, Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hokel are trying to make it easier for developers to turn them into housing. WNYC's David Brand recently toured one project in the financial history. I'm standing in the hollowed-out basement of 55 Broad Street. Miles of wires are dangling from the ceiling, and a gaping hole opens to the lobby above. It's a chaotic space, but architect John Setra says he has a vision. It's going to have large fitness area in the corner there. You see actually the layout of the stair. There's other lounges, workspace.

fitness, health, all those things are going to be in this area here. I'm seeing now how big it is. It's really fantastic. Setra is working with the owners to transform the old office building, once Goldman Sachs headquarters, into 571 luxury apartments. He says the amenities will only sweeten the deal for tenants who can start moving in this fall. We take a thundering hoist elevator to the 21st floor to check a few out. Workers are busy installing white cabinets in the kitchen and unboggied. appliances in the living room as sunlight pours in through the brand new windows.

The building, which opened in 1967, used to house a bank and still has some office tenants. Cetra says he and his team had to figure out the most efficient way to fit apartments within the existing structure. It's the kind of 3D jigsaw puzzle that gets architects going. You can get totally wrapped up in the details of how it works, how do they interlock, how do they nestle into one another, one another, you know, so yeah, it's fun. All this work is supposed to help New York City solve a core problem. In short, our office vacancy rates are too high, and our residential vacancy rates are too low. That's city planning director Dan Gerrodnick.

His agency says 55 Broad Street is one of seven conversions in the works right now. None of this is cheap. Building owners' Silverstein properties in Metroloft declined to say what monthly rent will be. But the median rent for a one bedroom in the financial district is close to $5,000 a month, according to Street Easy. Grodnick says he hopes new tax incentives will help developers build units for middle-income renters too. We are really enthusiastic about the states change with a tax incentive to give us more opportunity to see office to residential and to deliver some affordable housing in the process. He says in all, 64 different office building owners are participating in the same.

in the city's accelerator program, sort of a one-stop shop to help them navigate building codes and administrative requirements. He says tweaking some city rules could allow developers to convert about 136 million more square feet of empty offices into housing. That's as much office space as exists in the entire city of Philadelphia.

Back at 55 Broad Street in Lower Manhattan, architect John Setra says allowing developers to convert some newer office buildings could pave the way for thousands of additional high-end departments. We're already looking at some buildings that would have not been possible to be converted. He says Midtown Manhattan is the next office conversion hotspot. That's WMIC housing reporter David Brand.

Lawyers appointed by New York Governor Kathy Hochel are investigating claims of anti-Semitism at City University of New York. That's after the governor launched an inquiry weeks after the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel and after some Jewish students said they didn't feel safe on CUNY campuses. But as WNMIC's Arun Venetabal reports, the broad investigation has also sparked fear among CUNY's staff as well. Scholars, administrators, and faculty union representatives say that in recent months, members of a private law firm, Latham and Watkins have been interviewing CUNY faculty members, showing up unannounced at faculty meetings, and combing through calendars of past events.

The lawyers are led by Jonathan Lipman, the former chief judge of New York State. emails and interviews indicate that one focus of their attention is CUNY Law School. Student commencement speakers at the law school have been critical of Israel in recent years. Frank Deagle is a law school professor. He says the investigation has been opaque. That law firm has been operating throughout the university, isolating students and some faculty, how these names are chosen we don't really know. Email shared by Deal showed that investigators requested information about a prior teaching

and on the BDS or boycott divestment sanctions movement, as well as a book talk at the school with the author of The United Nations and the Question of Palestine. Law School professor Babe Howell says a request indicate the inquiry is more about silencing political speech. This investigation does really put me in mind of a McCarthyism, the accusation of anti-Semitism. Does the work an accusation of communism did in the McCarthy era?

In a statement, a spokesperson for CUNY, Noah Garty, says the university has taken steps to fight discrimination in all forms. But when the law firm asked Howell to meet with them, she declined. She doesn't think anti-Semitism is an issue at CUNY law. She says there is a problem with the targeting of pro-Palestinian students and faculty, and that this isn't being addressed by the investigators. However, some Jewish activists say CUNY does have an anti-Semitism problem. CUNY campus is there among the words. in the country. Tammy Rossman-Benzhen

runs the Amka Initiative, a Jewish group that monitors anti-Semitism on college campuses. She says anti-Zionist activism and promotion of the BDS movement are common on CUNY campuses and that they quickly morph into anti-Semitic behavior. She says she's cautiously optimistic about the investigation. There is an acknowledgement that there's a problem and there's an intention, a desire, to do something about the problem.

While some CUNY faculty members have refused, to meet with the investigators. Sarah Chin, an English professor at Hunter College, says she agreed to meet with them on principle. Chin is the chair of the college Senate and serves on the board of the Park Slope Jewish Center. If the only people speaking to them are the people who are saying, Hunter is anti-Semitic,

saying mean things about Israel is anti-Semitic, Jewish students are afraid to go to class, and there is no counter to that, then we are not doing our job. We need to speak up for academic freedom, for freedom of expression. A spokesperson for Governor Hokel says a report from the law firm is expected in the coming weeks. That's WNYC's race and justice reporter, Arun Benigapal. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC.

Catch us every weekday three times a day. Also, we want to hear from you. What do you like about this show? What would you like to hear? Send us a message at NYC now at WNYC.org. Sean Carlson, we'll be back tomorrow.