NYC NOW - Midday News: Planned Parenthood Scrambles After Medicaid Cuts, Schools Must Prepare for Medical Emergencies, and Trump Administration Challenges City Sanctuary Laws

Episode Date: July 25, 2025

Planned Parenthood clinics across New York are scrambling to fill a multimillion dollar hole after being cut off from Medicaid reimbursements under a federal law. Meanwhile, a new state law now requires public schools to develop emergency response plans for cardiac arrests and other medical events among students and staff. Plus, the Trump administration is taking New York City to court, arguing its sanctuary policies, limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, violate the Constitution. WNYC’s Michael Hill speaks with First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro about the lawsuit and the city’s legal stance.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Friday, July 25th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. Planned Parenthood clinics in New York State are trying to figure out how to make up for lost money after a federal law stripped them of Medicaid dollars. The clinics are still seeing Medicaid patients, but they're not getting paid for that care. Wendy Stark is the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York. This is absolutely an attempt by lawmakers to financially starve providers of abortion services without actually enacting a federal abortion ban.

Stark says she expects to make up some losses by selling the building that houses Planned Parenthood's Manhattan Clinic. She also said she hopes the state will step in with more funding if a lawsuit challenging the Medicaid restrictions on Planned Parenthood is not successful. Governor Hockel has not committed to doing that. A new state law will require New York schools to have specific plans in place for medical emergencies. WNYC's Jimmy Bealekind reports. State Senator April Baskin says she wants schools to be prepared for heart attacks and other emergencies among teachers and students. Her cousin, Dacia Sanders, collapsed in 2009 while playing basketball at her school in suburban Buffalo. Adults struggled to get access to a defibrillator.

While an AED was in the school, no one could locate the keys to open it. And as precious, precious minutes ticked by, Dacia's life hung by a thread. The girl died at a nearby hospital. Baskin says requiring schools to have plans will save lives. The new law requires defibrillators to be well marked and accessible. Districts must train staff on how to use them and develop a specific emergency plan. The new law takes effect in six months. 91 and partly sunny, dangerously hot air quality alert for both northern New Jersey and

and the city. Today, mostly sunny, a high of 92. Stay close. There's more after the break. The Trump administration is suing New York City over its sanctuary policies. The Justice Department says the law limiting cooperation between local officials and federal immigration enforcement is unconstitutional. The suit is a break between President Trump and Mayor Adams. The mayor himself has criticized elements of the city's immigration. policies. First Deputy Mayor, Randy Mastrow, joins us now. Mr. Deputy Mayor, what's the administration's response to the DOJ lawsuit? We will defend vigorously against the lawsuit. We think it is unfounded,

but it proves something important, Michael. It proves that this mayor and this administration are standing up for the rights of immigrants to access city citizens. services, to be safe when they go to the police to report crimes in our schools, in our churches, to be able to assert their right to amnesty in the courts. There has been a big lie in this city that certain politicians, for their own reasons, have propagated, that Mayor Adams has not been standing by our immigrant community. He and his administration have. The line that we draw in this administration is that if there are violent criminal, transnational gang members,

other criminals in our community, it's a matter of public safety. We're going to cooperate with local and federal law enforcement to ask. apprehend those criminals and keep our city safer. But when it comes to our immigrant community, being able to access city services, police, fire, schools, hospitals, they have every right to do so. Under our local laws, we have protected their rights to do so. We have stood up to the Trump administration in doing that.

So to those who have said we haven't, We haven't stood up to the Trump administration? That's a lie. That's a damn lie. And this lawsuit proves it. This lawsuit proves it. We've been standing up for our immigrant community. Mr. Messra, the mayor's statement says he himself opposes aspects of the city's sanctuary policies.

Doesn't that at least offer the Justice Department some rhetorical ability to say this lawsuit was justified? Michael, no, because what the mayor is referring to is that, he believes that we should be cooperating with federal law enforcement in going after violent transnational gangs, criminals, many of whom are preying on our immigrant community, and that we should, as a matter of public safety, be cooperating with federal law enforcement in connection with those criminal investigations. There have been those on the city council who have sued us for that limited cooperation. But it is simply not true for anyone to have ever suggested that this mayor doesn't support our local laws and protect our immigrant community and their ability to access city services.

And now the Trump administration has sued us for doing just that. Let me jump in here, Mr. Messrell. Allow me to cooperate with local services. Did the mayor have any indication this was coming? What has been done to prevent things from escalating to this level? Well, Michael, I think it's been an issue throughout the country that there has been an escalation with the Trump administration and a number of major cities.

haven't had here, what you've seen in Los Angeles with the National Guard. You know, we've maintained a safe city with historic reductions in crime. But has there been tensions? Tensions because we do support our immigrant community in accessing city services? Yes. This mayor and this administration, not widely reported, but a fact, you know, have sued the Trump administration, been in court against the Trump administration. And this is now the 20th case where we will be against the Trump administration in court, either having sued the Trump administration, having supported litigation against the Trump administration, having gone into court on behalf of immigrants, like the high school students who were snatched off the courthouse steps

when they were simply trying to assert their rights to amnesty in court. We went to court in those cases to support those high school students. And in fact, thankfully, one of them was released last week. And we'll continue to do that. But where else in this country have mayors 20 times, 20 times, you know, gone to court to protect our immigrant community, to sue the Trump administration, to be in court against the Trump administration. So we are standing after the Trump administration. Yes. But we will continue to try and get violent criminals out of our city.

I have to ask you this. Bordazard Tom Holman infamously said he'd be back up Mayor Adams's butt. He said this on Fox if he didn't live up to an agreement regarding immigration enforcement. What was the nature of that agreement? And is this a sign the administration didn't meet Holman's expectations? Absolutely not. And it mischaracterizes a colloquial expression that was used off the cuff on TV. What?

But everybody saw that, hold on here. Hold on here. Everybody saw that. Everybody heard that and we watched the body language and so forth. And we all know what that meant. If you don't go along with this, there are going to be consequences. Well, Michael, you don't know what that meant. And all that meant was we're doing exactly what we're doing, which is when it comes to going after violent criminals from transnational gangs

and other criminals in the immigrant community, we're going to cooperate with federal law enforcement officials. That's all that Tom Homan was referring to. That's what we have done because that's good for our city. I can't believe that there are people who wouldn't want us to go after and use criminal law enforcement to go after violent transnational gang members to make our city safer. But the mayor has been very clear,

and that interview did not reference in any way and had nothing to do with this administration's and this city's commitment to our immigrant community that they can access city services, police, fire, hospitals, schools without fear of reprisal. And we've gone to court to protect those rights. That's part of the reason why the Trump administration has now sued us because we have stood up for our immigrant community. So don't mischaracterize that conversation on Fox. It was about criminals in our city and cooperating with federal and local law enforcement to get those criminals out of our city. Quickly here, when's the last time the mayor and the president spoke?

I don't know. They have occasionally spoken, but I don't think they spoke about this lawsuit because it's Mayor Adams standing up for our city and standing up for the immigrants in our city to access city services. And we're going to continue to do that. And we're going to win this lawsuit. First, Deputy Mayor, Randy Mastrow, please go back and see us again. Again, enjoy talking to you. Thank you, Mike. Bye.

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