NYC NOW - November 21, 2023: Midday News

Episode Date: November 21, 2023

New York City's storied public cemetery Hart Island is open for tours starting today for the first time in its history. Also, the great holiday commute is currently underway with thousands traveling for Thanksgiving... and New Jersey Transit is tweaking its schedules to accommodate. And finally, big Democratic wins from New Jersey’s legislative elections this month are raising questions about the Republican Party's strategy. The GOP is regrouping and trying to figure out what it needs to do to win more elections going forward. WNYC’s Nancy Solomon reports.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Tuesday, November 21st. Here's the midday news from Tiffany Hanson. The general public will finally get to take a closer look at New York City's storied public cemetery. Hart Island is open for tours starting today for the first time in its history. Though Hart Island is currently a potter's field, where the city's unclaimed dead have been buried for more than 150 years.

It's also been a home to a Civil War prison camp, a tuberculosis ward, and a jail, among other things. The City's Park Department will run the two-and-a-half-hour tours twice a month. If you're interested, you have to register online. Participants will be chosen through a lottery. That registration can be done at New York City Parks Department website. The forecast for today, increasing clouds, a chance for rain moving in by about four or five o'clock this afternoon.

Rain likely overnight tonight, breezy with temperatures rising to around 55. It's 44 now in the city. NYC. Big Democratic wins from New Jersey's legislative elections this month are raising questions about the Republican Party's strategy. The GOP is regrouping and trying to figure out what it needs to do to win more elections going forward. WNYC's Nancy Solomon has more.

years ago, a MAGA Republican grabbed headlines when he beat the Democratic sitting Senate president, Steve Sweeney, one of the most powerful people in the state. Well, one of New Jersey's most powerful politicians is losing his seat to a truck driver. A shocking upset in New Jersey's third district truck driver, Edward Dür. I'm absolutely nobody. I'm just a simple guy. It's one of the most stunning political upsets New Jersey has ever seen. A lot of people think Steve Sweeney is the most powerful man because he controls. the entire legislative process. That and other wins

seem to suggest right-wing Republicans were making real gains for the first time in decades. But this year, Democrats clawed back all six seats they lost in the assembly two years ago, as well as Ed Durr's Senate seat. That has Republicans at the drawing board. Tops on the agenda,

stop handing Democrats a huge early voting advantage. First of all, we've already met to talk about vote by mail. We did improve. They didn't improve enough. John DeMeo is a Republican minority leader in the Assembly. More than twice as many Democrats voted early in New Jersey, either by mail or in person.

DeMeo doesn't think there's any retooling needed of the Republican message. But others, most notably Democratic Governor Phil Murphy, say Republicans were hurt by their conservative talking points. Folks sort of rejected the culture warrior, stuff and focused on the facts, the kitchen table stuff like affordability? I reject that. That does not even remotely equal what took place. And that's exactly what they did not do. They didn't run. Democrats didn't run on pocketbook issues. Harry Hurley is a conservative talk radio host on WPG in Atlantic City. Many Republicans pushed for parental control

over school policies, specifically opposing protections for LGBTQ students, like rules that stop schools from outing kids to their families. That issue did not hurt Republicans, but I do believe the abortion issue was very, very powerful for Democrats where they could tag a Republican as being anti-woman's right, you know, to control of her body.

New Jersey Republicans used to be able to insulate themselves from the right-wood shift of the National Party. Chris Christie won two gubernatorial elections, even though he was anti-abortion, a position a large majority of New Jerseyans disagree with. But now, with Roe v. Wade gone, Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University poll, says Republicans no longer get a pass on that issue. They can't divorce themselves from that. And when they focus on cultural issues, as we saw happen in many of these races,

it gives the Democrats an opening to say, look, if this is about the culture, wars, do you want to be on their side or on our side, even if you don't agree with us entirely? One of the big GOP winners on election night was John Bramnick, a moderate Republican who has sometimes found himself all alone in his party. He's often been the only one willing to publicly criticize Donald Trump. And Bramnik says, that's helped him in his purple district. I think the message that people want to hear is that Republicans aren't. crazy. And they want to make sure that you're not a threat to democracy. They want to make sure they're not crazy about Phil Merritt. They don't love Joe Biden. But do they trust the Republican brand?

Democrats now have a 25 to 15 advantage in the state Senate. And it's 51 to 28 in the General Assembly. Republicans will get another chance to improve on their representation next year when one U.S. Senate seat and all 12 members of the House of Representatives are up for election. Nancy Solomon, WNYC News. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday three times a day for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. More soon.