NYC NOW - Morning Headlines: NY Lawmakers Push Vaccine Access Bill, Mamdani Postpones Town Hall, and NYC Joins Fight Against Proposed EPA Rollback

Episode Date: September 23, 2025

Lawmakers in Albany have introduced a bill to expand access to vaccines by allowing doctors and pharmacists to follow state or regional guidance in addition to federal recommendations. Meanwhile, mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani says he will reschedule a televised town hall with WABC 7 after the network’s parent company reinstated Jimmy Kimmel following his suspension. And as Climate Week begins, New York City has joined a national coalition opposing an EPA proposal to roll back its authority to regulate vehicle emissions.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Tuesday, September 23rd. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. Some New York lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would ensure continued access to vaccines. WNIC's Caroline Lewis reports. A bill introduced in the state legislature this month would allow doctors and pharmacists to offer vaccines based on recommendations from state or regional advisory groups in addition to the federal government. The bill would also require health plans to cover shots recommended by those groups.

New York law has long relied on standards set by the Federal Advisory Committee on immunization practices. But that committee has been reshaped by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and some public health experts are now questioning its scientific rigor. Governor Kathy Hokel has said she anticipates legislative action on vaccines in the upcoming session, which starts in January. New York City Mayoral Candidates, Aran Mamdani says he will reschedule a televised town hall hosted by WABC 7, now that its parent company is returning talk show host Jimmy Kimmel to the airwaves. Kimmel was suspended last week after Trump administration officials criticized remarks he made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk's

accused killer. Mammani said he withdrew from the town hall because the move had a chilling effect on free speech. And we cannot normalize these kinds of acts nor offenses. These must be the basis upon which we act, act to protect the freedoms that we hold so dear. After Disney announced Kimmel Wood return beginning today, Mamdani reversed course. He says millions of Americans had helped the company find its backbone. New York City is fighting back against a federal plan to roll back key climate protections. As climate week gets underway, the city has joined a national coalition urging the EPA to abandon a plan that would eliminate its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. Officials say reversing their rule would ignore science, put public

health at risk, and increase the frequency of extreme weather, including deadly heat and flooding. The move could also wipe out federal emission standards for vehicles that have been in place for more than a decade. A spokesperson for the EPA did not respond to a request for comment. We're at 66 with clouds right now, a slight chance of afternoon showers and maybe thunderstorms late afternoon. It'll become sunny with the high of 81. It's going to feel like a little bit of summer on the first full day of fall. 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.