NYC NOW - Morning Headlines: Cuomo Grilled in Mayoral Debate, Feds Question Columbia University's Accreditation, and New Early Childhood Center Coming to Flatbush

Episode Date: June 5, 2025

The first Democratic mayoral debate featured sharp interruptions and direct attacks on frontrunner Andrew Cuomo. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams confronted the former governor for saying he had no personal regrets during his time in office. Meanwhile, the U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon is urging federal authorities to review Columbia University’s accreditation status, accusing it of showing “deliberate indifference” toward Jewish students facing antisemitism. Plus, a new early childhood center is coming to PS 6 in Flatbush. It will include a mix of general and special education seats along with a specialized autism program.

Welcome to NYC now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Thursday, June 5th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. The first debate for candidates running in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor featured lots of interruptions and attacks on the frontrunner Andrew Cuomo. City Council Speaker Adrian Adams took Cuomo to the task for suggesting he had no personal regrets as governor. No regrets when it comes to cutting. Medicaid or health care. No regrets when it comes to cutting child care. No regrets when it comes

to slow walking PPE and vaccinations. Michael Blake, who's polling at the bottom of the race, cited Cuomo's sexual harassment allegations and management of nursing homes during the pandemic. The people who don't feel safe are young women, mothers, and grandmothers around Andrew Cuomo. That's the greatest threat to public safety in New York City. Cuomo defended his record and said he was the best candidate to deal with President Donald Trump. The next debate is a week from today. That's January 12th with W.NMIC's own Brian Lara as co-moderator. The federal government says Columbia University no longer qualifies for accreditation. Education Secretary Linda McMahon accuses the Ivy League School of acting with deliberate indifference

toward Jewish students subjected to anti-Semitism on campus. McMahon wrote a letter to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which determines whether school meets standards of effectiveness and quality. The Department of Education says the Columbia students would no longer be eligible for federal student loans or Pell grants if it were to lose its accreditation. The commission did not address the government's allegations.

Columbia has not responded to our request for comment. Mayor Eric Adams says a new early childhood center is coming to Flatbush, Brooklyn. It will offer a mix of general education and special education seats. The new center is at PSC, 6 in Flatbush will also include a sought-after program for children with autism. Officials say it will open next fall.

Advocates have praised the expansion of special education seats for preschoolers, but say the demand still outstripped supply. The organization Advocates for Children says there are 600 children with disabilities waiting for preschool seats and 7,000 in preschool who need additional services. Taking a look at that forecast now. 70 and sunny, partly sunny and near-ne. 90 today. And then tomorrow's small chance of the afternoon showers, partly sunny 84 with the calm wind. We have another air quality alert starting at 11 o'clock this morning.

Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WMYC. Check us out for updates every weekday, three times a date for the latest news headlines and occasional deep dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcast.