NYC NOW - Morning Headlines: Judge Blocks Federal Retaliation Over Congestion Pricing, ‘Roommate Court’ Finds Viral Fame, and 9/11 Museum Offers Free Student Field Trips

Episode Date: May 28, 2025

A federal judge has temporarily barred the Trump administration from withholding funds from New York in retaliation for the city’s congestion pricing program. Meanwhile, a TikTok show called “Roommate Court” is gaining popularity for its comedic takes on apartment disputes. Plus, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum will now offer free field trips to students across the Tri-state area.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Wednesday, May 28th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. Federal judge in Manhattan is blocking the Trump administration from retaliating against New York over New York's congestion pricing program. WNBC Stephen Nesson reports. One of President Trump's campaign promises was to eliminate the $9 daily toll. In February, the federal DOT tried to revoke its approval for the program, and they've since threatened to cut some funding for New York if the MTA didn't comply. Judge Lewis Lyman says the feds can't withhold any money, at least for now, and he's giving them until June 9th to submit evidence that congestion pricing is illegal.

Here's MTA chair, Jan O'Leber, speaking after the hearing. The idea that the federal government's going to step in and tell New York City how to deal with its traffic problem, that seems a little crazy. A spokesperson for the federal DOT says the agency will comply with the judge's request and says the tolls are unfair for working class drivers. A new TikTok show is set in New York City is quickly gaining thousands of followers for dealing with an age-old problem. It's called roommate court. In a typical two-minute episode, a comedian grills a pair of feuding roommates to determine who's in the wrong and determine what, if anything, they can do to make amends.

produced from Adam Faze says young people consume TikTok like TV at this point. Because there's these hours every single day that young people are consuming these platforms, it's like a huge opportunity to say, hey, like, what would it look like to go make an original show that maybe 20 years ago would have been a homosexual show on here instead? A new episode dropped yesterday. We have more about the comedians starring in the show at our news site, news website, Gothamist. The 9-11 Memorial and Museum will now offer free field trips for students in the tri-state area. That's for students in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut for both in-person and virtual field trips.

The museum says it hopes to reach 20 million student visits by the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. That's next year. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says free field trips can serve younger people who weren't alive for the September 11th attacks to understand its safety. significance. And taking look at that forecast now. We are at 61 degrees and the partly cloudy sky's chance of rain today. 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.