NYC NOW - Morning Headlines: City Reinstates Work Rules for Cash Aid, Report Highlights Racial Disparities in Child Welfare Investigations, and Astoria to Get New Compost Pickup Site

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

A record number of New Yorkers are on cash assistance, but starting April 28, recipients will once again need to meet work requirements to keep their benefits. Meanwhile, a new report finds that low-income Black and Hispanic families in the city face a disproportionate number of child welfare investigations. Plus, the sanitation department is opening a new compost pickup site in Astoria, offering free bags of compost to residents on select days.

Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Thursday, April 17th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. A record number of New Yorkers are relying on cash assistance to make ends meet. But WNYC's Karen Yee reports, the city is bringing back old rules that could put those benefits at risk. City officials say starting April 20,

28th, the 600,000 people on cash assistance will have to prove their working or enroll in a job search program in order to keep their benefit. Monthly payments range from $180 for one person to $380 for a family of three. They help the lowest-income New Yorkers cover basic needs like food and rent. But recipients say missing a meeting with a city worker or failing to properly document work hours could mean the end of their benefits. The work rules were suspended for five years due to the pandemic, but the city says they have to bring back the requirements to comply with state and federal law. A new report finds that low-income black and Hispanic families in New York City are disproportionately the target of child welfare investigations. Washgarina Martinez-Alanso is an attorney with a non-profit Manhattan legal services and says the state allows anyone to make an anonymous allegation of abuse. Your neighbor can make this call, your landlord can make this call, your abusive ex can make this call, anybody can make it.

They don't ask for the information of the folks making the report. Then you get child welfare involvement in your life. Martinez Alonzo says low-income families are overrepresented in investigations, many of which are unsubstantiated. But these reports can show up in a background check for 28 years. That can cause parents to lose out on job opportunities. The city's administration of children's services says it's working to reduce racial disparities and will review the findings of that report. New York City Sanitation Department says a new compost distribution site is opening next week in a story of Queens.

Residents can pick up free bags of compost on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Sanitation says the new site follows a spike in yard and food waste collections this spring. Two other pickup sites already exist in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Fresh Hill, Staten Island. They operate on the same days. Now your forecast. 43 and mostly clear right now. Elevated fire risk because it's so dry and so windy in New York City, lower Hudson Valley, and Long Island.

Today's forecast, sunshine, a high near 63 in gusty, and then good Friday tomorrow, mostly sunny, mid-60s, and gusty, and break out those shorts for Saturday and short sleeves, mostly cloudy and a warm 81 and gusty. We cool off Sunday, Easter Sunday, partly sunny, and sunny, and 70. 43 and mostly clear right now. Thanks for listening.

This is NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday three times a day for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. More soon.