NYC NOW - Morning Headlines: Mayor Adams Returns Amid Resignation Rumors, Bronx Migrant Arrest Details, NYC Hospital Misinformation, and MTA’s Latest Transit Data

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

Get up and get informed! Here's all the local news you need to start your day: Mayor Eric Adams made his first public appearance in three days Thursday, dismissing rumors that he might resign over his ongoing criminal case. Meanwhile, new details have emerged about federal agents’ high-profile arrest of a Venezuelan migrant in the Bronx. Also, NYC Health + Hospitals is pushing back against false social media claims that Elmhurst Hospital is reporting undocumented patients to law enforcement. Finally, in this week’s “On The Way” segment, WNYC reporters Ramsey Khalifeh, Stephen Nessen, and Jon Campbell break down the latest MTA transit data, President Trump’s meeting with Governor Kathy Hochul over congestion pricing, how the MTA figures into the latest state Capitol plan in terms of funding, and reports of declining fare evasion rates.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Friday, January 31st. Here's the morning headlines. I'm Jene Pierre. New York City Mayor Eric Adams was back in action Thursday after three days with no public appearances. The mayor spoke to a crowd of roughly 300 faith leaders and poured cold water on recent rumors he might be stepping down from office week in connection with his ongoing criminal case.

Who started to stupid rumor that I was stepping down on Friday? Are you out of your mind? His remarks come after his spokesperson said he would have a limited public schedule this week to undergo some routine medical tests. Meanwhile, his defense attorney, Alex Spiro, was in court yesterday in connection with the case. Adams also attended an NYPD event Thursday, in addition to the annual interfaith breakfast. New details are emerging about federal agents high-profile arrest of a Venezuelan migrant in the Bronx earlier this week. WMYC's Brittany Krixton has more.

Prosecutors say 26-year-old Anderson Zambrano Pacheco is a fugitive gang member, wanted in connection with an armed home invasion in Colorado last summer that drew national attention. He's allegedly part of a group accused of kidnapping and assaulting the residents. Officials tracked his cell phone to an apartment in high school. Bridge, where he was found with a gun in his room. Now, he's facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted of an armed fugitive charge, in addition to the Colorado case. Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem made an unusual appearance on the scene of his arrest, but Mayor Adam said there was nothing irregular about the NYPD's coordination with federal agents. An attorney for the defendant declined to comment. New York City Health and Hospitals is battling false social media posts,

naming Elmhurst Hospital in Queens is reporting undocumented patients to law enforcement. Social media posts from the public hospital system debunked the misinformation and urge all New Yorkers to seek care without fear. The Trump administration told immigration enforcement officers last week they were no longer barred from entering so-called sensitive locations like schools, churches, and essential services. The hospital system declined to comment. 36 degrees. Some scattered rain today with cloudy skies expect highs in the mid-40s. And then tonight there's a chance of rain as well. Expect lows around 30.

It's Friday. That means it's time for a weekly segment of On the Way. Covering all things transportation. That's after the break. I'm Sean Carlson. for WNYC. It's Friday, which means it's time for On the Way. Our weekly segment on all things considered breaking down the week's transit news.

Joining us is WNIC's transportation reporter, Stephen Nesson and Ramsey Caliphay, also Albany reporter John Campbell's special appearance this week. Okay, the MTA's latest round of traffic data since the launch of congestion pricing in New York City is out. What is it showing three weeks in? So, I mean, transit officials are jumping for joy with this latest set of data. I mean, if you're at the board meeting yesterday, you could see how wide their eyes were. They're very excited to share this. Big smiles.

Big smiles. So they're already saying that these are early indications that prove that congestion pricing is achieving its intended effect to get rid of congestion to make cars move faster in the city. So the biggest takeaways that travel times at all crossings into the Manhattan zone below 60th Street have been improved. So what that looks like, on average, it's between 10 to 30 percent faster to get around into all of those crossings. And crossings aren't the only areas where this is actually getting better. they're saying most streets within the zone, east-westbound, north and south are getting faster as well. So, for example, it's notorious Canal Street in Lower Manhattan. They're saying on average, east-and-westbound to combine, it's dropped 27 percent, so 27 percent faster to get through Canal Street.

So we're still looking to see how much revenue these tools are getting. That number hasn't been shared yet. The MTA officials have said next month, we're going to get those initial numbers. But it's not just traffic that's been impacted. Actually, transit has been impacted as well. So, for example, the MTA reported this week that ridership on the Long Island Railroad and Metro North, compared to the same time last year, does appear to be up a few percentage points, indicating perhaps people are switching to taking commuter railroads instead of driving into the congestion zone. But really, the biggest impact has been on buses. With fewer vehicles on city streets, they're actually going too fast now.

Whoa. Listen to MTA chair, Jan O'Leeper. Little bluntness is called for here. We're seeing on some of the north-south routes that literally buses are being forced to stop and linger at, you know, for minutes at certain locations just to maintain schedule. So the bottom line is we're re-examining the schedules to see if we can speed those trips up. And it's not just city buses. Buses from New Jersey are saving as much as six minutes in the Lincoln Tunnel some days. And in fact, Governor Phil Murphy, who we know has sued to halt the program, is now saying that he's worried.

the Port Authority might not be making enough money on tolls with fewer vehicles using those crossings. He's asking for more analysis. But it's only been three weeks. There's a lot more analysis and impacts to look at and changes in the coming weeks and months. Well, we should say that as our Albany reporter John Campbell reports, there might not be more analysis if President Trump just kills congestion pricing entirely.

What are you hearing about the potential end of congestion pricing? Yeah, you're right. I mean, the president has said that he wants to kill congestion pricing. And there was some news on that. I mean, the Times first reported, and I confirm this as well, that President Trump spoke to Kathy Hokel, Governor Kathy Hokel, twice this week. And congestion pricing was part of those talks. But really, there wasn't any sort of firm conclusion or anything like that. But we do know this.

They agreed to talk next week about it, too. So there's more to be said here, and everybody's going to be kind of on pins and needles waiting for it. Of course, MTA chair, Jan no Libro, was asked about it this week. And, you know, the MTA is not taking a fighting stance yet. He's not rolling up his sleeves. He continues to argue that Trump is a New Yorker and a businessman first. And he understands how gridlock impacts businesses with lost productivity. So he thinks he'll be more amenable to congestion pricing once he understands how it works and the impacts of it. Also, we should add late last week more than two dozen Republicans and Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to him asking him to kill the program. And really, they might be getting some help from the feds. It might be on the way. I mean, this week our colleague, Jimmy Vielkind, learned that former Republican Congressman Mark Molinar, he's a former congressman from the Hudson Valley, is likely to be tapped as head of the Federal Transit Administration. He is a vocal opponent of congestion pricing, calls it a cash grab. And, you know, that administration is not in charge of the congestion pricing program directly.

that would be the Federal Highway Administration, but the FTA is in charge of grants for transit, which the MTA relies on for funding projects. So some of that is in the form of money that matches revenue from congestion pricing, and that could certainly be used against the MTA in the weeks and months and years ahead. Just this week alone, the MTA drew down $14 million from the federal government in grants that have already been approved. The last capital plan that's just ended, relied. on $13 billion from federal sources.

The next capital plan is counting on $14 billion. So they rely a lot on this federal revenue. Yeah. Well, let's talk about that capital plan. Something we've talked about here on the way. Governor Hockel and state lawmakers all seem to agree that they need to come up with more money for that next construction program for the MTA. John, have they given any indication how they might come up with the cash?

Well, Sean, not really. Okay. Simple answer. Yeah, yeah. I mean, the governor put some placeholder language in her state budget proposal earlier this month. I should call that a quarter trillion dollar state budget proposal with a T. And she basically said, yeah, the state's going to put in some money, the city's going to put in some money, the feds are going to put in some money. But we need more money and we'll negotiate a way to come up with that cash for the MTA.

So I kind of hit the halls of the Capitol, chatted people up, trying to figure out what they're weighing. You know, state lawmakers haven't put any firm proposal out as a Democratic conference, so to speak. But in general, there's a lot on the left in particular that like the idea of taxing the rich, increasing income taxes on the rich to help cover this gap for the MTA. Hockel in the past has gone to the well of raising the payroll mobility tax. That's a tax on the payroll of businesses within the MTA region. but Senate Democrats aren't big fans of hiking that tax. I asked Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins about that earlier this week.

In the spirit of saying everything is on the table, that's certainly a conversation. But, you know, I would not want to indicate that, you know, this would be the be all and end all. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of increasing the payroll tax. But, you know, Senate Democrats, they still feel these wounds from way back in 2010. A year after that payroll tax went into effect, and Republicans really wielded it against them one back control of the chamber that year after Democrats had control, in part by really lacking them on the payroll tax. Well, let's switch gears a little bit, although it's still dollars and cents we're talking about here. One of the big issues the MTA has tried to address in the last few years is fare evasion. The MTA does have some news in that department.

What is the latest? Well, for the first time in recent years, fair evasion is finally going down. There's a lot of ways to parse the numbers, but taking a look at subway fare evasion, it peaked in the summer of 2023 with 14% of riders skipping the fair. After, as we all reported, the surge of police, they hired those gate guards to watch the exit gates. They fixed the back-cocking turnstiles. And they've even installed metal fins with spikes on top to deter people from climbing over them. So the result of all that, in the last three months, there has been a drop to just 10% of riders hopping the turnstiles. are fair evading. It's a huge percentage drop. Fair evasion is a $600 to $700 million a year problem

for the agency. You know, this enforcement does cost millions in overtime and, you know, manpower, person power. And even Hockel's new overtime patrols are going to cost $77 million. But ultimately, it's about that $700 million hole in the MTA's budget, but also it's the culture of fair evasion that has taken root in the city. Well, it's WNYC Transit reporter Stephen Nesson and Ramsey Caliphay with a special appearance from Albany reporter John Campbell. You can stay in the know on all things, transit, or ask a question of your own by signing up for our weekly on the way newsletter at gotthmus.com slash on the way. For our regulars, thank you. As always, John Campbell.

It's always nice to talk to you as well. Thank you. Thanks so much. Thanks, Sean. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top. news headlines and occasional deep dives, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

See you this afternoon.