NYC NOW - November 27, 2024: Midday News

Episode Date: November 27, 2024

New York State police are cracking down on reckless driving during a holiday safety blitz targeting drunk and distracted drivers. Meanwhile, a whale was spotted in the East River this week. WNYC’s Brittany Kriegstein has more. Plus, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is back for its 98th event on Thursday. Finally, Governor Kathy Hochul is advancing measures like congestion pricing and preparing defenses against certain federal policies as New York braces for President-elect Donald Trump’s second term. WNYC’s John Campbell has more.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Wednesday, November 27th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. New York State Police are cracking down on reckless and impaired driving through the weekend. It's part of a safety blitz targeting drunk, distracted, or texting drivers over the holiday weekend. This comes as the Department of Motor Vehicles moves to increase the penalties for violations. Drivers can now get 11 points under license for convictions related to driving while intoxicated or driving without a license, and drivers can face more points under the

license for speeding in a work zone or leaving the scene of a crash. The increased penalties need a final sign-off from the DMV commissioner before enforcement. Keep your eyes peeled. A whale has been spotted in the East River this week. Double Died to my says Brittany Crichtstein. Has more. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, about 40 to 80 whales are spotted around New York City every year. One of them made quite a splash when it wandered up the East River, dazzling eagle-eyed passers-by near the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. Coast Guard officials say they aren't sure whether it was a humpback or a rare right whale. Whale sightings so far inland are unusual, and boat traffic on the East River usually makes it hard to see marine life. It's unclear exactly what the whale was doing in the East River.

The Coast Guard has alerted boaters to be on the lookout and keep their distance. It's the most helium-filled time of the year. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is back for its 98th event tomorrow. It will step off at 8.30 in the morning on 77th Street on the Upper West Side before marching south to Macy's flagship Herald Square store. The route is two and a half miles long. There will be 22-character balloons in all that includes new mini-mouse and Spider-Man balloons. several new floats will also make their debut. And when you say floats may have a different meaning because there is rain in the forecast for tomorrow.

51 and sunny right now, increasing clouds today in 51, but tomorrow rain and a high near 48. This is WNYC. Stay close. There's more after the break. I'm Sean Carlson for WNYC. When Donald Trump was elected president for the first time, New York, and California were the backbone of the so-called resistance. But what about this time? Well, out in California, Governor Gavin Newsom has called a special legislative session next month to Trump-proof his state. In New York, Governor Cathy Okle has taken something of a different tact. So here to fill us in is

WMIC's Albany reporter John Campbell. Okay, John, can you just tell us what Hockel has said about President-elect Trump and her interactions with him since his reelection earlier this month? Yeah, Sean. I mean, the day after Election Day, Governor, Governor Hokel congratulated President Trump publicly, and she said she's willing to partner with him. But that came with a pretty big caveat. That does not mean we'll accept an agenda from Washington that strips away the rights that New Yorkers have long enjoyed. So what does that mean? The governor says she has a task force that has flagged all sorts of different ways that Trump presidency could affect New York.

And she's asked that task force to come up with, quote, proactive measures that the state can take to protect itself. But so far, we haven't seen that list. And I wouldn't really anticipate that we will because, you know, the state's not trying to telegraph its defense to Trump. But one thing the governor has done already is move ahead with congestion pricing. She's pushing ahead with a $9-based toll on drivers in Manhattan below 60th Street. She's putting that into place earlier next year right before Trump takes office. And that's not a coincidence, Sean. I mean, Trump opposes congestion pricing, and the hope is it would be harder for him to block it if it's already in place by the time he's inaugurated.

So I'm curious, John, how does this differ from former Governor Andrew Cuomo in his approach in the earliest days of Trump 1.0? You know, I went back and looked, and there's some similarities, actually. I mean, Governor Hockel called Trump after his election, and she wished him well and pressed him on things like money for major New York infrastructure projects. Governor Cuomo did the same thing in 2016 and even went to Trump Tower to meet with him. Here's what he told New York One back then. He is a New Yorker, and we talked about issues for New York and the building that we're doing, the infrastructure, how we're doing it.

So it was a good conversation. During Trump's first term, Governor Cuomo and the state legislature approved a bill to bolster abortion rights in New York. And you may remember just earlier this month, New York voters actually approved a ballot proposition that inserts reproductive health rights into the state constitution. So that's, in effect, heading into Trump's second term. As we mentioned, John, California's governor has called a special legislative session to prepare his state for a second Trump administration. There were rumors that a special session maybe was in the works here, New York, but why didn't that come to be? It wasn't so much rumors as it was wishful thinking maybe by some progressive advocates and lawmakers. Out in California, Governor Newsom has taken this really aggressive tact.

I mean, he set that special session that you just mentioned for December 2nd. He's asking state lawmakers to boost funding for the California Attorney General's office, which is gearing up to fight Trump's expected policies in court, just like New York's attorney general is as well. and something that could still happen in New York too. I mean, that is something that could still happen in New York too, but it'll have to be part of the state budget process, which kicks off in January. So far, the leaders of the state Senate and Assembly in New York, they haven't really shown much of an appetite to come back to Albany before January when they're already scheduled to come back for the regular session.

What did progressives in the legislature want to achieve if they were to have called the special legislative session? There's any number of things they may have wanted to do, but one of them is the what's called the New York for All Act, and that's a bill that would effectively block all state and local police from voluntarily cooperating with federal immigration authorities. It's not clear at this point whether there's enough support for that bill or if Governor Hockel would sign it. She's more of a moderate Democrat. But another thing to watch out for is tax credits for electric vehicles. Trump has signaled he may target those at the federal level, and Gavin Newsom is pledged to fill in the gap with state credits in California. New York already has some modest EV credits, but it'll face additional pressure to boost those if Trump strips away the federal credits. What about Republicans, John?

Like the first time around, there was a fairly sizable number of never Trump-GOP lawmakers. Do they still have a presence in Albany? Well, I mean, overall, Republicans have a much less presence in Albany than they did when Trump was first elected in 2016. I mean, back then the GOP had a majority in the state Senate, but they lost it in 2018. And now it's pretty much a district memory. I mean, Democrats have a big majority in both houses of the state legislature. But among the Republicans that are in Albany, that never Trump contingent is few and far between. And I think that's probably reflective of Republican officials across the nation.

I mean, Trump is very much that party's standard barrier and has been for years at this point. That's WNYC's John Campbell. John, as always, thanks so much. Thank you, Sean. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WNYC. Check us out for updates every weekday, three times a date, for the latest news headlines and occasional deep dives. and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

We'll be back this evening. NYC, Y, C, NYC.