NYC NOW - May 31, 2024 : Midday News

Episode Date: May 31, 2024

The NYPD is not complying with a 4-year-old public disclosure law about surveillance technology. The Department of Investigation says the NYPD failed to follow the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology multiple times last year, including their introduction of the Times Square subway canine like robot known as Digidog. Also, the city is introducing more cooling centers this summer with deadly heat waves are on the rise. And in Nassau County, the police department has been fighting giving up it's phone directory for the past 4 years, despite multiple court orders. They've finally given up the closely guarded document and WNYC's Charles Lane has the details. And finally as the weather gets warmer, more people will be out on bikes. One non-profit organization helps blind, low-vision and disabled riders enjoy cycling on tandem bikes for free. Reporter Jeff Lunden joined the group for one of their rides.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Friday, May 31st. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. A new report finds the New York Police Department is not complying with a four-year-old public disclosure law about surveillance technology. The Department of Investigation says the NYPD failed to follow the public oversight of surveillance technology or post-year-year-old. Post Act multiple times last year. The report says police did not follow the rules in the introduction of the Times Square subway robot, Digidog, the K9-like robot, and a technology that allows officers to attach GPS trackers to moving vehicles. The Post Act requires the NYPD to give at least 90 days notice before using new tech surveillance. The public then gets 45 days to comment before the NYPD Commissioner publishes a final decision. The NYPD has not been. not yet responded to a request for a comment. New York City officials say they're expanding the number

of cooling centers this summer as deadly heat waves become more common. Commissioner of the Department of Aging, Lorraine Cortez Vasquez, says older adults should be especially prepared for extreme heat. Cooling centers are critical. You have a map. We can know exactly where they are. Senior centers, public libraries, and museums are among the more than 500 places at service cooling centers. The city is rolling on an interactive map next week. New Yorkers can also call 311 to find the nearest cooling center. 72 in Sunday now, mostly sunny and 78 with a slight breeze today, mostly clear in 61 tonight. Then tomorrow, Sunday in 84, and then on Sunday, looks as if the sun will shine on the annual Philippine Independence Day parade, Sunday at noon in Midtown, along Madison Avenue between 38 and 27 streets.

Stay close. There's more after the break. Well, you recently reported that Nassau County Police had been waging a four-year battle against turning over records and defiance of multiple court orders. Well, the department finally coughed up the closely guarded document, the department's phone directory. WNIC's Charles Lane reports. NASA has claimed for years that turning over its phone directory was a violation of privacy. When WNYC's story aired, it prompted an immediate conference with the judge of flurry of emails, and finally, the directory's release.

Lawyer Joey Aaron argued for the release of the record. Within 24 hours around, the documents were produced. So I guess we see the pen is mightier than the sword, which is nice. Aaron estimates the fight cost taxpayers $100,000 in legal fees. The two-page document lists the police department's various offices and extensions. We now know that the generator room can be reached at extension 7632, but we also see more pressing details. The IT unit, for example, has four supervisors, each with their own office line, but the child abuse section has no phone line. The county did not respond to questions.

As the weather gets warmer, you'll see more and more New Yorkers on bikes. One non-profit organization in New York helps blind, low vision, and disabled riders, enjoy cycling on tandem bikes for free. Reporter Jeff London joined the group and has this story. I meet Maria DiMeglio by the Boat House in Central Park after my second ride within tandem. She's decked out in typical bike gear, a jersey and tights. But she has an eye condition that gives her very low vision and she walks with a cane.

Demeglio comes out several times a week. It's more than just riding a bike. It's more than just exercise. It is socialization. It is good for your mental health. It's teamwork. It's working together. And while it can be exhilarating, it can also be scary, especially for first-timers.

You can't just pick up a tandem bike and start riding. You need to go through an extensive training process, first on Zoom, then in person. A tandem bike is bigger and heavier than a regular bike with a wider turning radius, kind of like the difference between driving a sports car versus a station wagon. Stopping and starting is especially difficult, and both riders really need to be in sync, which is not easy.

I was paired up with another sighted rider, Kate Perkins. Oh, geez. No, no, it was kind of a hard stop. I should have started. After several turns around the parking lot, she and I ride around Central Park, with her in the front first. Then we switch.

So we are going to go in three, two, one. And we're just coasting because we're going down a hill here. In tandem uses nautical terms for its bike riders. The captain steers the ship, or in this case the bike, the stoker is the person who used to feed the coal fires that powered a steamship. When you ride as a captain, you realize the tremendous responsibility you have for the safety of the person on the back of the bike. Central Park can be like a slalom course.

You have to be hyper-vigilant watching for people cutting across the road, other bikes, petty cabs, horse-drawn carriages, stoplights. And you need to communicate everything with the stoker. We're hitting a red light again. You need to be careful I'm hitting the brakes. We're coasting. there's a dog, I don't want to run into the dog. We got through without any mishaps. And a few weeks later, I do my first official ride with Wendy Blowman,

a small athletic woman who's got very limited vision. We ride around the park three times. I love being in the park. I love being active. I get to meet lots of people doing this. I get some great friends. And get to explore the city in some other places. is too on the bike. Wendy's ridden the Five Borough Bike Tour and a hundred-mile-round trip from the Bronx to Mayapak.

I am Angela Kapangpangan. Angela has been a captain within tandem since 2017, but on the day Wendy and I rode, she was handing out bikes from the trailer in Central Park. You know, initially you come in hoping that you're helping people that has disabilities, but once you ride with them, you totally forget that somehow they have disabilities and there's just a friend you're riding with. I can relate. And I can't wait to ride again. For WNYC News, I'm Jeff London.

Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WMYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcast. We'll be back this evening.