NYC NOW - November 21, 2023: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: November 21, 2023

Get up and get informed! Here’s all the local news you need to start your day: The NYPD is rolling out a new radio system that will encrypt officers' communication. Meanwhile, a Queens man is facing up to 12 years in prison in connection to a drunk driving incident that left an off-duty NYPD officer dead. Also, the City Council is considering legislation that would create "Spare the Air" days; encouraging residents to reduce air pollution.

Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Tuesday, November 21st. Here's the morning headlines from Tiffany Hanson. The NYPD is rolling out a new radio system that will encrypt officers' communications. The public and the press will no longer be able to listen in to police dispatches by December of 2024. The program will cost 390. million dollars. Here's NYPD Chief of Information Technology, Ruben Beltran.

This encryption is necessary to ensure operational safety and security. Criminal groups have been known to monitor the radio in order to strike vulnerable areas. He says bad actors flee arrest by using the radios to anticipate where officers are headed. Critics of the plan say it means less police accountability. A queensman is facing up to 12 years in prison in connection to a drunk driving incident that left an off-d-d-oop-D officer dead. Kassoon Brown pleaded guilty yesterday to manslaughter charges for the January 2020 collision. Surveillance footage shows him speeding through a stop sign and hitting a car driven by Officer Michael Ellis. Ellis died several weeks after the crash. The Queens DA says Brown had a

blood alcohol level that exceeded the maximum threshold. Brown's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The City Council is considering legislation that would create spare the air days for New York City, encouraging residents to reduce air pollution. Outdoor grilling would be banned on those days and the car usage would be limited. Other legislation being considered by the Council would require New Yorkers to get automated alerts when the city air quality is dangerous. Council member Lincoln Wrestler says the alert system is crucial for the health of New Yorkers. It is critically important and that's why we've introduced this legislation that there be a clear. emergency plan that New Yorkers are able to review and assess and know what to do when the next

air quality emergency occurs. The legislation is in response to the Canadian wildfires that blanketed the city in smoke earlier this year. At the time, many criticized the mayor for his late response to the hazardous air quality. And your weather, we do have some showers moving into the forecast late this afternoon, possibly making travel a bit dicey overnight tonight, rain, rising into the mid-50s, breezy. Tomorrow, that rain lingers in the morning. Right now, we're looking at 34 degrees. Today's high is expected right around 51 degrees, again, with increasing clouds through the day. Fair sky now, 54 degrees in the city. 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

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