NYC NOW - November 4, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: November 4, 2024

The MTA says A train service in the Rockaways will be shut down for five months starting on January 17th. Plus, nurses at three Northwell Health facilities in Manhattan have called off a planned strike. Also, WNYC Radio Rookies reporter Marcellino Melika explores how anxiety over climate change is influencing the lives of some young people in New York City. And finally, WNYC’s Sean Carlson and Ryan Kailath discuss some cool things to do around the city this month.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. I'm Jene Pierre. Five months is a long time, and that's basically half the year. You know, that's negatively going to affect a lot of people's commute. Some commuters in Far Rockaway are reeling after the MTA announced its plan to shut down a train service starting on January 17th. Service will be suspended for five months to allow. workers to make upgrades to infrastructure that carries trains across broad channel. The MTA says the work is necessary to protect against an extreme weather event, like Superstorm Sandy.

The Rockaway Shuttle will also be closed during that same period. Shuttle buses will replace train service. More than 9,000 riders in the Rockaways use the train every day. Nurses at three Northwell health facilities in Manhattan have called off a planned strike, at least for now. About 1,500 nurses were planning to walk out Monday morning at Lennox Hill Hospital, Manhattan Eye Ear and Throat Hospital, and Lennox Health Greenwich Village. They're all members of the New York Professional Nurses Union who are in the midst of negotiating a new contract with Northwell. The nurses say they could still issue a new strike notice if talks go south.

Northwell has said all of the campuses affected will remain operational in case of a strike. Climate change is top of mind for many Gen Z voters. After the break, we explore how anxiety over climate change is influencing the actions of some young people in New York City. Stay close. Use it cutte, NYC Now. Climate change is a central issue in Tuesday's presidential election, and research shows it's among the top concerns for Gen Ziers. As part of WNYC's radio rookies program, 17-year-old Marcelino Maleka explores how anxiety over climate change is influencing the lives and actions of some young people. in our area.

23-year-old Harrison Bench remembers the first time concerns about the environment started to tug at his mind. Bench is from Sayville, a coastal community on the south shore of Long Island. In high school, he joined a science research program. One of the projects he was involved with looked at the effects of sea level rise on the salt marsh in West Seaville. The marsh changed a lot, he says. That was a very big wake-up call for me, recognizing that climate change is something

that's a happening, but also B, it's something that's happening in my backyard. Bench also worked as a lifeguard during high school and college. He says that job gave him a front row seat to the impact of climate change on the Great South Bay, including the loss of tidal wetlands. It's very clear to me that when it comes to protecting the environment, that isn't just, you know, stopping plastic pollution per se. Rather than let anxiety over the environment consume him, Bench says he focused on driving change. In his sophomore year of high school, he got involved.

with Students for Climate Action. The nonpartisan group mobilizes students to engage elected officials to act on climate issues. He now serves as the organization's deputy director. There are days where I do get anxious or I do get frustrated or there's reports that come out and I get a little angry. But it's very, very easy for me to turn that into motivation

to try and do what I can. Researchers say channeling emotions into action is a far better approach than giving in to discouragement. My name is Josh Wurzell. a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Institute of Living at Hartford Health Care. He's also an assistant professor adjuncts in psychiatry at Yale University. And I am honored that I get to serve as the chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on Climate Change and Mental Health. Wartzel says it's easy to become disillusioned about the state of the environment.

He points to several studies, including a 2021 global survey showing nearly 60% of young respondents were very or extremely worried about climate change. A lot of young people feel like they're powerless, that they're not in the driver's seat. And that sense of powerlessness and hopelessness that comes with it can really be a big driver for people's distress around climate change. Feeling like you're able to do something can make people feel like they're more empowered

and not kind of just being this passive observer watching a train wreck in slow motion kind of thing. For one group of high schoolers in New York, Rallying for climate justice every week outside of City Hall is one way to take action. They're a part of a youth-led climate movement called Fridays for Future. They're here holding handmade signs raising a range of concerns from fossil fuel admissions to flooding. That's an issue that hits especially close to home for 17-year-old Gabrielle Roseman. I live in a ground floor apartment in Sheepsad Bay with my father,

and he has problems walking, a heart monitor, and we live two blocks away from a bay, that connects directly to the Atlantic Ocean. So if there was, like, really bad flooding because of climate change, I mean, his life would be at stake, anybody else in my neighborhood's life would be at stake. While Roseman is concerned about her dad, she says her dad isn't too concerned about climate change.

He's 77, and when he was growing up, I mean, this definitely was not something people were really worried about. He still doesn't really worry about it, because, you know, he's not really in touch with what's going on. It's actually gotten me pretty frustrated with my dad. I've gotten in quite a few debates with him regarding, like, whether or not climate change just is a thing. Dr. Wardsell says it's not unusual for young people to feel disconnected from their parents on climate issues. There's just a general feeling of being gaslit, where a lot of young people will have distress around climate change,

and adults will say that they're overreacting, or not. not necessarily be as sympathetic. And that kind of dynamic sets up a difficult relationship with adults where they feel like they're not being taken seriously or, you know, that parents are just not getting it. But Dr. Wardsell says it's important for parents to be open to conversation about these issues with their children. We know in general for kids' mental health that having an adult caregiver that they can talk to about things in their life that are emotionally laden is very important. 17-year-old Helen Mancini is also a member of Fridays for Future.

She says her mom has become increasingly involved in environmental activism, teaming up with her younger sister. She and my mom actually are part of their own climate group called climate families. So like a huge part of her childhood is like activism already. Like that was not on my family's mind when I was six years old. That's a testament to how much things have changed in our 11-year age gap. For Gabrielle Roseman, the fight is personal. But it's also about the next generation.

When I'm older, I'm thinking about having kids, and I would want to raise my kids in a world that isn't flooded or just terrible air quality. I would prefer a livable world. Getting back to Harrison Bench, he's now studying environmental law at Pace University. Down the road, he hopes to work with small businesses and municipalities and combating climate change. His message to other young people? Don't let your age be a factor in whether or not you. speak up because it's your right to do that. And when we come and we look at a problem as big as climate change, we're going to need more voices there. So don't be afraid of that.

That's WNYC's radio rookies reporter Marcellina Malika. November is upon us, and that means soon it'll be holiday season. But WMYC's Ryan Kalath calls the month the preseason training for the holidays. Here's more with my colleague, Sean Carlson. I'm already anxious about Thanksgiving. That's November. What's the deal? Obviously, listen, Thanksgiving, that's a full-blown holiday. Totally. That's at the end of the month. And this year it's like the 29th or something.

And, of course, there's also, you know, a federal holiday for Veterans Day in the middle of this month, which is very important. Though perhaps not what most people think of when they think of the holiday season. And, you know, without Thanksgiving and that, you know, November comes right between these two blockbuster months of the year and the cultural calendar. October, it's the start of fall. Everybody's posting their Apple picking pictures, and you've got Halloween in it. December, I don't even need to explain. November, though, it's just kind of the preseason. You're training, you're getting in shape for your holiday gluttony, maybe you're doing some extra therapy sessions to get ready for all the family time.

It's the preseason training. Yeah, yeah. No comment from my part on that one. Okay, so what are some things to do around town during this training season? Okay, bear with me, but if you happen to be in or around Grand Central, they have their own holiday train show. Now, this is not like the big, you know, annual train show in the Bronx at the Botanical Garden, which is always packed and tickets are kind of expensive. I think they started like 40 bucks or 50 bucks or something. No, in Grand Central Terminal, the Transit Museum has a little showroom there.

And they do their own 34-foot long, double-level, super impressive. train where they've recreated New York City landmarks and the train goes in them and around them and stuff like that. It's very cool. It's very neat. I'm biased. I'm a train enthusiast. But it's just cool to see an action and it's totally free. You can just swing by. It's a storefront basically for the Transit Museum in Grand Central. That starts November 14th and runs past New Year's. Okay. What else starts in November? Classic one, but skating. Yeah. So when I first moved here, her girlfriend took me skating at 30 Rock. It was super expensive. Very cute, but obviously very touristy. Sure. Bryant Park, a lot of people know that one.

It's free, though you've got to rent skates, I believe. That one's still crowded, but not nearly as bad as 30 Rock. Obviously, it's a lot bigger, too. Something I've never done is ice skating at Coney Island. Oh, I didn't know that was the thing. Yeah. The boardwalk rink there is enormous. It's under 20 bucks, skate rentals included.

And according to my South Brooklyn friends, like, never a weight. And it's huge. One thing to know, if you are checking that out, their website, you know, City Park's website, it's pretty out of date, the hours are wrong. It's weekends only, 1230 to 330, plus Election Day and Veterans Day, you know, holidays. But, you know, better to just give them a call before you go. That's WMYC's Ryan Kyloth talking with my colleague Sean Carlson. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday three times a day.

I'm Jene Pierre. back tomorrow.