NYC NOW - November 1, 2024 : Evening Roundup

Episode Date: November 1, 2024

Women who say they were sexually abused by staff at the Rikers Island jail complex are urging New York City officials to take their allegations seriously. Plus, some wealthy political donors are digging deep to try to sway a handful of key New York congressional races. Also, New York Attorney General Letitia James is warning New Yorkers not to rely on artificial intelligence chatbots to tell them where to vote on Tuesday. And finally, the congressional race on Long Island becomes a microcosm of national fights over reproductive and transgender rights.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. I'm Jenei Pierre. Do you believe that there's a problem at Rikers? Do you believe these stories? I believe that we really need to look into it. Women who say they were sexually abused by staff at the Rikers Island Jail Complex are urging New York City officials to take their allegations seriously. Several of the women testified this week at a city council oversight hearing.

Donna Hilton says a female captain raped her when she was a teenager on Rikers Island in the 80s. You hear our trauma. We tell it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Hilton is one of more than 700 women who have accused jail staff of sexual abuse in recent lawsuits against the city. Department leaders say they have a zero-tolerance policy and are working to improve how they handle sexual assault. Earlier this year, a WMYC investigation looked into lawsuits filed by two dozen women, claiming they were sexually assaulted while held at Rikers by one particular correction officer. Some wealthy political donors are digging deep to try to sway a handful of key New York congressional races.

WMYC's John Campbell has more. Political candidates and outside groups have spent a whopping 140, million dollars so far on New York's six battleground districts. And that number is likely to rise with a barrage of ads expected through election day. The costliest race has been for a district that stretches from the Hudson Valley to Ithaca, New York 19. That's where Republican Representative Mark Molinaro has been locked in a bitter rematch with Democrat Josh Riley. The tab, about $41 million in counting, according to FEC filings. The other tight races are in the New York City suburbs and the Syracuse area. New York Attorney General Letitia James is warning New Yorkers not to rely on artificial intelligence chat box to tell them where to vote on Tuesday. The Attorney General's office tested several of these AI power chat box with sample questions about voting and found that they frequently answered with wrong information.

For accurate information about where to vote and how to vote early, New York City residents should check out the Attorney General's website or the New York State Board of Elections. A congressional race on Long Island has become a microcosm of national fights over reproductive and transgender rights. More on that after the break. This is NYC Now. On the south shore of Long Island, a competitive congressional race between Republican Congress member Anthony DiS. Pesito and Democratic challenger Laura Gillen is poised to decide the balance of power in the House of Representatives. WMYC's Bridget Bergen reports each candidate is making their own version of a fight for women's rights to galvanize voters from very different perspectives.

As Democrats across the country run on their commitment to restoring reproductive health care, Laura Gillen is making the issue personal. She describes her own experience nearly 20 years ago when her doctors discovered her third child, girl did not have a heartbeat. We were completely blindsided when all of a sudden the nurse ran out of the room and dolly right back. She needed a type of life-saving abortion procedure that in the wake of the Dobbs decision is currently banned in 13 states. Representative Anthony Di Esposito calls himself a champion of women. But Gillen says voters shouldn't buy it. Here she is at a luncheon for Emily's list, a political action committee that supports abortion.

rights. He's making these commercials where he's like, I will never vote for a national abortion ban. And he's yelling like that. It's an interesting tactic to appeal to women, but that's what he chose. And the reality is his record belies that. He voted in my time. Both parties are bringing in their national heavyweights to win this race. Democrats see the chance to take over leadership of the U.S. House. That's why House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who could become Speaker, is helping make the case for Gillen at a recent rally for voters in the village of Hempstead. And we will always protect the woman's freedom to make her own reproductive health care decision. That's what you get when you send Laura Gillum to the United States, House of Representatives.

As attendees streamed out, some sign up for volunteer shifts. Old Leung says she's supporting Gillen, to bolster the top of the ticket. You don't want Kamala Harris to be a lame duck president. She has to have the support of the Congress. And so it takes all of us to do that. How much of an issue or concern for you or motivating factor is preserving access

to reproductive health care? That's a personal issue. It should not be something that the government has a right to do anything about. At a very different rally in the parking lot of a TD bank in Franklin Square, Republican volunteers gather on an early Saturday morning before fanning out to campaign across the district. The music is blasting.

There's a life-size inflatable elephant. Here, voters like Barbara Truglio are less concerned about reproductive rights. I think the abortion issue, everybody's made such a big thing out of it, just to be so political. Instead, Republicans have seized on Proposition 1, a ballot measure to enshrine to enshrine abortion rights and anti-discrimination protections in the state constitution. Opponents have been quick to frame it as a fight over kids athletics, echoing other national campaigns against transgender rights. Here's Hempstead Town Supervisor and Diospesito Booster, Donald Clavin. Girls should play girls sports, boys should play boys. We've got to get that message

out there, right, Antonio? You're damn right we do. Legal experts say it would have no impact on kids sports. Diazsbezito disagrees and says it's given him an opening to talk with new voters. Not just Republicans. I mean, I speak to independence on the street and just parents. I mean, we have vote note of Prop 1, Protect Girl Sports signs, and we can't keep them in our headquarters because everyone wants them. And these are people who I've never seen had a political sign on their lawn ever. And those newly activated voters are what Diazpizito needs to hold on to this seat. The latest poll shows Gillen with an advantage. Another prominent Diaz Pizzito supporter is former Long Island Representative Peter King.

He's acutely aware of the national attention this race is getting, and what a shift that is from when he was in office just a few years ago. In 28 years, I can never get to speak with the House that comes to Long Island once. I think Mike Johnson's living here. King says if Republicans hold on to this seat, they'll retain control of the House. And so for the first time, in a long time, his suburban stomping grounds matter to the entire country. Whether Democrats in Washington or the Republicans in Washington, like or not, Long Island is the center of the world. And now, it's up to voters to decide which candidates take on their

rights should that center hold. That's WMYC's Bridget Bergen. For more election coverage, check out a special episode of NYC now dropping first thing Saturday morning. I'll chat with WNYC's Brian Ler about some key congressional races, ballot questions, and and, of course, the race for the White House. Check it out this weekend. Also happening this weekend, daylight saving time ends at 2 in the morning on Sunday, and city officials are warning residents to be extra careful getting around. Research shows the shorter daylight spans make roads more dangerous.

Officials say reductions in sunlight and visibility earlier in the day are correlated with some of the highest fatal crash rates during the year, especially among pedestrians. The NYPD says there'll be expanding enforcement of traffic violations in the evening and overnight hours. Thanks for listening to NYC Now from WNYC. Before we go, got a shout out our production team. It includes Sean Bowditch, Amber Bruce, Owen Kaplan, Audrey Cooper, Leora Norm Kravitz, Jared Marcell, Jen Munson, and Wayne Showmeister, with help from all of my colleagues in the WNYC Newsroom. Our show art was designed by the people at Buck, and our music was designed.

composed by Alexis Quadrato. I'm Jenae Pierre. Have a nice weekend and be on the lookout for that special weekend episode on the upcoming election.