NYC NOW - October 24, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: October 24, 2024

New York City finance officials say they're forcing nearly 300 businesses to pay back property tax breaks after an audit found they received them by mistake. Plus, some New York City employees will soon lose insurance coverage for popular weight-loss drugs. And, WNYC’s Elizabeth Kim explains why you won’t see Mayor Eric Adams at the Yankees home games during the World Series. Also, WNYC’s Michael Hill talks with lan Goffinski, producer of WNYC’s Terrestrials podcast, about a recursive island in Central Park.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. I'm Jenae P.A. New York City finance officials say they're forcing nearly 300 businesses to pay back property tax breaks after an audit found they received them by mistake. The City Comptroller's Audit found that the Department of Finance accidentally issued nearly $5 million in tax abatements to limited liability companies and other businesses listed as condo owners since 2019. City rules prohibit businesses from qualifying for the condo co-op abatement program. Recipients can only claim the tax break on their primary residence. A finance department spokesperson says the agency has corrected the errors and will reclaim the cash from businesses. Some New York City employees will soon lose insurance coverage for popular weight loss drugs.

Here's WMYC's Caroline Lewis. Sarah Callum Carriand has always struggled with her weight. I started dieting at age 10 with my dad. We would do these like fad diets together. The public school administrator is now 50 and says she finally had a breakthrough earlier this year when she found out a weight loss drug called Zepbound was covered by her city health plan. She lost 30 pounds and stopped thinking constantly about food. But now the city says Zepbound and similar injectable weight loss drugs will no longer be covered starting in January.

About 1,000 city employees could lose their prescriptions. Okay, this was given to me. I thought I could rely on it, and now it's going to be taken away. A one-month supply of Zepbound costs about $550 without insurance. With insurance, Callum Carrian pays $25 every three months. A spokesperson for the city said the drugs were covered by accident and only under one of New York's employee health plans. The spokesperson added that if the city keeps covering the costly drugs, they will drive up insurance premiums for ever. everyone. Employers are increasingly covering popular weight loss drugs like Zepbound and Weigovie, but Dr. Jennifer Eng, a Mount Sinai physician who specializes in obesity, says it's not uncommon for patients to lose coverage when their employers decide the drugs are too expensive.

Their weight comes back and, you know, any other complications from the weight also come back, you know, things that got better with treatment. New York City employees who were already authorized for the weight-loss drugs could remain covered through June. That's WMYC's Caroline Lewis. The Yankees are back in the World Series, but it's unlikely you'll see New York City Mayor Eric Adams at their home games. WMYC's Elizabeth Kim explains why. Asked whether he'd accept an invitation to attend the World Series game in the Bronx.

Mayor Adams suggested he's happy to watch it at home with his son. Joy and I would grab some popcorn, put on out Yankee caps, and, you know, call it a day. He's a Yankee fan. The conflict of interest board says elected officials can't accept complimentary tickets to sporting and other entertainment events unless there's a clear tie between the officials' duties and the event. And they're performing an official function, like throwing out the first pitch or making public remarks. Adam says he's a Mets fan.

But there are other optics to consider, too. He's fighting federal corruption charges, including an allegation that he accepted illegal travel perks from Turkish. officials. What do you call an island inside a lake on an island? Yeah, that's a real thing. Stick around for the answer after the break. This is NYC now. Take a look beyond all the trees and bushes and flowers in Central Park past the iconic

boathouse and you might just spot something you've never seen before. An island inside a lake on the island of Manhattan. in the middle of the ocean. That quirk is called a recursive island. The team on WNYC's Terrestrials podcast is taking a deep dive into the world of these natural features in their latest episode.

My colleague Michael Hill talked with the host of that episode, Alan Gofensky, and Alan's taking this interview from a very special place. I am in the middle of central park, in the lake, and I just pulled my little tiny rowboat into kind of a little rocky outcropping

of Central Park's very own recursive island. Would you describe what it looks like? I would say it's about maybe half a basketball court in size. And there are several dozen trees, mid-sized trees, a few large ones, a lot of fall foliage starting to change colors here on this nice, cool autumn morning. But yeah, it's real peaceful, it's a real calm. It's lovely. I've heard of all kinds of islands, but I don't think I've ever heard of a recursive island before. What exactly is a recursive island?

Yeah, a recursive island is an island in a lake on an island in a river or an ocean. If you think about it this way, if you're looking at it from outer space, it might look like a bullseye. Like a bullseye. Would you give me another example of a recursive island? Oh, yeah. My favorite, I think, is actually in a tall lake in the Philippines. and Luzon Island. It's actually a really beautiful volcanic recursive island. It's nice and round and right inside it, there's this tiny little point. It's called Vulcan Point that is surrounded by

the lake that's inside the crater of the volcano. It's really cool. And what role does that island play in the environment that you just described, Alan? Well, islands are unique habitats for all kinds creatures. These places that allow evolution to kind of do its own thing, set apart from the mainland. So you wind up with all kinds of unique creatures on islands. And a recursive island is essentially a supercharged island in the sense that it's even more reclusive, more cut off from the rest of the world. So you could imagine that strange things might happen on recursive islands when evolution is left to do its thing. Now, Alan, the recursive island, you're near, in Central Park.

What's on that island? Is it something where people can walk on it, go on it? Tell us a little bit about that one. Oh, that's a great question. And there's a very good reason that I'm not on the island right now. I'm docked at the island. I'm not setting foot on the island because this is a habitat for local wildlife. There are geese that spend their time here, ducks, waterfowl.

It's also, there are tons of baby turtles that are born on this island every year. we want to keep it pristine. We want to keep it this safe space for wildlife to live and thrive out here in Central Park. Alan, the way you describe this recursive island and Central Park makes it sound like it's fascinating. Why is it so fascinating to you? Recurcive islands, to me and to many map lovers, I think, represent a unique way of looking at the world. It's like a change in perspective and a way of knowing our planet in a unique way. I love how when you're on one, you can let yourself. feel surrounded by the geography, sort of. It's like an embrace, like a hug from the earth itself. Before we let you go, Alan, we understand you have a question for our listeners. You know, funny enough, I'm pouring through internet records and looking at maps of Central Park,

and I cannot, for the life of me, find any evidence that this island has ever had a name. I would love to know if listeners have suggestions for what this name could be. And I'd like to know your suggestion, Alan. Ooh, I haven't thought much about it, but I do love the fact that this is a home to a lot of turtles. And I've seen about eight turtles so far this morning rowing out here. So in a nod to the Lenape who referred to this whole continent as Turtle Island, I would like to refer to this island maybe as little Turtle Island for all the little turtles that are born here every year. That's Alan Gofrenski, producer of WMYC's Terrestrials podcast, talking with my colleague Michael Hill.

We'd love to hear from you. If you could name the nameless recursive island in Central Parks Lake, what would you call it? Send us a voice memo at your voice at WMYC.org. We want to share your ideas on all of our platforms. Lower Manhattan was a sea of seafone green Thursday morning as the city honored the WNBA champion New York Liberty. Fans, young and old, lined the canyon of heroes, the section of Broadway, south of City Hall that's also been home to parades honoring World Cup winners and even the first responders of COVID-19. Here's some of what we heard from folks along the parade route. New York's on top!

Yeah! It was a beautiful thing to see. Got to see all of our girls. They put on a great season for us this year. Can't wait to be there. Game one next year. Do it all over again. Let's go Liberty.

Nothing better. than Liberty basketball. It felt so good. I had to come up here. I had to. I mean, I couldn't believe it. Yeah. At New York City?

Oh, they did it. I know those girls didn't sleep. If it was me, I would have had a hangover. I would have been still had a hangover. The Liberty had never won the championship until this week. They were one of the original teams when the WNBA first started in 1997. Congratulations again, ladies. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC.

Catch us every weekday three times a day. I'm Junae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.