NYC NOW - Midday News: Long Island Roller Derby Team Challenges Nassau Trans Athlete Ban, Manhattan Man Facing Charges in Subway Attack, and Bluestockings Bookstore to Close

Episode Date: September 24, 2025

A Long Island roller derby team is back in court Thursday as it challenges Nassau County’s ban on transgender athletes at public facilities. Meanwhile, a Manhattan man is facing charges after police say he attacked an off duty NYPD officer at the 14th Street and 3rd Avenue subway station Tuesday night. Plus, Bluestockings, the radical Lower East Side bookstore, is closing its doors after more than 25 years. WNYC’s Ryan Kailath has more.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Wednesday, September 24th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. A Long Island Roller Derby team is heading back to court tomorrow as it challenges NASA County's ban on transgender athletes. W&MIC's Julia Hayward has more. The New York Civil Liberties Union is scheduled to present oral arguments and an appeal aimed at blocking the county's ban on trans women and girls playing sports at public facilities. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Long Island Roller Rebels. The team says they have several

trans members. Nyklu attorney Gabriella Larios says the case could set a statewide president. This case is important because it would help establish and clarify that across New York state, trans people have protections and that cities. and counties can't go directly against that. In the meantime, the team says it's forced to practice at private facilities that don't meet their needs. A Manhattan man is facing charges after police say he attacked an off-duty NYPD officer at a subway station last night.

Police say 28-year-old Aaron Walker approached the 24-year-old officer. It's happened about 7.30 on the L-Train platform at 3rd Avenue and 14th Street. Walker apparently punched and shoved the officer. onto the tracks, leaving him with minor injuries. Police say they don't know each other. Police took Walker to custody at the Union Square Station. His five charges include attempted murder. Information for his lawyer is not yet available. We have a fog alert out there for the Lower Hudson Valley and Southern Connecticut as well, so be careful if you're driving around, even walking, too. It'll be a mostly cloudy Wednesday with a high temperature of 78 degrees.

And then tonight, chances of showers and storms. Stick around. There's more to come. You're listening to NYC now. After more than 25 years, a Lower East Side institution is closing its doors. Blue Stockings, the Radical Bookstore and Community Hub, says it can no longer keep operating. WNMIC's Ryan Kailoth has been following the story, and he joins us now. Ryan, let's start at the first chapter here at the beginning. What was Blue Stockings and what made it different from other books?

bookstores. Yeah, this opened in 1999 as a feminist bookstore. And the 90s, you know, this was a peak moment for radical bookstores in general. Longtime New Yorkers will remember blackout books, revolution books. My favorite was called unoppressive non-imperialist bargain books. Great name for a store. Yeah. And blue stockings, you know, more than just a retail store. It was a collective with a cafe, a community library, an event venue. shows music. It was on Allen Street near pianos and cake shop and that big music scene in the early aughts and eventually run as a worker-owned co-op in principle, you know, without a traditional hierarchy. Now, they moved locations at one point, isn't it, right? Yeah. So they left the big

high traffic avenue of Allen Street in, I think, 2021, moved to a gorgeous space, but on a much quieter block on Suffolk Street on Loris. Coincidentally, I live a couple of blocks away. I pass by there a dozen times a day. The foot traffic is nothing like Allen Street, and it's been a pretty quiet scene in there since they moved. Around the same time, the store got into harm reduction pretty heavily. Overdose prevention training, handing out Narcan kits. Now, this block already had some open drug use, and it got worse during the pandemic, as it did much of the city. Neighbors blamed blue stockings. There's a little daycare school across the street. People express safety concerns. The landlord threatened to a

evict and problems have been compounding for the store since then. So what ultimately is leading to this final chapter? The short answer is money. The store was carrying significant debt. Earlier this year, they couldn't even buy books anymore because they owed about $100 grand to their publishers and suppliers who cut their credit lines off. They raised about $65K in a GoFundMe over the summer, but I guess it didn't seem to be enough.

In their statement about the closure, the owners said it just wouldn't be responsible to continue operating when they don't have the means to handle day-to-day operations, you know, let alone a crisis. Now, Ryan, you reported that not everyone involved agreed with a decision to close. What's going on there? Well, yeah. Now, this gets into the long answer of why they're closing, which, you know, a non-hierarchical worker-owned cooperative, believe it or not, they had some problems with the organization and, you know,

crossing the T's and dotting the eyes. One worker told me there was lots of infighting about how to structure and handle of the business. There are two legal owners, but they said others didn't want to become real owners once they learned about all the debt that would come with that. It's all a mess. One of the workers I spoke to says they were surprised by the owner's decision to suddenly close. So Blue Stockings, they're going to keep fulfilling online orders and a few other responsibilities through the end of the year. But after 26 years in operation, Blue Stockings, the physical space has already closed. WNIC's Ryan Conlathon, the end.

for blue stockings. Ryan, thank you. Hey, thanks, Michael. 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. And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.