NYC NOW - November 28, 2024: Midday News

Episode Date: November 28, 2024

Immigrant rights groups in New York are pushing for stronger protections against deportation in anticipation of Donald Trump’s second term. WNYC’s Arun Venugopal has more. Meanwhile, despite the rain, over 700 clowns marched in the 98th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, with spectators braving the weather for better views. And finally, this holiday season, many New Yorkers are considering what they’ll bring to family dinners or Friendsgiving. For some, cannolis from the iconic Coney Island spot Gargiulo’s Restaurant are a favorite. WNYC’s Janae Pierre spent a day in the kitchen with the restaurant’s third-generation chef.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. I'm Jene Pierre. Happy Thanksgiving. This is our one and only episode today. But before you carve that turkey, here's your news headlines from Michael Hill. Immigrants' rights groups in New York are pushing for stronger protections against deportation. In anticipation of Donald Trump's second term, WNYC's. sees, Arun Vanne Van Gogh, Paul has more.

Activists and civil liberties groups say elected officials can take immediate action to protect immigrants. Donna Lieberman is the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. She wants state legislators to pass the New York for all act and the Dignity Not Detention Act, which would prevent local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE officers and forbid local governments from jailing large numbers of immigrants on behalf of ICE. These are not radical proposals. She also says the city needs legal representation on steroids for immigrants who can't afford their own lawyers. A spokesperson for the mayor said he's committed to upholding the city's sanctuary laws,

but left the door open on consequences for violent felons. Despite the rain, more than 700 clowns are marching in the 98th annual of Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. The weather did dampen the show a bit. Crowds seem smaller. Spectators who have braved the rain say it's worth the trek for a better view. Manhattan, Knight, Tyler Shaw. The rain only enhances it. Nothing but joy, happiness, and just the holiday cheer. Performances include 11 marching bands from around the country. The lineup has seven new giant balloons like Spider-Man and the elf on the shelf.

One-third of this year's 22 floats are new like the Bronx Zoo with its wildlife theme. Yes, it's raining near 49 in Chile. Rain till early afternoon, a high of 51, gusty as well, and then tomorrow's sunny and mid-40s, freezing at night. Saturday, high temperature in the low 40s, and then Sunday, here comes the cool down. A third-generation chef at a century-old restaurant on Coney Island is keeping his family's recipes alive. After the break, we visit Gargulo's restaurant for a sweet and tasty treat. Stay close. You are listening to NYC now. This holiday season, many New Yorkers are considering what they'll bring to family dinner or Friendsgiving.

For some, canollies are a big hit, an even bigger hit if they come from the iconic Coney Island spot, Garjulo's restaurant. It's been serving up classic Italian dishes for over 100 years. We don't mean to starve beef in the restaurant industry, but a chef there is known in some circles as the canoli king. Garjulo's restaurant keeps it in the family, passing down secret recipes just as old as the restaurant itself. I recently spent a day in the kitchen with the restaurant's third-generation chef. Along Mermaid Avenue in Brooklyn, you notice all these signs with arrows pointing you to Gargulo's restaurant on West 15th Street. Hard to miss, really. The building stands out with its tan stucco, wall sconces, and very own parking lot.

That's where I meet chef Matthew Cotola. He's just 29 years old, but he's been in the kitchen since he was a little kid. There's pictures of me, two, three years old, on the kitchen stool at the table, getting my hands into pizza dough. And that was one of the first things I learned, pizza dough and bread. For a while, his family owned a pizzeria called De Luigi, but later closed it to pursue another business venture. Now it's all a full-circle moment for the Italian-American chef who helps his family run front and back of house operations at Garjulo's restaurant.

There's no shortage of history in this place. It was opened by the Garjulo family in 1907. And in 1965, my family, the Russo family, purchased the restaurant. And at the time, the Garjula family, they kind of wanted to get out of the business, but they wanted to sell it to an old-school Italian family. Today, he's carrying on that tradition. Cotolo works seven days a week at the restaurant. The day I visit, the restaurant is closed,

but Cotolo is preparing 1,500 mini canolies using literally a century-old recipe. He says Italians, especially the older generation, can be sticklers when it comes to teaching or giving out recipes. For months, he shadowed his older cousin until his canoli tasted just like his. That cousin, who goes by the name Mike the Bake, is a legend in Cotolo's family, known for his cheesecakes and canolies. He died late last year, but Cotolo's preserving his recipes and his unique approach. Everything's by eye. Mike the Bake taught me feel and look.

That's how he cooked, and that's how he taught me. In the kitchen, Cotolo has already prepared the first. filling for the canolis. But I watch closely as he mix his ingredients to make the dough for the canoli shelves. What's this? This is... Butter? Lard. Even better. Lard. You're going to throw this in the mixer here? Yep. Sugar, of course. No measurements. No measurements. Just eye in it. We're going to get everything in and start mixing. flour, sugar, lard, eggs, and something else that I can't quite make out. What's that?

Like I said, secret recipe. I can't give you everything. As we wait for the Dota Mix, Cotolo shares more about his family. They immigrated to the U.S. from Sorrento, a little coastal town in Naples, Italy. That's where his family's canola recipe started. But he points out that it's a bit different from the original that started in Sicily. When I ask why, he reminds me of the spice tree in all the ingredients that were easily accessible in southern Italy, like cinnamon and cocoa powder. We cut the history lesson short so we can get back to the dough.

So this is the foam part. This is where we do all the shaping here. What is this machine? So this is really a pasta rolling machine to make fresh pasta, but it's utilized for canoli dough too. I didn't even notice you started heating your oil over here. Yeah, I've got that going. And so first I'll get a bunch of a maid kind of shaped, set them on the side, let the dough rest a little bit. And then by the time the oil comes up to temperature,

I'll be ready to front. All right. While Cotolo is cutting out canoly shells, I take a walk around the restaurant. There's old photos on the walls of men and women dressed to the nines in the very same dining room I'm walking through. Cotillo says the floors, wall sconces, and chandeliers are all still the same, clearly bringing a different meaning to the theme

Old World Italian restaurant. Back in the kitchen, as Cotolo drops the canoli shells in the friar, he tells me Old World Italian means much more than that. He says customers rely on Gargulo's restaurant for classic Neapolitan cuisine that no one really offers. One of them is Pente Pesquilina, which is zucchini, tomato, onion, projuto, and a light cream sauce. And that's been a signature of ours forever.

close to 40 years now, maybe even over 40 years. And then the other one would be calamari oregano. So it's calamari not fried in flour, let's say, but it's baked in the oven with garlic oil and breadcrumbs, super high temperature, and the calamari gets so tender, so crispy. It's really, really great. You can see Cotto light up when he talks about these dishes. For him, it brings back fond memories of cooking with his grandfather

and other family members, like Mike the Bake. You rarely get a family business that goes three generations. So it's super important for me to continue on, you know, our legacy in that aspect of things. Because at the end of the day, you know, this is who we are. Kotolo and elders in his family are eager to pass on their traditions and family recipes to the next generation. As of now, he says, no one's interested. But there's still time to sort that out. He says his uncle Mike, who's the head chef at Arjulos, is showing no sign of slowing down.

After frying in hot oil, the canoli shells are done. We let them cool down. Then, Cotolo stuffs one just for me. I'm just going to pipe that into there. And you've got a little mini-canola. Beautiful, airy and golden brown. And dare I say, the best canoli I've ever tasted. Thanks for listening to NYC Now from WNYC.

I'm Jenae Pierre. Enjoy this Thanksgiving Day. We'll be back with one episode tomorrow.