NYC NOW - Midday News: 1981 Conviction Under Scrutiny, Push to Ban Legacy Admissions, Plus Fav Stories of 2024: MTA to Upgrade NYC’s Oldest Stations and Ken Leung Profile

Episode Date: December 27, 2024

A Westchester County man convicted of a 1981 robbery could have his conviction vacated after prosecutors found flaws in the investigation. Meanwhile, supporters of a bill to ban legacy admissions at New York colleges are ramping up efforts for next year. Also, we’re revisiting the top stories out of the WNYC newsroom this week. Today, a lookback at the MTA’s announcement to upgrade two of its dreariest stations. And finally, WNYC’s Ryan Kailath spends a day with actor Ken Leung.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. I'm Junae Pee. It's the last Friday of the year and we're taking the day off, a little holiday hangover. Here's your news headlines from Michael Hill. A New York man could have his more than 40-year robbery conviction vacated today with the backing of the Westchester County District Attorney. Jeffrey Coon served eight years in prison for a 1981 robbery. He's always said he did not commit. And after a review from D.A. Mimi Roko's office, she says the detectives who put him behind bars use questionable methods while investigating the crime. Valerie Coons is Jeffrey's wife. She says the details in his conviction never added up to her, even when she first learned about the allegations.

They said you were six foot tall. I said, you like five, nine. They said you were dark skin. I said, you're not. You know, I'm going through a thing. I said, how does it happen? Coons is scheduled to appear before a judge today. Backers of a bill to prohibit legacy admissions at New York's colleges and universities are gearing up for a big push next year. Say Senator Andrew Godardis says giving priority to the children of alumni is unfair and takes away spots for underrepresented groups. Legacy admissions is nothing more than affirmative action for privileged students. After the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action by race last year, many colleges reported a drop of the number of black and Latino students in their freshman classes. Under the Fair College Admissions Act, colleges and universities would have to abolish legacy preferences or pay penalties. If passed, New York State would join several others that have recently banned alumni preferences in higher education.

38 and mostly Sunday now, mostly Sunday near 44 high today. Rain overnight, 36, tomorrow, rain, a high near 47, then on Sunday, rain likely, mainly midday cloudy with a high near 57 and gusty. freezing rain and icy sidewalks and roads in the city and northern suburbs. We're continuing our look back at some of the top stories from the WMYC Newsroom. Earlier this year, the MTA announced upgrades to two of the city's oldest stations. Our transportation reporter went to see just how grimy the stations are before its facelift. That's after the break. The MTA plans to make major upgrades at two of its days.

oldest, dreariest stations. Back in March, WMYC's Stephen Nesson visited both stops. And fun fact, they're both on the National Register of Historic Places. The Brooklyn Bridge City Hall Chamber Street Station was one of the first subway stations to open more than 100 years ago. The entrance at the Municipal Building is below a historic, well-maintained, white-tiled, domed roof. But down below, it's another story. I was very surprised when I came here first time, how disgusting this station is and like smelly. Needed renovation from very long time.

That's 47-year-old Anna Warwa, who's been using this station for the past 18 years. Nearly every single column on the J-Train platform is chipped or missing tiles. Most are covered in graffiti, flaps of brown paint dangle from the high ceiling, like bats in a cave. But help is on the way. The MTA plans to spend $100 million on historically sensitive repairs, adding ramps for people with disabilities, installing new artwork, and repainting the station. The contract includes similar renovations

at the 190th Street Station in Washington Heights. It has stonework befitting its proximity to the cloisters, but many of the stones are chipped and cracked. Doesn't it? That it looked like something from the hobbits. Because you walk right into the mountain. That's 69-year-old Patricia Finnegan, standing in front of the Bennett Avenue entrance,

with its curved rock face and small wooden green door, doors that creak when they open. The doors will be replaced with similar looking ones, but ones that meet federal standards and can open with the push of a button. That's WMYC's Stephen Nesson, whose story first aired back in March. Okay, we take another dip into the archives. After decades on shows like Lost in the Sopranos, New Yorker Ken Leong had a breakout moment on HBO's industry. After two quiet seasons, the show became a breakout hit over the summer. In it, Leong leads a group of young investment bankers at a fictional London firm.

It's a world far from his childhood in Manhattan's Chinatown. Earlier this fall, WMYC's Ryan Kaloth met up with him to discuss his star turn. I live right across the street. Ken Leong grew up on Catherine Street, a couple blocks off Bowery. And if you weren't around in the 70s, the Chinatown he describes is almost unimaginable. Like the night his family was at a variety show at the old pagoda theater. And suddenly gunshots, the doors opened behind us, and there were gunshots, everybody

hit the ground. But then they left, and we didn't leave. Nobody left. Everyone just got back into their seats, and the show went on, and I fell asleep, because nothing could compete with that in terms of excitement. Leone went to NYU to be a physical therapist, but an intro to speech class led to an intro to acting class. and there was no turning back.

He says acting gave him something that he never got in his upbringing. Practice being a person in just all manner of situations. I can learn to be part of this world. And through that, I can find myself. His current show, Industry, has been a slow-burn success. The first two seasons are full of financial jargon and intrigue. But the show's broadened out. moved into HBO's coveted 9 p.m. slot, where Succession and Game of Thrones aired.

And the audience has grown considerably. Industry shoots in the UK, but Leon spends most of his time back in New York, and he's noticed people noticing. I've developed a great kind of peripheral awareness of double takes, or when somebody's walking and suddenly stop walking. Do you see that couple taking a picture when we were on Moscow Street? I kind of did, yeah. It's funny you say that because I don't really notice it in Chinatown.

There's a thing in maybe the culture that's like starts off very unimpressed. There's an expression. I say it a lot. And it's, ch'er. And it can be used in so many, you know, the meaning depends on the context. But it's basically big deal. Like, so what? The show's finance talk through him at first, but consultants help the actors understand just enough to tap into their character motivations. And life in New York has helped inform the character, he says. For a while, his son carpooled a school with a friend whose dad is in the industry. I guess a few mornings I went with them sitting in front, and he was having his morning meeting with his team in the car as he was driving.

So it gave me at least a texture of what a meeting like that is like. Lyong's own parents, like so many immigrants, did not bless his acting career. When he told them he planned to pursue it, his father wouldn't face him. And his mother just cried. Has that gotten better at all over the years? It's unchanged. We don't have a talking relationship, really. I mean, we don't really have a relationship to speak of.

And they've never asked me about it. Presumably they know I'm still doing it. Yeah. Brilliant. Brilliant pronunciation, usage, application. Amazing. Leong says a lot of people ask him what his dream project would be. And he usually says a romantic drama.

But sitting here in Columbus Park in the middle of Chinatown, he says, I love to be in something where I speak nothing but Cantonese, because Cantonese is so expressive. It's like the Sicilian of, it's like you talk with your hands. You know, whenever people say, you know, Chinese people, they always sound angry when they're talking. It's not that they're angry, it's that they're speaking Cantonese. That particular dream project will probably have to wait. A couple weeks ago, HBO renewed industry for a fourth season. That's WMYC's Ryan Kailat.

That story originally aired back in September. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Shout out to our production team. It includes Sean Boutage, Amber Bruce, Audrey Cooper, Owen Kaplan, Leora Noam Kravitz, Jared Marcel, Jen Monson, and Wayne Showmeister, with help from all of my wonderful colleagues in the WMYC Newsroom. Our show art was designed by the people at Buck, and our music was composed by Alexis Quadrado.

I'm Jenae Pierre. Have a lovely weekend. See you on Monday.