NYC NOW - November 5, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: November 5, 2024

WNYC's Janae Pierre and Brittany Kriegstein discuss the vibes at the polls on Election Day. Plus, Elon Musk is pumping millions of dollars into key congressional races on both sides of the Hudson River. Also, WNYC’s David Brand reports New Yorkers in need of housing aid are finding little luck through the city’s Adult Protective Services program. And finally, WNYC’s David Furst discusses this month’s astronomical highlights with reporter Rosemary Misdary.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. I'm Jenei Pierre. Election Day is upon us. Although a record number of New Yorkers cast their ballots early, many still faced long lines at the polls Tuesday. WNYC's Brittany Crickstein has spent much of the day talking to people outcasting their votes. She's taking a break to chat with me right now, and as of now we're having this conversation, early Tuesday evening, so the polls are still open. Brittany, what was the vibe at the polling places that you visited today?

So the vibe was definitely energized, anxious, busy. Many of the polling sites I visited had just streams of people coming in. Some of them didn't really have to wait. But in other places, as you mentioned, there were some pretty hefty lines. I saw at least one woman say, oh, man, I don't think I can wait that long. I have to get to work. Oh, wow. Where was that?

That was in Hollis, Queens. She was holding her little daughter's hand, and you could tell she just thought she would be able to dip in real quick and vote and get out, but that's not the way it worked out. So maybe she was able to come back later. Have there been any reports of voter intimidation or any other issues at the polls? Not too much that we've seen. There were some glitches with the machines. We saw reports of that in Queens earlier, but they seem to have been quickly resolved. intimidation or protest or any sort of conflict. I saw none of that when I was out and about, and we haven't heard any reports of anything like that going on. So the polls close at 9 Tuesday night. Should folks be worried or give up if they're still in line waiting to vote around that time? No, they should not give up according to the ACLU and rights on Election Day. Voters who are in line before the polls close or around the time of closing, have the right to stay in line to cast their vote.

That's WMYC's Brittany Craigstein. Polls close at 9 in New York and at 8 in New Jersey and Connecticut. The richest man in the world is pumping millions of dollars into key congressional races on both sides of the Hudson River. Here's WMYC's John Campbell. A super PAC funded by Elon Musk has spent more than $100 million on a nationwide door-knocking operation for President Trump. But it's also set aside some money for tight local congressional races. That includes $1.7 million to support Republican Representative Mike Lawler. He's facing a tough race against Democrat Mondare Jones in the Hudson Valley. Musk's PAC also spent more than a

million on Mark Molinaro in New York and Tom Kane in New Jersey. They're facing challenges from Josh Riley and Sue Altman, respectively. The three races could help determine whether Democrats or Republicans take control of the House in January. New Yorkers in need of housing aid are finding little luck through the city's Adult Protective Services program. More on that after the break. The city agency tasked with assisting New York's most vulnerable adults is rejecting the vast majority of people referred for aid. WNYC's David Brand reports the rising number of denials by the Office of Adult Protective Services

is eliminating a pathway to housing help for people in need. That's the way I try to clean up the best I can. This is my room here. Pepe Alfalo lives in a crumbling, two-story boarding house in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. He's 81, disabled,

and uses a walker to navigate the torn-up floors. There's a hole in the ceiling where a big chunk collapsed. He has to close the building's busted front door with a bike chain and padlock. He says his new landlord is trying to evict him, but offered him a better apartment in a safer building. He says he can't afford it without a rental assistance voucher. I want to get a place of my own.

I want a studio where I can have my own bathroom. I can have my something to cook or a stove or, you know, just a studio. But because of the voucher, I couldn't get the voucher. Lawyers say the city's adult protection. of services, APS, is supposed to help people like Alphala who have disabilities and housing problems. Diana Luck is a senior staff attorney at the nonprofit mobilization for justice. APS is a provider of last resort, and so people who have nowhere else to go and no other resources are going to end up being referred to APS in the hopes that they can do something to prevent them

from ending up homeless. The office provides one of the only ways low-income New Yorkers can get a city-funded housing voucher to cover their rent without first going into a shelter. But they twice rejected Alfala, saying risk of eviction alone isn't enough. That's getting more common. City stats show the agency is denying four of every five New Yorkers referred for aid, just as more people need housing assistance. Lux says it's happening to people who should qualify. I think as the housing crisis gets worse, and of course as people are aging, you're going to end up with a lot more vulnerable people in terrible living conditions

or in unaffordable living conditions. A spokesperson for adult protective services says most of the people referred to them for assistance don't actually meet eligibility rules. Agency staff have to determine the person can't pay rent as a result of a deeper mental or physical problem. But Alfala's lawyers say he meets the criteria.

He has arthritis in both hips, but insists on walking me to the door so he can lock the chain. I mean, I'm a... I'm a trooper. I can still go ahead. His lawyers say they hope the agency will help him. That's WMYC's David Brin. The longer, colder nights of November make it an ideal time to count shooting stars

and locate the largest planets in our solar system. My colleague David First talked with WMYC's Rosemary Misdairy about a few astronomical highlights for those gazing at the night sky this month. What is the most exciting thing to see in the cosmos? this month. Definitely Uranus. It's the seventh planet from the sun, and I think it's overlooked. It spins sideways. It's a really cool planet. It's cold and it's windy. And it has this amazing teal color. You know, as you have your binoculars or telescope pointing at the sky, you just look for this little teal dot. It's to the right of the Pleiades star cluster, which is a cluster of very bright

blue stars, and it's possible to find it. It's not that hard. Is there a particular time in the evening or overnight where it's easier to see? Well, it rises at 5.30 p.m. So right after sunset, you'll be able to see it. And the reason it's such a good planet to see this month is it's at opposition with the sun, which means it's at its closest point to the sun. And as a result, sunlight will shine on it from Earth's dark side and will illuminate it all night long. Are there any other planets we can check out this month? There are four other planets and you can see those with the naked eye. You don't need binoculars or a telescope.

The first one that rises is Venus. Right after sunset, you'll be able to see Venus. It's a very bright dot. And then the next one is Saturn, which comes up around 7.30 p.m. in the southern portion of the sky. And then, of course, there's Jupiter, which rises around 8.30 p.m. It's very bright. It's near the constellation of Taurus. And then the last planet to rise is good old Mars. It's near the constellation Gemini. And later in the month, it'll rise around 9.30 p.m. And before we wrap up, what constellations are shining brightly right now? Well, the absolute fall favorite is Orion the Hunter. And that appears underneath the stars of Taurus and Gemini. Orion the hunter has a belt and the belt is formed by three stars. Underneath that belt is a fuzzy blue patch, which is the Orion Nebula, which is around 1,300 light years from Earth. It's the closest

star forming nursery to Earth. So thousands of stars are formed in that spot. And the nebula is one of the largest deep sky objects that New Yorkers can see. If you're watching in New York City, The best view is going to be from the East River or the Hudson River. Also the outer boroughs where there is less light. You're likely to see the nebula. That's WMYC's Rosemary Misdairy, talking with my colleague, David First. Before we go, a quick correction. Yesterday, we reported on a planned A-Train shutdown in the Rockaway's.

Now, our story misstated the length of that shutdown. It will last for four months, not five, from mid-day. January to mid-May. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday, three times a day. I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.