NYC NOW - Midday News: Former Interim NYPD Commissioner Sues Mayor Adams, Police Investigate Stabbing in the Bronx, Newark Activates Code Red for High Temperatures and Noisy Construction Disturbs Horse Stable

Episode Date: July 16, 2025

Former interim NYPD commissioner Tom Donlon has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the Adams administration of running a criminal enterprise through the department. Meanwhile, police are investigating the stabbing and killing of a 16-year-old girl Tuesday in the Bronx. Plus, Newark is activating code red through Friday morning as the heat and humidity will make it feel hotter than a hundred degrees. Finally, WNYC’s Elijah Hurewitz-Ravitch reports on a new construction project that is disturbing horses at a nearby stable.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Wednesday, July 16th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. A former interim NYPD commissioners accusing the Adams administration of running a criminal enterprise through the department. Tom Donnellan briefly served as police commissioner last year. He's filed a federal lawsuit accusing Adams and top NYPD officials of blocking internal investigations into misconduct in the department. The federal racketeering lawsuit describes a department that was, quote, a criminal at its core.

Donlin says officials arrested his wife as an act of vengeance and then leaked news of the arrest to the New York Post. Donlan took control of the department after Commissioner Edward Caban resigned after the FBI raided his home. In response, City Hall issued a statement calling the accusations baseless and referred to Donnellan as a disgruntled former employee who was ineffective. Police are investigating the stabbing and killing of a 16-year-old girl yesterday in the Bronx.

NYPD officials say Alia Williams was inside a smoke shop in Williams Bridge around 4 o'clock when someone stabbed her several times. Police say they're looking into what led to the staffing and whether Williams knew the person who killed her. The city of New York is activating Code Red now through Friday morning as the the heat and humidity will make it feel hotter than 100 degrees. The city is encouraging residents to drink plenty of water, limit strenuous activity, especially outdoors,

and look for air-conditioned spaces. Homeless shelters are expanding their bed capacity and cooling centers are opening across the city of Newark. We're at 88 under partly sunny skies, but it feels like 95 right now. We're under a heat advisory and air quality alert, slim chance of mid-afternoon showers and stormers, mostly sunny today, 88, but feeling hotter than that.

Stay close. There's more after the break. NYC. Large construction projects in New York City are often met with complaints. They might be too noise you. There's not enough parking. Maybe a new building isn't in character with the neighborhood. WNYC's Elijah Hurwitz reports on a new development in Brooklyn-facing and unusual naysay. It's disturbing the horses. The Prospect Park's stable in Kensington has been in operation since the 1920s. It's popular among kids who go for rides in the nearby park. You want to make sure your horses stay in this order. No horse should pass in front of another horse.

But nowadays, mounting a horse there comes with a new element of risk. That's the sound of construction on a nine-story luxury apartment. building next door to the stable. Owner John Quadrazi says the noise has been stressing out his 11 horses for six years. Any type of banging or noise, it causes distress for the horses, could cause them to react, throw the lighter and so forth. We don't know they're up there, so we continue to operation and boom, something happens. His daughter, Siana Quadrazi, manages the day-to-day of the stable.

She points to a pony named Canoli, who really struggles with the noise. So he's like our security guard, basically. We always know when someone's on the roof because he starts spinning around to work himself up to a sweat. We'll have to take him outside, calm him down, away from the kids. It pulls him down and make sure he's okay. The stable filed three lawsuits against the building developer. Two were settled, but one is ongoing.

The Proswick Park Stable was once one of several riding facilities in the area. But now it's the last one. Nicholas Bedell has lived across the street for 23 years. He says the stables have been an important part of community life there. It's a fundamental core, iconic attribute of the neighborhood. Meanwhile, the rides continue. 11-year-old Talley Kaminsky is trotting in Appalusa named Texas Toast along Prospect Park's bridal path. It's her first time riding.

I think it's cool that we live in the middle of a really big city and we can herd horses in it. The building's developer says construction should be done by September. That will be welcome news. to Texas host. Elijah Hurwitz-Ravich, WNYC News. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WNYC. Catch us every weekday three times a day

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