NYC NOW - Morning Headlines: New Yorkers Struggle with Rising Food Prices, Plan to Rebuild Penn Station Features Classical Architecture, and Elizabeth Street Garden Faces Eviction

Episode Date: March 12, 2025

New Yorkers say they’re cutting back on eggs and meat as food prices rise, with some falling into debt just to buy groceries. Meanwhile, a new proposal to rebuild Penn Station includes tearing down Madison Square Garden and constructing a new arena across Seventh Avenue, incorporating neoclassical elements favored by President Trump. Plus, the Elizabeth Street Garden in Lower Manhattan is facing another eviction notice as the city moves forward with plans to replace the space with affordable senior housing.

NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Wednesday, March 12th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. New Yorkers say they're buying fewer eggs and eating less meat as the price of food rises. WNIC's Carrie-Yee reports some are even falling into debt. Residents waiting for a free bag of groceries at the New York common pantry in East Harlem say their paychecks aren't enough to keep up with the rising cost of food.

Mercedes-Rodriguez says she's been charging food to her credit card and had to take out a loan to pay it off. She hasn't had eggs in a month and mostly buys. rice, potatoes, more starch than anything and I'm not supposed to be eating that. I have diabetes. Rodriguez isn't alone. More than half of New Yorkers recently polled by the nonprofit at No Kid Hungry have also taken on debt to pay for food in the last year. A majority also said their physical and mental health had suffered because of rising costs. A new plan to rebuild Penn Station would align with President Trump's affinity for classical architecture. Double E. Macy's Ramsey-Kalifa explains.

The plan would tear down Madison Square Garden and build a new arena across 7th Avenue. The current venue would become a public park with grand entrances to Penn Station, featuring Greco-Roman columns. Trump has said he likes that aesthetic. In his first term, he signed an executive order seeking neoclassical designs for federal buildings. Here's the head architect behind the plan, Alexandros Washburn. I think New Yorkers like to build stuff.

You know, we like to make the city newer and better all the time. The donor is New York hedge funder Thomas Kligenstein. He funds a group that says it wants to, quote, Make America Beautiful Again. For the plan to move forward, the developers would need approval from the city, state and federal governments, as well as the owners of Madison Square Garden. A popular green space in Lower Manhattan has been hit with another eviction notice. The Elizabeth Street Garden is dotted with sculptures and often open to the public,

but the city owns the space and wants to use it to build affordable housing for seniors. The garden supporters have pointed to alternative sites and have fought the city in court to stop the last eviction attempt. They also have a federal lawsuit project, the garden sculptures and other artworks. City officials say they're willing to include the sculptures in a green space they want to build alongside the new building. The eviction notice means that the garden could be kicked out as soon as March 24th. 48 and mostly clear out there right now. Partly sunny, steady temperature around 50 today. Tomorrow partly sunny, a little bit cooler, and then Friday back to the mid-50s.

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