NYC NOW - Midday News: Lingering Subway Delays, Drone Investigation, A New Cash Assistance Program

Episode Date: December 12, 2024

The MTA is facing scrutiny after electrical issues halted several subway lines Wednesday evening. Plus, the federal government is deploying radar technology to New Jersey as the FBI investigates mysterious drone activity. And finally, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams discusses a new cash assistance program focused on mothers in New York City.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Thursday, December 12. Here's the midday news from Veronica Del Valle. There are a number of delays on the subways this morning as the MTA continues to answer questions about the outages yesterday that shut down several train lines and left riders stuck in tunnels for hours. Riders right now will see delays on two, three, three, four. 5 B, D, F, L, N, and Q trains. Governor Hokel says she's ordering the MTA to do a full review with Con Edison to figure out why electrical issues caused prolonged subway delays last night.

New York City Transit President Demetrius Crishlow is thanking MTA staffers and first responders who helped get scores of passengers off the stalled trains safely. You have no idea how much effort it takes to evacuate. 3,500 people from a train to go up in emergency exit. The MTA says an explosion in an electrical room caused the delays, which snarled some riders' commutes for up to two hours. The federal government is sending specialized radar technology to New Jersey as the FBI continues to investigate mysterious drone activity in the Garden State.

The move comes after numerous elected officials in New Jersey and New York began pressuring federal agencies to share more information. with the public about the sightings. New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew shared his frustrations on Fox News. We know it's not our own government because they would have let us know. It could have been some really glorified hobbyist or hobbyists that were doing something unbelievable. They don't have the technology. The sightings began last month.

FBI officials say they have no idea where the drones are coming from. 38 right now and kind of windy, heavy wind gusts making it feel more like Stay close. There's more after the break. Dozens of New York City mothers will soon receive regular cash payments through a new program funded by the city council. The program will provide 160 pregnant New York City mothers who are homeless at risk of homelessness or attempting to flee domestic violence with cash assistance for the next three years. Joining us now to talk more about it is Council Speaker Adrian Adams. Speaker, can you start by telling us more about the program and what? What inspired it? What does you hear from New York City Mothers?

Well, the council is launching a new council budget initiative that for the first time uses municipal funding to support a guaranteed income for expectant mothers operated by the Bridge Project. We know that expectant mothers that are in need that are in poverty, particularly coming out of domestic violence situation and other areas of homelessness and shelters. They need help, and we saw a great way to partner with the Bridge Project to provide provide income to expected mothers and critical support that help improve maternal health by reducing the strength of economic and housing insecurity, combating homelessness and child poverty. So the specifics of the funding here is that participants will receive $2,500 prior to giving birth,

and then $1,000 a month for the first 15 months of the program, and then $500 a month for the final 21 months. After that time is over, how can you ensure that participants are going to have financial security? Well, we are looking towards this being a place where the mothers start, not where they finish. And that's a particular theme with this particular council where we have prioritized the needs of families, of mothers who do need help and assistance. We want to be able to provide folks with a helping hand, not necessarily to see them through their entire journey, but to make sure that they have a good start in spite of circumstances that got them into, you know, into some negative spaces. We want to make sure that they have a launching pad. And if we can provide that, that's exactly what we're here to do. How is the city going to measure the program's success and whether or not it should be expanded? Well, we are going to look for the data, of course,

to come from the Bridge Project. Success for this program will be measured through a variety of factors, including health outcomes for the expected mother and child. We're looking at housing stability for the family. And we're also looking for participant feedback on indicators like mental health, and stress levels. In our previous cohorts with the Bridge Project, though, 90% of participants reported improvements in their mental health and stress levels after receiving just one payment. And also, 63% of participants in previous cohorts that were living in transitional housing

actually moved into permanent housing within a nine-month period. So we're looking at a gamut of things. We want to make sure that we're looking at addressing the stresses of poverty and social conditions. can positively impact maternal health outcomes as well. And we know that Sean guaranteed income provides economic stability while reducing stress and improving the overall well-being of expectant mothers and children's health as well. Some struggling mothers might hear this conversation and say, wait a second, what about me?

What about middle-income mothers who may not be eligible for this program but still struggle to make ends meet? Yeah, we have to have a starting place, though. there are outcomes and there are alternatives for other levels of incomes to look into as far as the city is concerned and other agencies are concerned. This particular program, though, does focus on those with the highest need right now, those who do not have stability, those who are prone to low levels of prenatal care, those that are living within domestic violence situations, those who are unstable when it comes to housing that may be in shelters and, you know, in desperate situations. And those are the ones that this particular program is looking to assist right now.

How can other mothers who didn't get the opportunity to participate in this program find cash assistance? We as a council provide for the first time free doula care for expected mothers. I had a conversation with one of the mothers that brought her three-month-old to our press conference. earlier today, who said that she actually came out of the doula care program. We provide free doula care. She said when she gave birth, the only people in the room were herself and her dula, who brought her baby into the world. So julas are medical professionals.

We are providing that assistance to women. So women that need medical assistance as far as birthing, prenatal advice, we do have a program which involves specific dula care on a one-on-one basis for expected mothers. Speaker, while we have you, we were curious what your reaction was to the Daniel Penny verdict that came out earlier this week? The first thing I will say on that is that the jury made its decision. I think the tragedy, and we've all heard it, was the fact that Jordan Neely was on a subway homeless in a mental health crisis. And to me, that was the most tragic part of this whole scenario that an individual who had his life in front of him was left without

any assistance, any help for his mental health needs. And I think truly that is the main tragedy of this scenario. Do you think there's a legislative solution to some of these concerns as they relate to mental health treatment? There is always legislation that we can take a look at. Mental health is at the top of the list of not just this council body, but I believe at the state level as well, and even the federal level at this point. It is a crisis for this entire nation, and I dare say that it is on the front burner for every aspect of elective office. Mayor Adams has made it easier to involuntarily transport people to the hospital for mental health evaluations. What do you think about that approach? Well, I believe that for an individual's

safety, that is something that may be considered to protect someone from doing harm to the or others, that is something that should be considered. Obviously, it is not a panacea for all situations, but perhaps for those in the most strenuous and stressful conditions that may potentially cause harm to themselves or to others. Moving on to another topic speaker, Mayor Adams has mold the idea of executive action to weaken New York sanctuary city law. Is that something that you would support? And if not, is there something the council can do to counteract it?

If the mayor followed through with that? Well, the mayor has mentioned several times in his press conferences that we have already spoken about that on several occasions, Sanctuary City Law, which encompasses a whole lot. My perspective on that is that we've got the laws on the books to protect individuals. And in a lot of instances, we are looking at the lack of thorough enforcement by ICE itself. I think that that's something that hasn't been scrutinized nearly as much as the quote-unquote sanctuary city laws of New York City. That's New York City Council Speaker.

Adrian Adams Speaker. Thanks so much, as always. Appreciate the opportunity to be with you. Thank you. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WMYC. Check us out for updates every weekday, three times a day, for the latest news headlines and occasional deep dives.

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