NYC NOW - Morning Headlines: Roosevelt Island Tram Overcrowding, Fishy Landlord Allegations, and NY Liberty’s 2025 Schedule

Episode Date: December 3, 2024

Get up and get informed! Here’s all the local news you need to start your day: Some Roosevelt Island commuters say tram tourists are making life harder for residents and workers. Meanwhile, tenants in a Jersey City building claim their landlord left rotten fish in empty apartments to force them out. Plus, the WNBA champion New York Liberty have released their 2025 schedule.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Tuesday, December 3rd. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. Some commuters say a surge of tourists using the Roosevelt Island tram is making it hard for island residents and workers. WNMAC's Sasha Lyndon, Cohen has more. Roosevelt Island residents and workers are asking for priority boarding on the popular tram that connects the small bit of land in the East River to Manhattan. The tram has become a popular tourist destination,

but commuters say the visitors are crowding them out. It's like a bad day at Disney. They don't seem to understand that it's actually a vehicle for us to get home. That's Nicole Isaac. She's lived on Roosevelt Island for six years. The issue became especially frustrating when the island's only train, the F, was shut down for about seven months earlier this year. A group of New Jersey residents and renters says the landlord plays dead, rotten-smelling fish in two vacant units in their building to try to force them to leave. Anna Bassett lives at 336 New York Avenue in a rent-controlled department. She says she and other residents spend months trying to figure out the source of the rancid odor,

eventually called firefighters who broke down the door to a unit next to Bassett's. That's when they found the fish everywhere. and that was just kind of like the moment I realized how sadistic this was getting. The landlord denies the allegations which came to light at a hearing of the city's rent leveling board. The owner is asking for permission to more than triple the rent from $540 a month to $1,850 a month. The company says it needs the extra money to cover maintenance expenses. We're getting our first look at the New York. Liberty's schedule for next season. We have it right here on WNBC for the WNBA champion New York Liberty.

They'll begin their title defense on Saturday, May 17th at Barclays Center against the Las Vegas Aces. That's a matchup of the last two WNBA champions. The Libs will play the newest WNBA team, the Golden State Valkyries for the first time in two straight home games. That's on May 27th and May 29th. 31 with some clouds out there and some light snow in some spots, mostly sunny and 40 today. Tomorrow, increasing clouds in Thursday, late morning showers are likely. 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.