NYC NOW - New York City is Starting a Pilot Program for Free Childcare, Police Investigate a Spike of Homicides, the City Cracks Down on Illegal Short-term Rentals, is a New Jersey Town’s Plans to Build Affordable Housing a Gamble, Influencers Mob the Diddy Trial

Episode Date: June 27, 2025

New York City is starting a pilot program for free childcare. Plus, police investigate a spike in homicides across the city. Also, the city cracks down on illegal short term rentals. A town in New Jersey has a plan to create more affordable housing, but will it ever get built? Finally, hordes of influencers line up outside the Diddy trial in Lower Manhattan.

New York City is starting a pilot program for free child care. Police investigate a spike in homicides across the city. The city cracks down on illegal short-term rentals. A town in New Jersey has a plan to create more affordable housing, but will it ever get built? Hordes of influencers line up outside the Diddy Trial in lower Manhattan. From WNIC, this is NYC now. I'm Sean Carlson. New York City will start a pilot program to provide free child care for children ages 2 and

under for hundreds of low-income families. It's part of an upcoming budget deal between the City Council and Mayor Eric Adams. That's according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations. The initiative comes as presumptive Democratic nominee for Mayor Zoran Mamdani has made free universal child care a key platform of his campaign. The cost of child care is widely seen as a leading driver of New York City's affordability crisis and was a central issue in the primary race. Under the plan, the city would spend $10 million on a program that would serve hundreds. of low-income families. Police are investigating seven separate homicides across three boroughs so far this week.

That's a big spike compared to a normal week in New York City. DLDIC's Brittany Crichtstein has more. Experts say violence tends to increase with warmer weather as more people gather outdoors in large groups. This past week was no exception. As a heat wave blanketed the city, seven people were killed across Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. The victims included two women who were fatally shot in the street,

street in separate incidents and two teens who were also killed by gunfire days apart. Police have made arrests in two of the homicides and are looking for the five other suspects. NYPD data shows murders and shootings are still down 20% this year compared to last. New York City is cracking down on illegal short-term rentals on Airbnb and other sites. City rules prohibit renting out an entire apartment for less than 30 days or to more than two people at a time. The mayor's office of special enforcement says about 500 short-term rental hosts are in violation. And the agency is warning them that they could face fines of up to $5,000 or the revocation of their permits. Airbnb calls the city's rules overly stringent, but they say the

company is working to keep hosts informed of the laws. Up next, a town in New Jersey has a plan to create more transit-oriented housing, but will it ever get built? Love more on that after the break. You're listening to NYC now. A deadline is approaching in New Jersey. By the end of this Monday, every town in the Garden State must by law file a plan showing where they intend to put affordable homes over the next 10 years. WDMIC's My Case reports on one town's plans to create more transit-oriented housing and why it may never get built. At a train station in Westfield, New Jersey, rush hour commuters, can be in Manhattan in just 35 minutes.

For over 25 years, Mayor Shelley Brindle rode these rails to a C-suite-level executive job at HBO, where she helped launch mega hits like The Sopranos and Game of Thrones. Now I'm just the Queen of Dragons in Town Hall. I've been called worse. I met Brindle along with Jim Gilday, Westfield's town administrator at City Hall. Brindle is now in her eighth and final year as mayor.

And she says these train tracks in the center of Westfield's bustling downtown are key to her town's affordable housing plan. That is really where that makes sense for affordable housing to be where there's public transit. New Jersey is rapidly running out of vacant land, which is why the state is placing heavy emphasis on redeveloping property, particularly near transit and other resources. So Westfield's local officials selected five sites, all under a 10-minute walk to the train for future affordable housing. The plan would generate about 100 new affordable homes, but there's a catch. Every site that we've chosen, there's already something that's existing there. All of it is occupied by businesses. A stop and shop, a gas station, a high-end appliance store.

And under Westfield's plan, if none of those businesses leave, the housing slated to go there may never get built. If they want to keep it as a gas station in perpetuity, they can do that. There's no business that's being shut down or closed. kicked out and the whole thing with affordable housing, you have to show your obligation of how you're going to make it happen. It doesn't necessarily mean it will happen. What Westfield is relying on is what town planners call overlay zones. It's a change in zoning that Gilday says isn't triggered until someone decides to change how they're using the property. Then the overlay

zone kicks in and then the change in use zoning then requires them to do affordable housing. A stop-and-shop spokesperson said the company has no plans to change its use of the property in Westfield. The owner of another site identified by the town told WNYC he'd be open to adding rental units above his shop. Mark McBride is a retired banker from Madison, New Jersey, who spent his career in affordable housing financing. He says Westfield's approach is becoming more common. Pretty similar to what many of the other towns in New Jersey are doing. It's unclear whether it will succeed. But nominally, it does comply with the new law.

Rindle and Gilday say that they've selected sites that they believe are likely to be sold and redeveloped. But they acknowledge that might not happen anytime seen. That's WN MISC's Mike Hayes. Hordes of social media influencers lined up outside a federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan for closing arguments in the sex trafficking trial of music mogul Sean Diddy Combs. Since early May, the sidewalk along the building has transformed into a mix of celebrity. red carpet, block party, tourist destination, and live stream studio. WIC's Samantha Max has been interviewing the content creators and has this story.

It's around 2 p.m. on a recent Friday, and there's a crowd of social media influencers outside the courthouse where Sean Combs is on trial. People are chatting. Some are smoking weed or cigars. Seemingly, everyone is holding a phone. I see the on Sprinter van right there. So they're coming. A black van has just pulled up, and now everyone's recorded. as Combs' sons emerge and walk into court. For the last two months, this type of scene has become normal outside the courthouse. Social media influencers have flocked here from different neighborhoods in the city,

and some from as far away as Minneapolis and Las Vegas. It's euphoric, this whole thing. Uda Ongo is one of them. He and the other influencers arrive early each morning to, film Combs, his family, and other noteworthy observers as they walk into court. They get more footage during the midday lunch break. And in the evening, they leaf through their pages of hand-ridden notes and speak into their cell phones, recapping the day's events. Outside, it's a zoo. Inside, sometimes it's a zoo as well. It's a circus, man. This whole thing is a circus.

Ongo is a writer from Flatbush. His YouTube page is called Uda on Go. He says he created his a few months ago specifically to observe the trial. I wanted to be here to get the story to myself. Ungo is a bubbly presence outside the courthouse. In his videos, he shares lively updates with his audience. Diddy trial live, day 29, the defense calls no witnesses after 34 testify. Can Diddy? Can Diddy walk back and bop in the city?

He dances. To the slide, to the slide, then we slip a slide on our astroglyle. And he makes small talk with who. ever walks past, whether it's the courtroom sketch artist or a local tour guide, here he is yacking it up one morning with Combs' defense attorney, Brian Steele. How you feeling today? Exercise, man, trying to enjoy every day now. Exercise in a courtroom.

I ain't mad at that, man. Trevor Harris is another content creator who's been covering Combs' trial. He says he's been leaving his home in the Bronx around six every morning to get to the federal courthouse before the celebrity studied cast of characters. walks inside. The early bird get the worm so that way you can catch the family. That's good footage. Several content creators told me they had never covered a court case before.

But they felt compelled to document this one because of the outsized role that Combs has played in the music industry. Others have been covering big news events for years like filmmaker Andre Boyd. Occupy Wall Street, everything that happens in New York that's major. New York Fashion Week, the Met Gala, I always come out and film. This news event is more personal for Boyd because he likes Combs' music. He and the other influencers I spoke with are familiar with Diddy the celebrity, the record label owner, the Harlem native who has once awarded a key to the city of New York.

Now he's accused of abusing women and running a criminal enterprise to cover up a sex trafficking scheme. Boyd has struggled to process the allegations. I had mixed feelings about it. I kind of believed it at first, then I didn't believe it. I'm confused about it, to be honest. Some influencers told me they consider themselves Combs fans. Others say the allegations against him have tainted their opinions. Boyd says the varying viewpoints sometimes fuel heated debates outside the courthouse.

A lot of people expressing their opinions about the case. Just lots of energy. All the tension and attention surrounding the case has put some influencers on edge. Content creator Stephanie Sue told her followers she thought Combs was staring her down in court. Two female influencers I interviewed declined to give their full names. One said she's afraid of internet haters. But content creator Samuel Wilson says at the courthouse, the influencers are generally able to put all.

the drama and differing opinions aside. We are like family now. We all came here for one go to cover this. We all talk. We all interact. We all go eat. Wilson considers himself a Combs supporter. When I parked my car, that's the live with me, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So, yeah, I'm a big fan. I'm a big fan of Sean Coles. What are some of your favorite songs? Oh, man. All right by the Benjamin's. Wilson came all the way from Las Vegas for the trial. And now he's planning to stay. He says there's more excitement to record here.

You can go to Times Square. You can go anywhere in the city. There's something going on. Wilson says he told his parents he'll come home and visit. But for now, he's planning to see where his social media career takes him. That's WNYC, cement the max. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. I'm Sean Carlson.

Have a great weekend.