NYC NOW - November 1, 2023: Midday News

Episode Date: November 1, 2023

Police have shot and killed a man they believe to be responsible for a double homicide in East Flatbush Sunday night. Meanwhile, the NYPD is investigating the shooting of a 16-year-old boy near Times Square on Halloween night. Jupiter will be at its closest point to Earth tonight and then at opposition Thursday night, meaning Earth will line up between Jupiter and the sun. Finally, the New York City Council recently announced the revival of The Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform, with plans to close Rikers Island jail complex by August, 2027. WNYC's Tiffany Hansen spoke with the commission's chair, former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman.

NYC, Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Wednesday, November 1st. Here's the midday news from Lance Lucky. Police say they shot and killed a man today who they believe is responsible for the murder of a Brooklyn dad and his adult steps on Sunday night. NYPD officials say officers fatally shot 47-year-old Jason Pass about, 7 a.m. They say he had rushed at officers with a knife during a traffic stop in Bath Beach, Brooklyn.

He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and died hours later. Police had been on the lookout for pass since Sunday night. He was the suspected shooter in the killings of two of his upstairs neighbors after a dispute in their East Flatbush building. Police say they're still investigating. Police are also investigating after a 16-year-old was shot near Times Square last night. They say it happened around 10 p.m. as Halloween festivities were winding down. First responders found the teen in front of Sardi's restaurant on West 44th Street with a gunshot wound to the shoulder. He was taken to a local hospital in stable condition. Police say the shooting was sparked by a dispute among the people he was with. They arrested five people at the scene. Bright stars and a

big planet will brighten New York City's November skies. Jupiter will be at its closest point to Earth tonight and then at opposition tomorrow night, meaning the Earth will line up between Jupiter and the sun. Both moments allow Jupiter to look extra radiant. Jupiter's four largest moons, its great red spot and colorful storm bands will be visible with a telescope. American Museum of Natural History astrophysicist Jackie Farity says this time of year is also ripe viewing for the Perseus family of constellations. All of these constellations that you can look for that tell this old school mythology story, like the soap opera of the sky. So November and its peak for when they're all up. And you can see a step-by-step guide on how to see these constellations on our news website, Gothamus.

For WNYC, I'm Michael Hill. Last week, the New York City Council announced that it's reviving the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform. The commission aims to finally shutter the notorious jails on Rikers Island. All detainees are supposed to vacate Rikers by August of 2027, but the plan is not on track for that deadline. My colleague Tiffany Hanson spoke to the chair of the Indears. independent Rikers Commission, former Chief Judge of New York State, Jonathan Lipman. Judge Lipman, thanks so much for joining us. Sure, my pleasure, Tiffany.

So just remind listeners how we got here. What happened that put us on this path toward closure for Rikers? Well, you know, we had the initial commission that was appointed by Speaker Mark Vosavrito that did an extensive study of Rikers and the problems there. and criminal justice in general in the city. And our conclusion was that Rikers is a moral stain on our city and that it needed to be closed. And we laid out a plan to do that by building local jails,

local smaller economy of scale, more humane jails in the boroughs to replace Rikers and to close it once and for all. And the city council passed legislation of following up on our recommendations that there can no longer be jail facilities on Rikers Island as of August 2007. So you mentioned that commission that made the recommendations. You were at the head of the commission at that time. You're back at the helm now. So tell us what will be different this time going forward. Well, we're going to look at this.

Look, we want to balance the present legal framework. with conditions on the ground now, where we're post-pandemic, where there have been a lot of changes in the city, there have been an increase in the jail population, there's been some increases in cost, and we want to look at the whole situation in the context of what's happening now

and basically put out a new blueprint that is superimposed on the old blueprint that provides, again, an up-to-date set of recommendations to get this place closed as soon as possible. How do you see that blueprint really moving things along? Are you optimistic about that? I am optimistic. I think there are things we can do to bring the population down, the jail population, that is, and to look at, you know, all the things that are needed to help do that,

whether it be mental health beds for people who don't, It shouldn't be in an incostive environment and look at what we can do again to close the place as quickly as possible. We're going to do some research. We're going to talk to a lot of people. We're going to have a lot of constituencies represented on the commission in addition to the original membership. And, you know, we think we can do this. And the main ingredient, why I'm optimistic is that we have the full support of, the city council speaker, Adrian Adams, who has appointed us to do this commission 2.0.

And also, we have the full support of the mayor, Eric Adams, who is, you know, who I've worked with the whole time with Rikers since before he was the mayor. And they are both in favor of closing this place and closing it in the right way and getting it done as soon as we can. So I am optimistic that we can do this. We have reported here that the closure of the jails at Rikers has stalled out. I mentioned that earlier. So what's your message to somebody with a loved one on Rikers right now? What can they expect?

Well, they can expect it's all using our best efforts to get this place finished as a jail facility at the earliest possible date. We found the first time we looked at this in depth that it is an inhumane place. that deserves to be closed as rapidly as possible. It does not help our city or its future. And, you know, I would say to all those people, we're going to work on it with all of our energies and transition to a much better jail system with smaller, more humane jails that treat people in the right way

and as human beings and with dignity and respect. and that's what this is all about. So bottom line, August 2027 is still doable. We're going to, it's far too early to say what's doable and not doable, but what I will say is that everyone agrees, the city council speaker, the mayor, close it as soon as possible, and we're going to look at that again, that legal framework, that date, in the context of what's going on on the ground. And we're going to, what I can pledge is we're going to do everything we can to get this closed again as speedily as possible. And we're going to again,

take it to consider it as a legal mandate and what's happening on Rikers now. Judge Lippman, thanks so much for taking time with us today. We appreciate it. It's my pleasure. Thank you for having me, Tiffany. 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.