NYC NOW - Morning Headlines: Food Pantries Brace With SNAP Halt Set to Begin, Mayoral Candidates Back NYPD Commissioner, and City Averts School Bus Shutdown

Episode Date: October 31, 2025

Food pantries across New York City are preparing for long lines as the Trump administration halts SNAP payments during the ongoing federal shutdown. Meanwhile, New York City’s three mayoral candidates say they’d keep Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch in her job if elected. Plus, a last-minute deal has averted a yellow school bus shutdown, ensuring buses keep running for roughly 150,000 students, including many with disabilities and those living in shelters.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Friday, October 31st. Happy Halloween. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. Food pantries are bracing for an increase in demand this weekend as the Trump administration ends snap payments due to the ongoing government shutdown. Jilly Stevens is the CEO of Food Rescue Group. City Harvest. She says pantries are already seeing lines of people. which will only worsen the longer the benefits are paused.

Families dispatch older children to different neighborhoods, and to really it becomes then another job for the family, right, to really piece together everything they need to get the food on the table for their family. Nearly two million New Yorkers rely on SNAP. Another 800,000 New Jerseyans also use the benefit to buy groceries. Governor Kathy Hochel has directed more than $100 million for food assistance, but it won't be enough to fill the gap left by. snap. The three major New York City candidates from mayor find common ground on at least one issue,

keeping NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in her job. Policeing experts say Commissioner Tish's record could help account for her broad appeal. Former detective Kirk Berk Harder says she successfully rooted out corruption and cronyism that he believes took hold in the department during the Adams administration. By far, her biggest accomplishment is, and forgive me for being I am blunt, but putting out the dumpster fire. But Jen Van Wong of the Legal Aid Society says Tish deserves criticism for the department's focus on quality of life crimes. It is something to be concerned about because of, you know, the unduly harsh consequences

that can befall so many New Yorkers. Tish has not said if she would accept any of the candidates offers to stay on as commissioner. New York City has struck a last-minute deal to avoid a yellow bus shutdown. The temporary agreement means buses will keep running for about 150,000 students, including many who have disabilities or live in shelters. Some of the city's biggest bus companies had threatened a halt service if they did not get a long-term contract. Officials say they'll revisit the issue next month and push for longer deal with stronger accountability measures. A City Hall spokesperson says the man remains

committed to ensuring safe transportation for students, and that contracted school buses will run as scheduled following a resolution. The roads and rails are looking all clear at this hour if there is a school bus or two or three or four out there right now. 51 and partly cloudy today with strong, strong winds, mostly sunny and 55 breezy wind gusts up to 50 miles an hour. 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 times. And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back this evening.