NYC NOW - May 28, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: May 28, 2024

With two weeks left in the legislative session, Governor Kathy Hochul is calling on lawmakers to pass a bill that would prohibit social media companies from subjecting kids to addictive algorithms. Plus, nearly a million low-income households in New York City could lose internet access when a key federal program expires this month. Also, WNYC's Rosemary Misdaryexplains why a meadow of seagrass is in danger and what’s being done to save them. And finally, WNYC’s Ryan Kailath reports on the city’s new outdoor dining rules which take effect in August.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. New York State lawmakers are back in Albany for the second to last week of their annual session. Governor Kathy Hokel wants them to pass a bill that would prohibit social media companies from subjecting kids to addictive algorithms. This is where adults have to step up and say, no, we understand what's important for you. And I think the industry would be very wise to join with us in having these standards, putting aside their financial interests. Hokel says it's her biggest priority before lawmakers leave the capital for the year. But social media giants like META, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, are lobbying against the measure.

The last day of the legislative session is scheduled for June 6. Nearly a million low-income households in New York City could lose internet access when a key federal program expired. this month. A new analysis from the Center for an Urban Future examined the impact of the affordable connectivity program, which gives low-income households a discount on monthly internet bills. The group's policy director, Eli DeVorkin, says those households will now have to spend more money. The reality is that for those nearly one million households, if they want to preserve their high-speed internet service, they're going to have to dig deeper into their own pocket. He says that's going to be impossible for families already struggling to make rent, buy food,

and cover other needs. About 44% of Bronx households participate in the program. More than two-thirds of residents in some neighborhoods get the discount. At the bottom of the Hudson River is a meadow of seagrass. These dense fields serve as a critical habitat,

food source, and filtration system. But they're in danger. WMYC's Rosemary Misdairy explains why and what's being done to save them. Ecologists call these plants and grass its submerged aquatic vegetation, or S-A-Vs. It creates diversity and provides refuge, protection, oxygen, absorbs carbon dioxide, filters, sediments. You couldn't have a more perfect machine.

They provide the foundation for a lot of our ecosystems. George Jackman is the Habitat Restoration Manager for the Local Advocacy Group Riverkeeper. The slimy green tendrils provide a safe hiding place for juvenile fish. All these little fish, they need protection from big fish. There's no free lunch in nature, and predators are always on the prow. And prey species are always in danger of being eaten. And they have to find cover and find protection. Waterfowl also rely on the grass.

Ducks and wading birds such as snowy egrets and great blue Hurons, feast on it. Carl Labu is the New York Ocean and Fisheries Director for the Nature Conservancy. Eelgrass was so thick that in order to take a short boat ride from the mainland over to the barrier island, you had to stop three or four times to clear your propeller of all the grass. But over the last two decades, the seagrass has shrunk by more than 40% according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. That is largely due to inadequate sewage treatment in the form of sewer pipe outflows that are in the wrong place,

like in Nassau County, or in Suffolk County where 70% of the residents and businesses don't have sewers at all, and they basically flush their toilets into the ground, and then that flows through the groundwater right into the bay untreated. Conservation efforts are in the early stages. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation plans to begin rearing seagrass in greenhouses, which could then be replanted in the water. Meanwhile, the agency is using aerial photos to create updated maps of the submerged aquatic vegetation.

Experts hope, with the new data, they can refine their plans to restore the seagrass. That's WMYC's Rosemary MISDairy. Sunshine and warmer temps are enticing New Yorkers outdoors, especially to restaurants. But outdoor dining won't look the same come August. More on that after the break. It's starting to feel a lot like summer. And New York's outdoor dining scene is bustling. As WNYC's Ryan Kailath reports, this is the last summer that outdoor dining will look this way. The city's new rules take effect in August. And some

Restaurant owners worry about what they'll mean for business. John Niedick moved to the Lower East Side in 2012 and was dismayed when one of his favorite neighborhood restaurants closed soon after. So originally that space was a space called Les en Valteripa, and then it was an Icelandic bar. After that, a French-Brazilian restaurant. Then they closed, reopened with a new menu, tried to speak easy in the basement, closed again before the pandemic. The location, 37 Canal Street, felt like one of those cursed,

spaces where no business survives. So for me, first of all, I don't believe in cursed spaces. Nidik creates blessed spaces. He's the founder of Golden Age Hospitality, which runs some of the hottest bars and restaurants downtown, like Acme, the Nines, and Ladive, which he opened at 37 Canal Street two years ago. One thing LaDive has which the other tenants did not? Outdoor dining, courtesy of the pandemic, when the city threw out its rulebook. to help struggling businesses stay afloat.

I mean, we're obviously one of them, but there's a lot of restaurants that just straight up doubled their seats, right? Like a small little 40-seat restaurant that gets 30 seats outside. You go from a business that's barely making it to a business that's super healthy. Ladive is small inside,

42 seats across two floors, plus a bar and counter. Outside, they have 86. Those additional seats are so essential to the way the economics of a restaurant work. They have to hire extra servers for the outdoor tables, Niedick says, but the added revenue from triple the customers

far outweighs the cost. After a long back and forth in the city council and public forums about rats and parking and safety concerns, the city announced new rules for outdoor dining in February. Among the new rules, street sheds will have to use pre-approved designs. They'll need to come down late November and go back up in April. Anyone who doesn't apply for the program has to take their sheds down by August 3rd.

There's going to be a lot of places that are going to lose a lot of their seating, and I think you're going to see another wave of a really difficult time for smaller local businesses. I don't understand why they're making us take it down in August. Why not give us to the end of this season? You know, we have a solid two months all of August and all of September to be generating revenue. And now we're going to have to disassemble our structure by August. August 3rd. Samantha DiStefano's been running restaurants in the metro area for almost 30 years.

Her spot in Bedstai, Mama Fox, seats 45 inside, plus the bar, and 50 outside. She says chances she can afford the new roadway setups? Zero, absolutely zero. Where am I going to store it? And where am I going to get, you know, what, $5,000, $6,000, $7,000 twice a year to pay someone to build it and take it down? You know what I'm saying? Like, it's just completely ridiculous to think.

think that we can set these up and break them down. Will the economics of the restaurant work, do you think, under the new system? You know, that remains to be seen. So many of us are struggling. It's been a really, really bad year. Our industry is having a really, really hard time, and we are struggling. DeStefano says people are eating out less and spending less when they do. She sees the new rules benefiting large, well-capitalized restaurant groups, not small

independence like hers. I guess it's the same thing we deal with on a daily basis. Like, if you can afford it, then you can benefit. The Department of Transportation administers the new program. They say around 12,000 establishments took advantage of the pandemic roadway and sidewalk program. And since March, hundreds have already applied for the new one. Commissioner Edanus Rodriguez expects a wave of signups before the August deadline.

Every establishment, they would make a decision based about, you know, what makes sense for them to get the return from the investments. The department estimates the new roadway setups will cost restaurants up to tens of thousands of dollars, varying dramatically by size and specification. How many restaurants can afford that investment is a question the streets will answer in August, when restaurants that can't afford it start taking their sheds down.

That's WMYC's Ryan Kaila. A quick reminder before we go, Manhattan Hinge begins Tuesday. For the next two, two days, the sunset will align precisely with the Manhattan Street grid. The resulting effect is a solar glow along the city's jungle of concrete canyons. The optimal viewing time is just after eight at night. The best place to watch is on wide main streets that go east-west, like 14th and 42nd streets. Manhattan Hinge happens twice per year. Next time will be July 12th and 13th.

Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday, three-time. a day. I'm Jenae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.