NYC NOW - Midday News: City Cracks Down on Reckless Delivery Drivers, Stormy Weather Ahead, and NYC Expands Pollinator Gardens

Episode Date: July 7, 2025

New York City’s transportation department plans to hire dozens of new officers to crack down on reckless delivery drivers on mopeds and e-bikes. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service is warning of showers, thunderstorms, and possible flash flooding across the metro area starting Tuesday. Plus, as global pollinator populations decline, the city’s parks department is working to protect bees and butterflies with 23 pollinator-friendly gardens across the five boroughs. Matthew Morrow, director of horticulture for NYC Parks, and Georgina Cullman, an ecologist with the department, discuss the effort.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Monday, July 7th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. New York City's Transportation Department says it plans to hire dozens of new officers to crack down on delivery drivers who break traffic laws. The 45 new peace officers will focus on delivery drivers riding mopeds and e-bikes. The officers will be unarmed and hit the streets in 2028. Mayor Eric Adams says the new officers will also help hold delivery apps accountable when their drivers ride recklessly. City data show e-bike riders killed six pedestrians between 2021 and 2024.

The National Weather Service is warning us to expect showers and thunderstorms in the New York City metro area throughout the week, even with some flash flooding. There's also a heat advisory going into effect tomorrow for parts of northern New Jersey for much of the day. The heat index could reach up to 100 degrees. Brian Simnecki is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. He says the heat combined with the rain will bring in that heavy air feeling. The dew points are going to be quite high next couple of days.

That's going to really give us that muggy feeling. Experts are reminding all of us that hot temps and high humidity can cause heat illnesses. Remember to stay hydrated and check up on your relatives and neighbors who might be vulnerable to the weather. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation says air quality is good today and is expected to stay that way all day. 84 and mostly cloudy right now with chances of afternoon showers and thunderstorms with heavy rainfall potentially, partly sunny and mid-term. 80s today with a slight wind. Stay close. There's more after the break. It's all things considered on WNYC. I'm David First. It's summertime and bees, butterflies,

and other pollinators are out and about, but many of them are facing dangerous population declines worldwide. Pollinators play a vital role in the fertilization of crops, gardens, and wild plants. And the New York City Parks Department has 23 pollinators friendly gardens across the five boroughs. For more, we are joined by Matthew Morrow. He's the director of horticulture for the Parks Department and by Georgina Coleman, an ecologist for the Parks Department. And Georgina, let's talk about it. Why is pollination important, especially for cities like New York City? They make plant reproduction possible for something like 85% of plants across the globe. And so even though they're small in size, they really punch above their weight. One of my favorite

pollinator facts is that there are certain plant species that can only be pollinated by bumblebees because this flower's pollen is only released when bumblebees grab onto the flower and then shake it at really high frequencies to release that pollen. This is called buzz pollination. This means that only these local bees can pollinate these plants and basically the whole furry bee just gets covered in pollen and then when they go on to the next flower that pollen then fertilizes that flower and you get to have maybe blueberries and strawberries, something really delicious like that. Now, why are pollinator populations declining? Three main reasons. The first one is just the loss of habitat and the plants that they rely on for food and shelter.

You know, pollinators need sources of food throughout the entire growing season. And if there's a real reduction in the types of plants that are available, there's only really food available for them at a certain time of the summer, rather than being available in the early spring through the midsummer and then into the fall. Cummins, when we tend to create habitats that we like, we tend to really reduce the number of plants that are available. And so that means that there's less food available and less places for bees to rest or other pollinators to rest when we have this more simplified ecosystems. And then another really important reason is damaging pesticides like neonocotinoids. Actually, New York State just passed a ban on. So in 2029, the use of that pesticide will be severely reduced.

Well, Matthew, can you tell us more about the pollinator gardens that the city parks department runs? Why did the city start them and what's their purpose? The city started them because we've always had an interest in horticulture. Our gardeners have always been hard at work, trying to build the best gardens that they can in our parks. We thought it was important to try and inspire within the agency and to the populace of the city and visitors to inspire them with gardens that were designated as places to support biodiversity and life. And so we called them pollinator places because it's a fun name. And we got busy. We started creating them ourselves. We also liaise with some community groups who steward land in certain

parks or even in street trees and engaging them as well. So really it's not only to start providing these resources from a gardening and an actual existence of these garden perspective, but for the signage and just the idea to inspire more and more people to think about this and to plant native plants wherever they can. Well, Matthew, how do you measure the success of these gardens? That's a tough one. I mean, one great way would be to do a survey of population. of insects in some of these gardens. And some of that work is ongoing with a citizen scientist and students. I believe at Columbia University, I'm not personally involved in these studies, but I look

forward to seeing them if and when they are published. But one of the ways I measure success is if there is a garden that is packed with plants, and I'm not talking about one of those gardens you see with a plant here and there and two feet of mulch around every plant. No, these need to be gardens that are a little bit messy so that they can support these insects while still remaining beautiful. Don't get me wrong. One measure of success, too, is that people are interested in them. When people see the signs, we get emails. People talk about them. Well, my gardens are definitely messy. So you're making me feel a little better and almost noble.

Great. You're on board. Now, Georgina, how are pollinator populations doing in New York City, specific? Politbuyters in New York City are doing pretty well, actually. There was a recent survey of the whole state, and they're able to confirm that there's more than 57 out of the 100 species that are considered rare or at risk of disappearing in New York State can be found in New York City. And New York City is home to 200 species of wild bees and over 100 species of butterfly. So, you know, it's kind of surprising to have such a diversity within our city, which is a relatively small space. But New York City really spans different ecological regions.

Matthew, when it comes right down to it, a lot of people still really don't like bees. They have a reputation for stinging people. But let's hear more about that. Why should we really care about bees? If you like to drink milk, eat cheese, or consume beef products, many of the forest, crops that cows ingest are pollinated by pollinators, by insects. So that would be a huge loss to people who may say, oh, I don't care about bees, but they love their cheddar cheese, and I'm one of those people. And I would also say worrying about stinging is something to be aware of. I know some people

it can be a true health detriment if they are stung. But for the most part, where bees are concerned, and even our native wasps, they're very reluctant to sting any creature unless they're being threatened, i.e. grabbed or handled or unfortunately stepped on, which is quite rare with our native bees. Matthew, what can New Yorkers do to help support pollinators in the city? Become interested in native plants is a great way. Whether you plant them or you support other people planting them, people wonder if they're doing the right thing, if they're buying the right plant, if they're supporting the right number of bees versus butterflies. And I would say that's something to wash away and not worry about.

Just start planting native plants that you think are pretty. And if you want to just start small, if you just start planting three species, our native sunflowers, our native goldenrods, and our native asters, you will be supporting generalist bees. You'll be supporting butterflies. you'll be supporting larva that turn into butterflies and feed birds. These three genus of plants are a great start. They're pretty.

Children love them. And just by planting them, you can feel fairly confident that you are providing resources to pollinators. Bees and butterflies are the most commonly talked about pollinators. But what are some of the other pollinators that New Yorkers might encounter within the city? Flies are second to bees in their importance as pollinators. and can be quite beautiful in themselves. Many of them are bee mimics and have those striped bodies and bright colors, so they can be a pleasure to see as well,

not just the big flies swarming around your head bothering you. There's some generally called hoverflies or flower flies. They do a lot of pollination, and they're quite pretty. Wasps as well, especially our native wasps. Only the larva of wasps are carnivores, consuming other insects. The adults feed on flowers, and that's how they pollinate moths as well. I mean, a lot of pollination takes place at night,

and our moths are heavy drivers of that pollination. Some flowers only open at night, especially some large white ones, and so moths can see them, and that's pretty cool. Matthew Morrow, the director of horticulture for the New York City Parks Department, and Georgina Coleman, an ecologist for the parks department. Thanks for joining us. Thank you for having us.

Thank you. Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WM. Catch us every weekday three times a day for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. More soon.