NYC NOW - November 19, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: November 19, 2024

A group called New Yorkers United for Child Care is advocating for free universal child care across New York State. Meanwhile, WNYC’s Mike Hayes follows Nana Duncan, a young developer transforming vacant lots into housing in Irvington, New Jersey. Finally, President-elect Donald Trump is pledging to carry out the largest mass deportation program in U.S. history. WNYC’s Michael Hill speaks with Manuel Castro, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, about how this could impact New York City.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. A parent-led advocacy group is pushing for free universal child care for families across New York State. The nearly $13 billion plan was released Tuesday by New Yorkers United for child care with support from several city and state officials. It comes as the city faces an affordability crisis that's forced many young families to leave. Advocates say there would need to be new, dedicated taxes to support the programs, possibly focusing on capital gains, corporations, or high-income earners. Executive Director Rebecca Bailen says it's not a problem the private market can fix on its own.

When families feel that they have to flee because of affordability issues, that's a real policy failure and it's time for government to step in. The group says the state could reach universal child care over the course of five years by expanding programs like New York City's 3K and the state's Child Care Assistance Program. In the North Jersey Township of Irvington, a young real estate developer is about to turn vacant lots into a $100 million affordable housing development.

WMYC's Mike Hayes followed developer Nonna Duncan, who took a surprising route to her current career. Nana Duncan and I are walking on a desolate street in the east ward of Irvington, New Jersey. Right now, the lots here are covered in trash, weeds, and contaminated soil people dumped here from other parts of town. This fits the definition of blight. You can see the areas back there, you know, I'm pointing to it now that has, you know,

significant dumping that has been going on for over 10 years. But Duncan is planning one of the state's largest affordable housing projects here. She's one of the first black female developers to lead in the affordable housing project of this magnitude in the state. So you're going to see 240 plus families move in here. here, right? Activate the area. Duncan opened her own real estate firm in 2018. Since launching her company, she has successfully redeveloped over 500,000 square feet of blighted property, generating more than 200 million in development. But it was years earlier working as a

college counselor in Harlem that made her want to go into the business of improving people's living space. She says students with tough living environments would often break their counseling appointments. They were living, you know, 10 people in an apartment, which meant they couldn't get enough sleep, which means they weren't feeling good enough to come meet with me and receive the resources and opportunities that I had for them. Mayor Tony Voss says the land Duncan wants to develop in Hervington was once going to be a school. That never came into fruition. So by the time I took office in 2014, there was just vacant properties and land in this entire area. He says, Irvington got the land back from the state. Now it's up to Duncan to rebuild a community.

There are individuals that have reached out to me since we had our groundbreaking and said, hey, my family owned a home here. This is where I grew up. This is where I found my formative years and we're so glad to see you doing something that reminds us of what it used to be like. Duncan broke ground last week. She says the whole project will take her five years. She's also planning to put in a grocery store, restaurant, and new 30,000-foot community Center in the neighborhood before she's done. That's WMYC's Mike Hayes. As President-elect Trump prepares to return to the White House,

local officials consider what a mass deportation effort could mean for New York. More on that after the break. President-elect Donald Trump says he wants to carry out the largest mass deportation program in American history. Before the election, Mayor Eric Adams struck a defiant tone. Mass deportation of that is not, it's not going to happen in New York City. So what might that actually mean for New York? My colleague Michael Hill talked with Manuel Castro,

Commissioner of the mayor's office of immigrant affairs. Commissioner Castro, what has the direction been from the mayor's office since the election? Will the city cooperate with the Trump administration when it comes to the thousands of undocumented people who live here? The mayor from day one, he's been clear. he continues to say that he does not support mass deportation. But most important is he continues to say we are a sanctuary city, and all our city agencies are expected to follow our sanctuary laws. So in that respect, our laws are very clear about the distinction between local government

and federal immigration enforcement. And so we are continuing to prepare across city agencies. I recently met with the police commissioner. with the school's chancellor and other heads of agencies to make sure that our sanctuary policies are in place and that we are prepared for what may come. But Michael, most immediately, we are reaching out to our immigrant community so that they know about our sanctuary policies. It's hard for immigrants to make the distinction between local government and other levels of government. We want them to trust our city services. Our policies protect their information so that they can use critical services without fear.

If they have been a victim of a crime, they have witness of crime, they can come forward, call 911, use our police services. If they're experiencing a medical emergency, if they have a health condition, continue to use her public hospitals, continue to send your children to school, enroll in ID NYC, and so on. So that's the most immediate thing we are focused on. And, you know, we continue to work closely with our immigrant communities. Will you as the commissioner, will the mayor direct city agencies and city workers not to cooperate with the Trump administration if there is mass deportation attempts? As I said, the laws in this respect are clear unless there is a change from the city council. For us, it's clear that there are distinction between a local government and federal immigration enforcement. but right now with or without cooperation from local authorities,

the federal government can enforce federal immigration policies. And so people from New York have been detained and deported from the city for many years. Those families that have been impacted, we do everything. We can to support them. And if this happens at scale, our city agencies and our nonprofit sector will be ready to support those impacted families. particular, and what worries us the most is the separation of children from their parents. And so that is our focus. But again, in that respect, our laws are clear and we have to follow the laws, unless there's a change at the city council, which at this point we do not expect.

Now, Mayor Adams criticized the Biden administration for lack of coordination of financial help in managing the influx of asylum seekers to New York. That said, the number of asylum seekers arriving in New York City and applying for shelter has been on the decline for months. How do you see this trending under a second Trump administration? Well, Michael, you're correct. For years, we have been calling for not just better coordination at the border, but for comprehensive immigration reform. And when we have a chance to enact that, we need to take it seriously to protect our immigrant communities. And still now, from day one, the mayor in our city has been calling for reform to our immigration policies to protect people.

to provide them with legal status, to provide them with expedited work authorization, for those individuals and families who currently live in New York. See, at average, undocumented immigrants have lived in the city for over 15 years. So these individuals are New Yorkers. They deserve a chance. And if we do see instances of mass deportation, it'll have ripple effects throughout our city. It will impact U.S. born children, families and mixed status households. in our variety of industries that depend on this labor force. In fact, we are getting ready, and the mayor continues to advocate for these issues,

and he's using everything in his power. The big question right now is what leverage remains for the city to continue to advocate for what we think our values should be as a country and as a city. And so that is what the mayor is focused on at the moment. Mr. Commissioner, there are some people who are here with temporary protected status such as from Haiti and Venezuela, where there's violence and turmoil on those countries,

what do you anticipate for TPS moving forward? Well, Michael, this worries us a lot because so many people from a variety of different countries have been living under temporary protective status for many years, sometimes decades. And this is why we've been calling for an overhaul of an immigration system to provide people under TPS with, legal status, a status that they don't have to renew every couple of years and that cannot be removed from them as we expect it to happen. At the moment, people with TPS have work authorization, have some stability, and unfortunately, they will lose status. And those who choose to remain

might become undocumented. We're going the opposite direction of where we should be going. So we're doing everything possible to educate our immigrant communities about what this means to them. We've been saying to them, do not panic, but be prepared, have a plan, especially if you have families, know your rights and your options moving forward. That's Manuel Castro, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, talking with my colleague Michael Hill. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday three times a day. I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.