NYC NOW - October 18, 2023: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: October 18, 2023

Get up and get informed! Here’s all the local news you need to start your day: The New York City jails commissioner and his team were no-shows yesterday at a monthly Department of Correction oversight meeting. Also, as New York State prepares to open up its cannabis dispensary applications, reports show that some community boards are already overwhelmed by aspiring owners seeking approval. Plus, the MTA has announced a new slate of train cars coming to the Staten Island Railway.

Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Wednesday, October 18th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. The city's jails commissioner and his team were no-shows yesterday at a monthly Department of Correction Oversight meeting. WNIC's Jesse Edwards reports the snub comes just weeks after a federal monitor slammed the correction department

for worsening conditions on Riker. The Board of Correction Chair announced jail officials wouldn't be showing up just moments before the oversight meeting began. DOC Commissioner Louis Molina and his team said they couldn't make it because they were preparing for a Wednesday City Council meeting that's been on the schedule for more than two weeks. Their absence meant half of the meeting's agenda got scrapped. Correction officers, attorneys and other meeting attendees said they hoped to share concerns with DOC staff about detainees going without basics like shower. toilet paper and toothbrushes.

New York State is in the process of collecting applications to open up cannabis businesses. The news outlet, the city says some community boards are already overwhelmed by aspiring dispensary owners seeking approval. Damien Fagan is Chief Equity Officer for the State Office of Cannabis Management. Faghan responded to questions about the backlog at a dispensary opening yesterday in Astoria. The way we look at it is that people are excited to open up legal cannabis businesses. and they're letting community boards know that they want to open up in their communities. We talk to community boards all the time about how to manage this, and we're actively working with them to make sure that they're not overburdened.

Community boards are supposed to issue recommendations to state officials and whether to approve cannabis licensing. State officials also just voted to extend the general application window by two weeks. There's a new slate of train cars coming to the Staten Island Railway. The MTA says it's the first new fleet of cars on the SIR. in five decades. Demetrius Critchlow is the Senior Vice President of Subways. He says Staten Island riders have a lot to look forward to. These cars themselves are more comfortable. The doors are wider by eight inches. It'll make it easier for customers to be able to get on and off.

Critchlow adds the cars will have yellow flip-up seats to better accommodate people who use wheelchairs. The current Staten Island Railway cars debuted in 1973. They were bought after the MTA took over operation of the line. The MTA says you'll start seeing the new cars on the tracks in early 2024. 55 and cloudy right now. Today, partly sunny and 64 for high tomorrow, the warmest day of the week, mostly sunny and 67. 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 occasional deep dives. and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you this afternoon.