NYC NOW - Midday News: Bronx Man Charged in Fatal Subway Beating, Comic Con Kicks Off at Javits Center, and is Zohran Mamdani Coasting?

Episode Date: October 9, 2025

Police are charging a Bronx man with murder in the fatal beating of a Brooklyn man at the Jay Street MetroTech subway station this week. Meanwhile, New York Comic-Con begins this Thursdayat the Javits Center, drawing about 200,000 fans along with artists and actors. And as the mayor’s race enters its final stretch, frontrunner Zohran Mamdani faces growing questions about whether he’s coasting to Election Day.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Thursday, October 9th. Here's the midday news from Veronica Del Valle. Police are charging a Bronx man with murder in the fatal beating of a Brooklyn man at the J Street Metro Tech subway station this week. According to NYPD officials, 25-year-old David Mazzariegos assaulted a 65-year-old from Bensonhurst, named Nicola Tonzi. Police are still investigating what led to the Tuesday incident. Deacon John Leo Hire says he knew Tonsi from Brooklyn's Catholic community. He says the community is shocked by his death. For such brutality for him to be a victim of that is just the opposite of who he was

as a person. Hire says Tansi worked as a security guard at a building near the station where he was killed. Attorney information for Mizaregos isn't yet available. If you see any of your anime or comic book favorites while you're out and about today, don't worry. It's not a terror in the fabric of reality. It's New York City Comic-Con. The event starts today and runs through Sunday at the Jaffa Center. Organizers say about 200,000 fans attended the events and so do dozens of creators, artists, and actors. And if you don't have tickets or if the events are just a little too much for you,

organizers say they'll be streaming some of the panels online. 57 with lots and lots of sunshine outside today. Later today, sunny with a high about 59, wind gusts up to 25 miles per hour. Tonight, it'll be clear and in the mid-40s. Tomorrow, another beautiful day, sunny lows in the 50s. And then on Saturday, partly sunny, 68, and the evening, some chances of rain. On WNYC, it's 12.06. Stay close. There's more after the break.

NYC I'm Sean Carlson for WNYC And it is time for politics brief Our weekly segment where we break down the latest news Out of City Hall and Albany this week We're looking at whether Zeran Mundani is trying to run out the clock on the mayor's race And we're joined by WNYC's Elizabeth Kim here in Manhattan John Campbell is in Albany

All right Liz let's start with you Let's talk about the Mumdani campaign Back before the primary this guy was like all over the city You remember he did that thing where he walked the length of Manhattan just before the election, got all this play in social media. We're a month away from the general election, and you're saying that his campaign strategy has changed. What's that about? Well, he's no longer the underdog, Sean. I mean, he is a frontrunner with a double-digit lead over his rival Andrew Cuomo.

And he's really trying to minimize risk here. There's no reason for him to roll out some policy that makes him vulnerable to attacks from his opponent. right so yeah i mean it's the smart play but it does leave him open to criticism that it's he's doing style over substance yeah yeah and and andrew quomo kind of had a similar strategy heading into the primary i mean he was the frontrunner at the time he had all the name recognition and he was kind of trying to run out the clock and you know he wasn't out there on the camp campaigning on the streets very much and it kind of backfired on him it did back on him and now he's trying to kind of course correct in the general election

He's been campaigning much more aggressively. You know, and it's been harder to pin Mom Dani down on some controversial issues. Like here's one example from today. I asked him about banning horse carriages in Central Park. It's something that he says that he does support, but listen to how he explains his position. One of the first orders of business would be for me to visit the stables myself, convene an independent panel of medical experts to assess. the health of these horses and to work with labor leaders like John and community leaders

to actually deliver this in a just resolution. Interesting. Deliver this in a just resolution. I mean, he says he wants to ban the horse carriages, but then he's talking about a just resolution. Now, I spoke to John Samelson. He's the head of the workers union who represents carriage drivers. And this is exactly what he wants.

He wants a panel to examine the horses. But the question then becomes, is Mondani just kind of kicking the can on this very hot button issue? Unclear. Interesting. The perils of governing. Speaking of Andrew Cuomo here, today, he came out against the plan to close the massive Rikers Island jail complex. What can you tell us about that list? So Cuomo wants to cancel that plan to replace Rikers with four smaller borough-based jails.

He wants to instead build a new facility on Rikers and then build affordable housing complexes on the sites of the proposed jail. So this is likely to please people who live in the surrounding neighborhoods of those planned jails, but it's going to be fiercely opposed by criminal justice advocates who point out that Rikers has been notoriously troubled and, you know, the side of deaths. And the push to build smaller jails in transit accessible neighborhoods is better for the incarcerated, is what they say. And Liz, Andrew Cuomo has a history of closing state. prisons when he was governor. I mean, some of those prisons were ones that his father, former Governor Mario Cuomo, had opened. And, you know, it's also worth noting, too, the plan to replace Rikers with these kind of community-based jails is already well underway, although it's

behind schedule. The borough jail in Brooklyn, for example, is already under construction. So Cuomo's plan is kind of coming late in the game. A spokesperson for city council speaker, Adrian Adams, dismissed Cuomo's plan, called it. a, quote, political scam with no basis in facts or reality. All right. Let's stick with the criminal justice system. John, let's talk about Governor Hockel here. She's endorsed Iran Mandani, even though she is a centrist, Democrat.

He's from the party's progressive wing. Today, she told reporters who she wants him to pick to run the NYPD. So who are we talking about? Well, Sean, let's let the governor tell us, shall we? I have highly recommended that he retained Jessica Tidd. and if not her, then someone of that caliber, someone who is widely respected, who has a track record of success in keeping crime down.

So with apologies to the Who, this is kind of a meet the new boss, same as the old boss situation. Jessica Tisch is the current NYP commissioner, and she was appointed by Mayor Adams. Hockel wants her to stay in the job. I mean, the governor has had a number of conversations with Zeramam Dani before she endorsed him.

And one of the issues she talked about is the NYPD and public safety. And, you know, it's kind of rare that the governor shows her cards publicly like this. So it's clear she's really trying to put pressure on Zeran Mom Dunny to keep Tish, should he win. You know, and the other thing, too, you know, we mentioned Jessica Tish was appointed by Mayor Adams. He's more of a centrist. Tisch's approach to policing has very much been on the tough on crime variety. I mean, she's focused a lot on policing quality of life issues. And that might not play very well with Zeramamam Dani's supporters who are, you know, generally from the left of the party and may want to see more of a reformer leading the NYPD.

And here in New York City, the business community has been, you know, in favor of keeping Tish. And, you know, you know, Mamdani has said that he would be open to consider. her, but he really hasn't said much, and he really has refused, in fact, to name people that he's considering for other key administration roles. And he hasn't even gone as far as to say, you know, what exactly are the qualities that he wants to see in a police commissioner other than saying that he wants to see someone who does have experience in the NYPD? Okay. All right. A bit of a lightning around here, because we're running out of time, and I want to sure we get to both of you here. We're less than a month away from Election Day,

Election Day, John and Liz, I want to know what you're going to be watching in this final stretch here. Let's start with you, John. You might be up 150 roads up the road in Albany, but you did cover one of the candidates for years. So what are you watching? Yeah, I mean, I'm an Albany guy. I'm curious about Andrew Cuomo and what kind of last-minute plans he's going to throw out there. I mean, we already talked about the Rikers plan. I'm curious to see what else he has up his sleeve. I mean, he knows he's down on the polls. He knows he's at a disadvantage because he's not the Democratic nominee. So I'm curious to see what kind of, you know, last minute anvoles he has to drop, especially heading into this early voting period.

And listen, it could get ugly. I mean, Andrew Cuomo is a very sharp elbowed politician who, you know, isn't afraid to play in the muck, so to speak. All right, Liz. What are you going to be watching? So we have two debates this month, one of which is hosted by WNYC and moderated by our very own Brian Lear. Hey, okay. The ad blitz has already started. And I imagine we'll be seeing more, more television commercials, more mailers.

But I'm really looking to see if Mamdani's opponents are able to pin him down on some of these controversial policy issues. You know, the recent flashpoint overgifted and talented programs was one example. Mamdani revealed in a Times questionnaire that he'd favor cutting the programs. And Cuomo and Sliwa almost immediately seized on it and said they'd expand it. And finally, will Mamdani relent to some of this pressure for him? to name some of the top aides he'd appoint. You know, the concern is he's 33 years old, doesn't have a lot of city government experience, and putting out some names could reassure some voters.

Okay, it's going to be an exciting last month here in the final stretch. That's WNYC's Elizabeth Kim and John Campbell. Thanks so much, guys. Thanks, Sean. Thank you, Sean. That is politics brief. If you want to hear more from our politics team, be sure to sign up for emails at gotthmus.com slash newsletters. Thanks for listening.

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