NYC NOW - Midday News: Mayor Adams to Testify on NYC’s Sanctuary Status, Lawmakers Push for Automated Parking Tickets, and Former Gov. Cuomo Officially Enters Mayor’s Race

Episode Date: March 3, 2025

Mayor Eric Adams is set to testify before the House Oversight Committee on New York City’s sanctuary city policies. Meanwhile, state lawmakers are pushing for $35 million in this year’s budget to fund 150 new cameras that would automatically ticket illegally parked vehicles. Advocates say the effort would ease congestion and improve street safety. Plus, after months of speculation, former Governor Andrew Cuomo has officially entered the race for New York City mayor, shaking up the already competitive field. WNYC’s Brigid Bergin breaks it down.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Monday, March 3rd. Here's the midday news from David First. Mayor Eric Adams heads to Washington, D.C., this week to testify before the House Oversight Committee on New York City's sanctuary status. W.1.YC's Tiffany Hanson reports. Adams will join mayors from Chicago. Denver and Boston. Kentucky Republican and committee chair James Comer says they owe Americans an explanation for policies that, quote, jeopardize public safety. Last month, Adam said violent criminals,

documented or not, must be held accountable. His last DC trip was also about immigration but was cut short when the FBI raided an advisor's home. Meanwhile, a federal judge in Manhattan has delayed a ruling on whether to dismiss corruption charges against Adams who denies wrongdoing. There are cameras in New York City that automatically issue tickets to vehicles for running red lights, speeding, and even parking in a bus lane. Now state lawmakers want to add cameras that can ticket vehicles that are double parked or otherwise parked illegally. It's part of a push by six assembly members who want this year's state budget to include $35 million for 150 parking enforcement cameras.

Michael Sutherland is with the nonprofit group Open Plans that supports the effort. The goal really is to make sure that the laws on our streets are being followed because we see too much chaos in our curbs and too much chaos on our streets. The city's Department of Transportation says they support the push and that automated traffic enforcement has been shown to be effective. Northbound E and F trains are running on the local track from Forest Hills, 71st Avenue to Q Gardens Union Turnpike, seeing delays on northbound A and southbound 2,36 C and E trains.

25 degrees right now, just going up to 36 today, but it will be sunny. This is WNYC. Stay close. There's more after the break. On WNYC on WNYC, I'm Michael Hill. It finally happened. After months of speculation, former Governor Andrew Cuomo officially entered the New York City mayor's race over the weekend. It's a move that came as quietly as a thunder clap. Joining us now to break it all down,

it's WNYC's senior politics reporter, Bridget Bergen. Bridget, if two is a couple and three is a crowd, what is this? A lot of candidates of the Democratic primary for mayor, why is Governor Cuomo getting in the race? What makes him think voters will trust him again after he resigned in disgrace in 2021? That's right, right, Michael.

This is a very crowded race. It got much more crowded this weekend. And the Cuomo campaign really wanted to orchestrate his entry. It's the first week of petitioning. All the candidates are already busy out there trying to gather signatures to get on the ballot. He made it official on Saturday with the release of a video online, a 17-5 minute video, Michael. That is really long. Then on Sunday, he held a very tightly controlled event at the Carpenter's Union headquarters,

which is actually just around the corner from the station. You had to sign in. Everyone was given a colored wristband. and then escorted to the seventh floor into this like Kavanaugh space where it was all decked out with a stage and packed with people. There was some remarks from clergy and Cuomo was introduced by his three daughters and he talked about saving the city. We are not going to let it go down. We are not going to let it decline. We are going to make it better than ever before.

Are you ready to join me? So very, you know, classic Cuomo there. He emphasized the need to restore public safety and the perception of public safety. You know, the crowd was into it. Although, I have to say, it was tough to get a handle on how many people in the room were there because they actually wanted to be there or because their unions or other groups had asked them to be there. I spoke to 81-year-old Joan Bruner Timmons. She's part of a senior center.

She really loved hearing Cuomo talk about New York City and how we, all the things he was going to do to restore a sense of safety. but I also spoke with half a dozen others from DC-9. That's the Painters Union, which endorsed him yesterday. Several of the men said they came because their union asked them to. Normally on Sundays, they would be with their families. And each of the men I spoke to actually lived in New Jersey, so not primary voters. One woman who only wanted to give her first name, Myra, said she actually wanted to be outside where there was a group of women protesting the event.

What was the scene like outside the event, where? and he announced his candidacy. Yeah, this really sort of dueling images, Michael. You know, there was, as I said, this group of women protesting, Cuomo's return to politics. They wanted to remind the public of the sexual harassment allegations that were investigated in, substantiated by investigators hired by the state attorney general's office. That report backed up the claims of 11 women, many of whom worked for Cuomo. And Michael, as I'm sure you remember, at this point, four years ago,

Cuomo was making his first public comments denying those allegations. He's continued to deny those allegations. allegations. Five months after that, he resigned. Anna Maria Archela, co-director of the New York State Working Families Party, was part of yesterday's protest and really described these dueling scenes like this. Andrew Cuomo is seeking refuge in a crowd of men as he launches his campaign for a mayor while women are standing outside saying we have not forgotten the stories of the the women that came forward. Now, other speakers said they plan to follow Cuomo on the campaign trail to remind voters

of those allegations. Interestingly, Cuomo's attorney, Rita Glavin, was actually at his launch event, and she reiterated her position, long-held position, that the report against Cuomo was a sham. I noticed that you started off talking about his campaign there and how his three daughters, three women, led that announcement off there. Almost all Democratic leaders called for his resignation four years ago. Who was there supporting him this weekend? Yeah, there was only a small number of current elected officials,

Bronx Assembly member Eddie Gibbs and Brooklyn City Council member Farrell Lewis. There were several former elected officials from Westchester and Long Island. Most of those officials who had called for his resignation, you know, four years ago, as you mentioned, they offered no comment this weekend. Now, of course, today is only day three of his campaign. you know, people have known that this was coming. I spoke with state Democratic Party chair Jay Jacobs, who was once very close with Cuomo, but then was ultimately among those who called for him to resign. I made the decision I made at that time that, you know, he needed to go and he ultimately

did. But, you know, to say that, you know, you can never come back, that's going to be a decision that each voter individually is going to have to make on their own. So some careful wording there from Jacobs. And I think a theme that we're going to hear from a lot of Democrats, which is, you know, this is a decision that voters are going to have to make. Jacob said he wasn't surprised to see Cuomo in the race. And in terms of what his campaign means for women, he said, again, that's up to voters to decide.

What kind of reaction has there been to Cuomo's entry to the race? Because as you said, it was as quiet as a thunder clap. Yeah, I mean, this thing just sort of sent shockwaves through the mayor's race, even though everyone knew it was coming. Mayor Adams at a parade in Staten Island for St. Patrick's Day said, you know, come one, come all. The rest of the field really opted for harsher words. They're going to be going very hard to remind voters of things. Former Governor Cuomo did while in office and not just, you know, those sexual harassment

claims. There is still anger over his handling of COVID-19, nursing home patients. There's frustration about some of his budgeting decisions related to city schools and the subways. The candidates are all really out there taking their shots, and some unions and political clubs are also responding. The New King's Democrats in Brooklyn, that's a reform political club, issued an endorsement for four of the candidates. State senators Jessica Ramos, Zulner Myrie, Assembly members of Ron Mandani, and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. Of course, you know, as we will talk about, Michael, this is a ranked choice primary. So that's why they're issuing slates

as opposed to just one candidate. Another union, the UAW, it's a union that works with people in a range of positions, including car dealerships, museums, college campuses. They're pushing a campaign called Dream, which stands for Don't Rank Eric or Andrew for mayor. So I think we're going to see a combination of types of pushback. Bridget, I'm betting that listeners are thinking this morning

and asking themselves, Does Cuomo have a shot at winning? 100%. You know, Michael, his name recognition is going to get this campaign, you know, rocketing off the ground. You know, but voters are used to asking Merrill candidates' questions. He hasn't been on the

forum circuit, which primary voters really care about. He hasn't even taking questions from reporters yet. We think he will be participating in the public matching program, his fundraising email that went out of the weekend, suggested it. It mentioned an eight-to-one match. But that comes with a commitment to

participate in the program's debates. But hopefully we're going to hear from him a lot sooner than that. This was already a fascinating campaign, Bridget, and Cuomo's entry now just puts it up a notch or two. It's going to be a fascinating thing to cover. I can't wait to come back and tell you more about it. We look forward to that. WNYC's Bridget Burke and Bridget as always. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WMYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you this evening.