NYC NOW - Midday News: Jury in Daniel Penny Trial Unable To Reach Agreement, Queens Casino Promises Jobs, NYPD Analyzes New Evidence in Fatal Shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO, and Mayor Adams Talks Housing and Tax Cuts

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

***This episode has been updated to reflect a new development in the Daniel Penny trial. The jury in Daniel Penny’s trial says they are unable to reach agreement on the manslaughter charge in connection to the choking death of Jordan Neely. The judge has asked them to continue their deliberations. Meanwhile, Seth Bornstein, executive director of the Queens Economic Development Corporation, says the proposed $8 billion casino project near Citi Field will create thousands of jobs. Plus, the NYPD has recovered a water bottle and snack wrapper possibly linked to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Police are analyzing the items for evidence. Finally, WNYC’s Michael Hill speaks with Mayor Eric Adams and First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer about the city’s new housing plan and the mayor’s push for an income tax cut to support working New Yorkers.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Friday, December 6th. Here's the midday news from Alec Hamilton. A judge is telling the jury deliberating the fate of the subway passenger who killed another writer last year to keep trying to reach a verdict. This morning, jurors told the judge they're deadlocked in the case of Daniel Penny. The judge read the jurors what's known. as the Allen charge, which urges them to continue working towards consensus. Penny is on trial for killing Jordan Neely by putting him in a chokehold after witnesses say he began yelling

threats on an F-train last year. Queen's residents have been sounding off on a proposed $8 billion casino complex near City Field. A majority of those who attended a public hearing yesterday at the Queensboro President's office voiced support for the project known as Metropolitan Park. Seth Bornstein is an executive director of the Queen's Economic Development Corporation. He says the development will create thousands of jobs. Based on my many years I've seen projects that never came to fruition, it would be horrible to squander this incredible opportunity. Some speakers were worried about the environmental impact,

as well as the potential for gambling addiction. The hearing is part of a lengthy land-use review process that will continue in the next year. And the NYPD says they have recovered a... water bottle and a snack wrapper from a trash can near where United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed earlier this week. Police say the man they're seeking was seen using those items about a half hour before the murder. Officials say the items have been sent to a police lab for analysis. Mostly sunny today, a high near 35, but the wind chill will make it feel down between 20 and 25 degrees, so bundle on up. Up next, New York City's new housing plan gets the green light

from the City Council. We'll hear from Mayor Adams after the break. The new housing plan the City Council approved Thursday was a compromise based on one of of Mayor Adams' signature policies. The mayor is also trying to put more money in the pockets of city dwellers with an income tax cut that needs state lawmaker approval. My colleague Michael Hill spoke with Mayor Adams and first deputy mayor Maria Torres-Springer to learn more.

Mayor Adams, let's jump right into this. Your housing plan is an overhaul of the city's. zoning codes to make it easier for developers to build. How soon will those codes change and when will buildings actually go up? Oh, thank you. And I think it's just important for New York. As you know, our number one concern was the 1.4% vacancy rate that we were experienced in the city. And this is the most comprehensive housing reform since 1961 and not in history of the city. And those particulars, I'm joined by First Mayor Maria Torres-Springer. She'll go over those exact particulars of the implementation of this.

Diem? Good morning. We will not lose any time in making sure that we can start building these new homes. This is 80,000 new homes over the course of the next decade and $5 billion worth of investment in infrastructure and housing. So the types of new homes that we are going to see from office conversions to modest apartment buildings to accessory dwelling units. This can all happen as soon as possible, and we want that because New Yorkers for too long

have been suffering from housing insecurity, and the mayor made sure that we didn't just craft a proposal, City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, but that we implemented it as quickly as possible. Ms. Deputy Mayor, have developers shared any proposals that they're ready to submit as soon as the new rules take effect or will any ongoing projects be affected? Well, we do know, I'm hearing from the development community, that different types of office conversions or the modest apartment buildings on commercial corridors and near transit, that they have been waiting for the city of yes for housing opportunity to be passed. That happened yesterday.

And so what I think this means is that we are really starting a new era of housing access and housing affordability in the city. It's really a watershed moment. The zoning code has not been overhauled in this way for 60 years. And it's about time that we acted with the type of urgency and velocity that New Yorkers deserve. Mayor Adams, you recently announced a proposal to reduce or eliminate income taxes for working class New Yorkers, but you cannot enact that yourself. How do you plan to get this through the state legislature?

I thought a clear indicator of that was yesterday. standing side by side with us, Governor Hoku, Governor Hoku gave us a billion dollars towards this housing city of yes initiative, and she has been a real part. This is an important bill for all of us. $63 million is going to be returned back in the pockets

of over 582,000 New York City residents and families. To break that down in a simple level, a mother with a child is going to, if she's making $31,000 a year, she'll be seen and she'll be excused of playing her city personal income tax. And we would get it through Albany. We got great partners up there, like all the other initiatives that we push through. Mr. Mayor, your audio is drafting out there. I'll try another one here.

There are other ways to affect affordability in the city without having to go through a legislative body. Mayors appoint the members of the Renton Guidelines Board, for instance, which decides how much stabilized rents can go up in the city. What do you say to those who argue you could simply freeze rents? I'm happy to jump in here. So we have been squarely focused on driving down rents and affordability in the city. The mayor has, we've passed a historic budget with $26 billion for NYCHA and for housing affordability. We are making the types of investments in affordable housing with back-to-back records. We are using public sites in order to build housing.

and we're building that housing faster. And so I don't think there's any dispute that housing affordability has been at the top of our list, a major priority. And yesterday's win is yet another evidence in our mission, which we are in common cause with the governor and with the city council to continue to drive down rents on behalf of New Yorkers. And the partnership is real. When you look at what we were accomplished in year two of the administration, dropping the earn income tax credit.

When you look at it, we were able to bring down the cost of child care from $55 a week to less than $5 a week. All the initiatives that we have been putting in places focus on low-income New Yorkers, everything from medical debt relief. We know we have to make this city more affordable, and we've used every tool in our toolbox to ensure that it is done. We put over $30 billion back in the pockets of New Yorkers, low-income New Yorkers, and we're going to continue to do that, and we need to help from Albany. And our Speaker, Hasty, and Majority Leader Andrew Stewart-Cousin, they have been real partners with us. Ms. Mayor, when I shift here is here real quick,

you said the Constitution is for Americans. What did you mean by that? It was a clear response to those who are committing those illegal crimes. This is a city that's open to all, and everyone has a right to the protections of the Constitution. The whole dialogue that we were speaking about was those who are repeated offenders. I stated this for almost two years now. Repeated criminal offenders, the small numbers who are coming here committing crimes,

we need to ensure that they don't remain in our city and doing so, and our constitution is for all of us. Even for undocumented immigrants? Even for undocumented immigrants. You have also been accused of some crimes, Mr. Mayor, while you're pleading not guilty. You also said that the justice. Department is politicized. You're a former law enforcement officer. Shouldn't New Yorkers have faith in the justice system? Are you saying it's rigged? Well, actually, at the press advisory, I read from the New York Times.

And in New York Times, we heard the President of the United States stated that. We heard the incoming president stated that. You heard me state for the last over a year now on no Americans should be going through what I'm going through. I have a great team of attorneys that's handling that. I told New Yorkers, when this indictment was first handed down, I'm going to be focused on moving the city forward, and that is what we have accomplished. But we should have a justice system that is fair, and I think this comment from the president of the United States

is a real reflection of what my concerns were. Mr. Mayor, I hope you come back and see us again. First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, you as well. Thank you for your time this morning. Thank you. Take care. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WNYC. Check us out for updates every weekday, three times a day,

for the latest news headlines and occasional deep times. And subscribe wherever you get your podcast. We'll be back this evening.