NYC NOW - Midday News: Wage Gap Persists in New York, Candidate Zohran Mamdani Hits Fundraising Cap, Gas Stove Bill Resurfaces, and Newark Teens Push to Vote

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says women earned 87 cents for every dollar men made in 2023, a wage gap that would require women to work 53 extra days per year to match men’s earnings. Meanwhile, Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani says he’s done fundraising in the mayoral race after hitting the primary spending cap. Also, New York lawmakers are reviving a bill to require warning labels on gas stoves, citing health concerns. Plus, Tuesday is the last day for teens in Newark to register to vote in school board elections, a first under new voting rules. We hear from high school senior Zuri McCune and voting rights advocate Ryan Haygood.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Monday, March 24th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. New York State Controller Tom Donapley says the wage gap between women and men persist in the Empire State. His report shows in 2023 women earned 87 cents for every dollar men earned in New York State. Women would have to work 53 more days. a year to make up that difference. The controller also says New York's gender gap is smaller than

the national average. Mayor Earl candidate Zoran Mamdani says he's done fundraising ahead of the June primary. W&YC's Bridget Bergen reports the Queen's Assembly member says his campaign has hit the fundraising and spending cap. Mamdani says his campaign has raised the $8 million max with projected matching funds allowed for the primary. That makes his the first campaign in the crowded Democratic field to make that claim. Now, instead of money, he has a new ask for supporters. I'm now asking New Yorkers for their time as we seek to build the single largest volunteer operation we've ever seen in the New York City's mayor's race. Telling supporters to put their wallets away comes with a risk. The campaign finance board won't

announce its matching funds payments until April 15th. New gas stoves could get warning. labels in New York State, lawmakers in Albany are resurrecting a bill advising consumers about the risks of pollutants from gas appliances when they're turned off. Roughly 70% of New York City households have gas stoves. The nonprofit Institute for Energy Research says the bill fuels unnecessary fear. 46-foot rain now. Rain mainly through 4 o'clock today, mid-50s for a high and gusty. Then tomorrow's sunny and 57 with a chance of rain and snow overnight into Wednesday morning. Stay close. There's more after the break. Tomorrow's the last day for teens in Newark to register to vote in the next school board election.

Yes, for the first time, teens as young as 16 can now take part in Newark School Board elections. That's after a recent change in Newark's voting laws that lower the age from 18. But you can only vote if you're registered. With us now to explain how teens can do that is Zurich McKeown, who recently turned 18. She's a senior at the Science Park High School and the student representative on the Newark Board of Education. Also joining us is Ryan Haygood, CEO and president of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, which spearheaded the Vote 16 campaign. Zuri and Ryan, thank you both for joining us. So Zuri, this is really exciting.

This will be the first election with this new age limit. Who's eligible to register? Yes, thank you for having me. So every student that is a resident of Newark, who is sick, by the day of the election, which is April 15th, is eligible to register to vote, and those that are 16 and 17 on the day of can vote. And Ryan, when you think of this election, we're talking about 16 and 17-year-olds voting for the first time in any election that's run by a city or a county or a state in New Jersey. In this sense, though, even 15-year-olds, to be clear, can register

to vote if they turn 16 by the time of the election. Is that right? That's right. That's right. That's right, Michael. So there's an active effort to register to Zuri's point, 15-year-olds who will turn 16 by the April 15 election and also 17- and 18-year-olds. There's a really, I think, inspired effort right now to register students in Newark, high schools across the city, recognizing that for the first time in this historic election, 16 and 17-year-olds will have access to the one fundamental right that the Supreme Court has recognized as preservative of all other civil rights that is the right to vote. And Ryan, why did New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, why did you spearhead this campaign? You know, Michael, it was really inspired by, by young people

who led this effort, I think, in response to two issues. One is this sort of national attack we've seen on what students can learn around history and race and racism and curriculum. And then also, Michael, the realization that right here in the city of Newark, a city that fought for local control for 20 years, turnout has been exceedingly low so that in last year's school board election, about 3% of registered voters turned out. And so when this ordinance came before the city council, one of the young folks who fought for this, Nate Esubonte, stood up and said, listen, in the last school board election, just 3% of registered voters voted. And he said in this testimony, it's clear to us as young people that we can no longer rely on other people to speak for us. We ought to speak for ourselves.

And I think, Michael, that's really what inspired this Vote 16 moment that is recognizing that democracy is best when it's used. And this is an election that is most proximate, that is most impactful to students at a school board elections. And they should have a say in what that outcome looks like. And Zuri, are your classmates, are they enthusiastic about this? Are they registering to vote? What are you hearing? Yeah, so when we started our registration drive, there were a lot of people that came up the first day and was like, I have my social security. I'm ready to give me the form to get it done.

And as the weeks have gone on since February 1st when it started, more and more people are registering to vote and they're coming prepared and excited to take their education into their own hands. as student representative, when I get the chance to talk to students, everybody is looking to make sure that the things that we are concerned about, whether that be course loads or the programs that are offered in our school, that we are taking this into our own hands and taking accountability for our own education. So everybody's really excited and looking forward to how the day will go. What are some of the other issues that are important to teenagers and why they should vote so they can have a voice? Yeah, so like I mentioned before, course load is something that's really important to all of us,

whether that be for those with special needs and education or those that are just looking for more advanced courses. We all want to go to college. Well, most of us want to go to college and make sure that we're getting a higher education, even though some of us will go on straight to the workforce or have other alternatives. But a lot of us need the educational opportunities so that we're prepared to be global students and global citizens. and in a lot of our schools, we're not getting our needs met in terms of curriculum. In addition to that, a lot of us are concerned about the nutrition of our school's lunches, as well as the infrastructure of our schools.

We have a lot of old buildings in our school districts, and we are looking to get renovations and certain things added so that we are prepared to step into spaces that are foreign to New Jersey and Newark and be proud of where we come from and know that we were given the resources needed to be successful. Ryan, I'm curious. Is it really possible that students who are registering to vote 16, 17 years old, that they could determine the outcome of the April 15th election?

Absolutely. I think, Michael, that's the hope. You know, if you think about the last school board election where just 3% of registered voters voted, the top three vote getters each received about 2,800 votes. and this vote 16 ordinance empowered about 6,600 young people, 16 and 17-year-olds, to register to vote. So I think it's entirely possible that young people can help determine the outcome of the election. And, Michael, they should. You know, we think about this as really the new frontier for the expansion of voting rights,

and that is bringing new young voters into the Democratic fold. to ensure that they both vote in the school board election, but that they become lifelong voters. And ultimately, what we would love to see, Zuri, is young people like you and others, run for school board. I think it's time both to usher in a new generation of young voters and to inspire young folks to run for office as well. Zeri, how can eligible students, how can they register to vote?

Each school has voter registration forms, either in their school's main office or a guidance counselor's office. there are people in each location that can help you figure out how to fill out the form should you have questions. And there are also forms online for those that don't wish to go in person or find it more convenient to do so online. Our guest has been Zerri McCune. She's a senior at the Science Park High School and the student representative on the Newark Board of Education. Also, Ryan Haygood, president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Thank you both. Thanks for having us.

Thank you for having us. Again, Election Day is April 15th. Registered a vote by the end of tomorrow. New York City Mayor Eric Adams is fighting for his political life caught between colliding powers. The courts, the governor, voters, and President Trump. In a new series on the NYC Now podcast, we explain how we got here and what's at stake for New Yorkers. Episodes drop every Saturday on NYC Now. Download it wherever you get your podcast.

Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day. For your top news headlines and occasional deep dives. We'll be back this evening.