NYC NOW - October 21, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: October 21, 2024

A new set of proposed rules could clamp down on who's eligible for public matching money through the city's campaign finance program. Plus, New York veterans who recently returned from service are reporting higher rates of mental health issues than in the past. Also, WNYC’s Janae Pierre talks with Newsday sports writer Steve Popper for a preview of the NBA season. And finally, parade details are released for the WNBA Champions, New York Liberty.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jared Marcel. If Mayor Adams is under investigation for the mismanagement of campaign funds, then he should not be receiving any new public matching funds. Queen State Senator Jessica Ramos and other mayoral candidates are awaiting a decision by New York City's campaign finance board. They're weighing a set of proposed rules that could clamp down on who's eligible for public matching money through its program. The changes could affect Mayor Adams' re-election bid. He's seeking another $4 million in public funds. Mayoral candidate and city comptroller Bradlander says Adams deserves his day in court, but he shouldn't receive another dime in taxpayer money.

The campaign finance board isn't bound. He can give him another whatever they believe he feels. theoretically would get in matching funds when they know that the federal prosecutor believes those funds are bogus. Adams has pleaded not guilty to a raft of federal corruption charges. An attorney for his campaign didn't respond to questions about the proposed rule changes. New York State is seeing an uptick in mental health issues among military veterans who recently returned from service. The findings are in a new report by the Rand Research Group that was commissioned by the New York Health Foundation. The report finds that about a quarter of veterans surveyed had depression, about the same amount of vets suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

That's compared to about 16% of respondents in a similar survey conducted in 2010. Researchers say it could be because mental health issues are on the rise or because people are now more willing to talk about mental health. Shoppers at a local clothing store in Soho might encounter something spooky in the men section, a well that's allegedly Hunted. WNYC's Catalina Garnela has more. Shoppers perusing the cost store on Spring Street might ignore the cylindrical brick structure in the basement, but the well played a role in a notorious 200-year-old murder trial. 22-year-old Elma Sands had been missing for over a week when her body was found in the well in January 1800, when the area was a meadow. Lauren Willig is a novelist writing

about the murder and subsequent trial. She says stories of Alma's ghost began circulating almost immediately. When they're going and collecting testimony about Alma's murder, there are all of these stories about people hearing a voice in the night from the meadow, crying, murder, murder, help me. The suspect in the trial retained an all-star defense team, including Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. He was later acquitted and the murder remains unsolved to this day. The NBA season kicks off Tuesday.

After the break, we'll walk through what to expect from our two local teams this year. Stick around for that conversation. The NBA season tips off tomorrow and the NICs face a big test in game one, going up against the defending champion Boston Celtics. So what does the year ahead look like? New York had a busy offseason making some major changes to their. their roster. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets are entering a bit of a rebuild period. Steve Popper is a sports writer for Newsday. He talked with my colleague, Jenei Pierre, about the upcoming season.

Steve, let's start with the Knicks. A lot of personnel moves there. They lost their center, Isaiah Hartinstein. They re-sign O.G. An Anobi. They pulled off a rare cross-town trade with the Nets to get McKell Bridges. And they also kind of got a two-for-one deal in Minnesota for Carl Anthony towns. How would you grade their offseason? I'm very busy. I expect a little beach time, but no, they kept busy. Look, the crazy thing is that they were a team that I think really captured the heart of the city, this sort of overachieving team that people looked at as if you're healthy, you know, a possible championship contender. And if you look at it from opening night last year

to opening night this year, you have one starter back, two guys who, played in that game, just Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. They really revamped the whole squad and went all in right now. Talent-wise, they definitely upgraded. They brought in some guys who are all-NBA, all-star talent. You know, it remains to be seen if they can sort of repeat that toughness that team had, which just they kind of outworked and out hustled everybody every night, which made them capture the heart of the city. Yeah. Now with Carl Anthony, Towns in the mix, it kind of feels like the stakes are higher. You know, the Knicks open the season against Boston. And many say these offseason moves were made in an effort to contend with teams like the Celtics and the 76ers

who are also looking pretty strong. Are the Knicks ready to compete with those teams? Yeah. On paper, you'd have to say they have a starting lineup as good as Boston's and as good as any in the league. They gave up some depth in making those moves. They gave up a lot of assets that they had kind of piled up. But, you know, on paper, again, that's starting lineup is as good defensively, offensively as any in the league. And I think, as you mentioned, it's sort of an arms race when you see these themes, you know, adding, adding pieces, what the Celtics became, what, you know, what the 76ers did this summer.

If you want to contend and they feel like this is their window, you know, this is sort of the all in, push your chips to the middle of the table move that they had to make. Yeah. Let's hop over the Brooklyn now, over to the Nets. They lost McHale Bridges and seem pretty focused. right now on developing younger players like Nick Claxton and Cam Thomas. Is this a full-on rebuild over at the Nets? Absolutely.

This is a team that McKell Bridges was their most important asset, and they sold because it wasn't going to work over there right now. And you're looking at a team that had to do the rebuild, had to start, you know, accumulating draft picks again. They're going to be one of probably three worst teams in the league, I would say. Any chance they have here is gambling on Ben Sibb. and being healthy, becoming the all-star player he once was. And that's just, boy, that's a big gamble because we haven't seen it in years.

Yeah, I'm just thinking about it a few years ago. When the Nets had KD and James Harden and Kyrie Irvin and now they're rebuilding while the Nix are making big moves. Could you have ever imagined these franchises ending up where they are right now? No, look, when the Nets made that move, you know, as you said for KD. Harden, you know, Kyrie, they went in that arms race and they had the talent that you thought was a championship team. It broke apart in such an odd way

so quickly for them. And now, you know, it's for the Knicks, it's odd because they lost that, you know, the battle for those guys. And they sort of built in a very unnicks-like way. They didn't chase stars for a long time.

You know, Jalen Brunson was a second round pick. Those were the kind of guys that they built around and built around guys who were overachievers and sort of unwanted in other places. And sort of, I think that's where the Nets find themselves now

with guys like Cam Thomas, Nick Claxton, you know, something to prove. You know, Ben Simmons obviously has something to prove. I think there's some doubt that, you know, he could even get a contract next season the way the last few years have gone for him. There's a lot to prove there. And I think management-wise, they're looking ahead to the draft. And Cooper flag is the name on everybody's wish list, that there's already teams sort of, you know,

playing a game of capture the flag and trying to get this, you know, Duke Freshman in line for that number one pick next year. And I think they're one of those teams that are in that mix. Yeah. Before I let you go, Steve, would you like to share any of your predictions for both teams this season? Well, I start by saying, please do not gamble on these because I'm usually wrong. But look, I think on paper, the Knicks are a contender. Could they win a championship? You know, if everything goes right, health-wise, you know, they could. When you put a team together a championship contending roster. What you want to do is you build the pieces that can contend and then you kind of cross

your fingers, hope for health, you know, hope that, you know, things fall the right way for you. And the Knicks have done that, you know, just like the Celtics have, maybe the Sixers have done. They're a contender. And then when you look at the nets, it's the opposite. They're looking at the lottery and trying to hope the ping pong balls fall their way. And they can get the number one pick in next year's draft and start their rebrand. and start their rebuild and fall. That's Newsday Sports writer Steve Popper talking with my colleague, Jene Pierre.

In other basketball news, New York Liberty fans are still basking in the team's first ever WMBA championship, and soon the city will throw a ticker tape parade to commemorate the moment. The parade will kick off at 10 o'clock Thursday morning in Lower Manhattan and run through the so-called Canyon of Heroes, culminating in the ceremony at City Hall. The Liberty defeated the Minnesota Links, Sunday night in an overtime thriller. It was a winner-take-all game five of the championship series. The Liberty are one of the WMBA's original teams, but had never won a championship until now.

Congratulations, ladies. Thanks for listening to NYC Now from WNYC. Catch us every weekday three times a day. I'm Jared Marcel. We'll be back tomorrow.