NYC NOW - Morning Headlines: Federal Judge Weighs Solitary Confinement Ban at Rikers, Upper West Side Church Tenant Evicted Amid Landmark Battle, and Mayor Adams Pushes for Release of Detained Student

Episode Date: July 9, 2025

A federal judge has paused New York City’s solitary confinement ban, saying a court-appointed monitor must first review whether the law is safe for Rikers Island. Meanwhile, an arts group housed at West Park Presbyterian Church is being evicted as the landmarked building faces possible demolition amid financial struggles. And the Adams administration is calling for the release of a 19-year-old Grover Cleveland High School student detained by ICE in Texas, arguing federal authorities are undermining public safety.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Wednesday, July 9th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. There's a new twist in the fight between the mayor and the city council over solitary confinement on Rikers. The city council passed legislation in late 2023, barring jail staff from locking people up by themselves for a certain amount of time. Mayor Adams objected and signed emergency orders to blow. lock that law, and last week a state judge said those orders did not follow proper protocol, so the law should stand. Now, a federal judge says a monitor who oversees conditions on Rikers

needs to evaluate the law first and determine if it's safe. A performing arts group housed at an iconic Upper West Side Church is being evicted. W.N. W. W.C. Arun Vennigal Paul says the move to force out the organization will ease the sale in eventual demolition. of the landmark building. The West Park Presbyterian Church is a story of contrasts. Since the 19th century, its congregants have been at the forefront of social movements, including the civil rights movement and efforts to care for those affected by the AIDS crisis. However, the 135-year-old red sandstone structure is crumbling.

And church officials say a restoration would be prohibitively expensive, costing upwards of $50 million. The office of council member Gail Brewer says that by evicting its tenant, the church now has a chance of securing what's known as a hardship from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which would allow it to sell the building to a private developer, which would in turn have the right to demolish it. In other news on this Wednesday morning, the administration, the Adams administration is calling for the release of a Grover Cleveland High School 11th grader detained by immigration authorities last month. month. Derleys Snyder is 19 being held at a detention facility in Texas. He was detained after attending a mandatory immigration hearing. In a legal brief supporting Snyder, City Hall says federal officials are making the city less safe by weaponizing the judicial process. Snyder is one of at least three local public school students detained by ICE in the past two months.

Homeland Security officials have defended efforts to deport the teen, saying ICE is following the law. 74 with clouds now at 30% chance, admit to late afternoon showers and thunderstorms, partly sunny and 90 today, and then tomorrow showers likely and maybe a thunderstorm, mostly cloudy, high of 82. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WMYC.

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