NYC NOW - May 24, 2023: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: May 24, 2023

New York City's Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz is stepping down from her role overseeing the city's response to worsening homelessness and housing affordability. Plus, NYPD Officer Orkhan Mamedov will not face criminal charges for driving a van that hit and killed a man on Eastern Parkway last spring. And finally, WNYC’s Elizabeth Kim reports on how New York City’s migrant crisis is challenging Mayor Eric Adams.

Good evening and welcome to NYC Now. I'm Jenae Pierre for WNYC. New York City's chief housing officer, Jessica Katz, is stepping down from her role overseeing the city's response to worsening homelessness and housing affordability. She says she's planning to leave within the next couple months. Katz serves as the public face of the city's attempts to solve record high homelessness and create more housing for the lowest-income residents.

That work got even tougher with the city facing a rising. in migrants in need of shelter and an increasing number of evictions. Mayor Eric Adams appointed Katz to the newly created position in January last year. The NYPD officer driving a van that hit and killed a man on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn last spring will not face criminal charges. The Attorney General's office says there wasn't evidence to prove Officer Orkin Mamadov broke the law. WNYC's Samantha Max has more. Prosecutors say Mamadov was speeding when he drove.

drove onto a painted median strip where Ronald Anthony Smith was standing and hit him. But they say police are allowed to break traffic laws during an emergency. Smith's sister, Julie Floyd, says she's angry but not surprised. Unfortunately, it was due to their own negligence with my brother, but he paid for it. And they get to walk away. The NYPD and the city's police watchdog agency are both still investigating whether Mamadov or his partner in the passenger seat violated department policy. The police union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stay close. There's more after the break. Mayor Eric Adams is facing some of his toughest criticism yet on his handling of the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants. WNYC's Elizabeth Kim reports on how the crisis is challenging him as a leader and manager. Mayor Adams has alarmed homeless advocates for suspending some rules on how shelter is provided. He's outraged many Democratic lawmakers for considering a jail on Rikers as a place to house migrants. And he's reportedly angered the White House for criticizing President Biden for not helping the city enough. But for many New Yorkers, the last straw appeared to be a hastily announced decision to use public school gyms as emergency shelter spaces. There needed to be a plan.

Edigale Blower, who lives in the West Village, is one of several New Yorkers I spoke with in Union Square about the main. mayor's handling of the crisis. Because we knew these people were coming. And it's as if they come and we're saying, oh, we're so surprised. We shouldn't constantly be surprised. He's been at this for a while now. And I think he needs more organization. The migrant crisis is starting to stoke a broader conversation about Adams' abilities as a manager. For months, many people, including the mayor himself, warned about an uptick in new migrant arrivals around the end of Title IV. A pandemic era policy that limited the number of people allowed to stay in the U.S. after crossing the border. According to city officials, the number of migrants arriving daily recently jumped from roughly 200 a day to as many as 900.

Jumani Williams, the city's public advocate, says he understands the situation is fluid, but argues that Adams has struggled to communicate his plans to New Yorkers, including the move to house migrants in school gyms. I think there are times where things are happening and people are saying we didn't know we didn't get a heads up. But when protests erupted over the use of gyms, the city abruptly moved migrants out of one Brooklyn school, seemingly backing away from the plan. The mayor's language around the financial toll of the migrant crisis has also been a source of controversy. The city is being destroyed by the migrant crisis. Progressives interpret his remarks as divisive.

The mayor, who is prone to hyperbole, points out he regularly meets with migrants. Earlier this year, he spent a night in an emergency migrant shelter. I think it shows empathy. I think it shows that he wants to be with the people. Jessica Ramos is a state senator who was a member of the de Blasio administration. But that is not the whole job. you also need to implement the programs and services that people need. Defenders of the mayor say he's been tasked with answering an enormous challenge.

The city says it's counted around 70,000 migrant arrivals since last year. More than 40,000 migrants are currently in the shelter system. The question is, where are the resources going to come from to deal with this 38% increase in our homeless? shelter population. Catherine Wilde is the head of the partnership for New York City, a business advocacy group. She was among those who joined the mayor this week at a press conference with Governor Kathy Hokel, where they asked federal officials to expedite work permits for migrants. The mayor doesn't have a magic wand. Back at Union Square, Bronx resident Everett Stembridge told me the mayor is doing the right thing by lobbying for more federal help. And as for the

Criticism? Well, isn't that what happens to all mayors? I think it's a very difficult job, and you've got to always find something to criticize any mayor about. Bloomberg was criticized when he was in office. Mayor Koch was criticized. David Dinkins was criticized. De Blasio was criticized. That comes with the territory. A spokesman for the mayor says Adams welcomes all suggestions and that he needs solutions, not complaints. That's WNYC's Elizabeth Kim. Thanks for listening to NYC Now from WNYC. Catch us every weekday.

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