NYC NOW - October 30, 2024: Midday News

Episode Date: October 30, 2024

The woman who ran a Bronx day care where a child died from fentanyl poisoning has pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges. She faces decades in prison. Meanwhile, a top city official is under scrutiny for appearing in a promotional video for a warehouse the city plans to buy. WNYC’s David Brand has more. Plus, WNYC’s Liam Quigley reports on a lawsuit filed by the utility National Grid over the cleanup of Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal.

Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Wednesday, October 30th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. The woman who ran a Bronx daycare where a child died of fentanyl poisoning has pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges averting a November trial. Greene Mendez faces decades behind bars. She, her husband, and their associates are accused of operating a fentanyl

distribution center out of the daycare facility in their Kingsbridge home. 22-month-old Nicholas Dominichi died of fentanyl exposure there last year. Three other children were hospitalized. Investigators said they found fentanyl under the floor where children slept, and the same utensils used to feed children were used to package the deadly drug. A top city official under scrutiny for his role in real estate deals with political donors is facing new questions. W&MIC's David Brand reports on.

is starring role in a promotional video for a warehouse the city wants to buy. Jesse Hamilton is in charge of buying and leasing commercial space for the city. At a hearing on Tuesday, council members aired a video of him touting a Bronx warehouse. Councilmember Lincoln Wrestler said Hamilton's shilling for the property could drive up its price. I've worked in city government for a while. I can never remember anything like this. I think it's bizarre and frankly smells funny. Louis Molina leads the agency managing city property and said he wasn't aware of the video.

Hamilton didn't show up for the hearing. The real estate company JLL is advertising the warehouse. Campaign finance records show JLL employees have donated more than $15,000 to campaigns for Mayor Adams. Still dry, still somewhat windy, increasing the risk for a fire spreading. 67 and sunny now, mostly sunny today and 73. Halloween tomorrow, mostly sunny near 80. Stay close. There's more after the break. The Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn's, one of the most polluted bodies of water in the entire country.

A federal cleanup is underway with various corporations footing the bill. That includes national grid, but utility claims other companies are not paying their fair share. WNYC's Liam Quigley explains. When conditions are just... right. The Gowanus Canal can be surprisingly beautiful, but right after a rainstorm, or if it's windy, the canal smells like raw sewage. Chris Smiley lives nearby and knows this all too well. We used to get the oil burps along the water every time the tides would change significantly and just slicks of purple oil all the way up to the tunnel. Same for Kay and Yusuf Ali, who have been in the

neighborhood for years. We heard a lot of strange stories like bodies under the water and like the This canal right here is mutant water. If you jump in, you're not coming back out. You're straight sinking in. The EPA has been managing the cleanup since 2013, and it appears to be making some difference. You can see fish swimming at the canal's edge, geese hang out on the water,

and pollen from a lush patch of reeds floats by. Again, Chris Smiley. I think right now you would not be standing here 15 years ago on a quiet Sunday with no breeze because it would be a little strong. This is a whole new world now. But the cleanup is stirring some controversy. The federal Superfund program forces corporations that dumped chemicals into the waterway for decades to foot the bill. One of those companies, National Grid, recently filed a lawsuit,

claiming the other polluters aren't contributing their fair share. The suit describes the various types of chemicals and toxins dumped into the canal from the 1800s on, some by the U.S. Navy, some by a local bus company, and some buy fuel companies. Kacchkelly is with the voice of Gowanis, an advocacy group that tracks the cleanup. She argues National Grid is responsible for the bulk of the pollution.

And so it's a little bit ridiculous for National Grid to say, oh, we want the other responsible parties to kick in money. Yeah, you know, that's probably a very small percentage in relation to what National Grid should be paying. She worries the lawsuit could slow down the pace of the cleaning. which is projected to last at least another five years. National Grid names 40 corporations, governments, and other entities in the lawsuit.

They range from other energy companies like Con Edison to the Department of Defense. The utility wants a judge to force them to pay their part of the cleanup. Otherwise, National Grid says it may have to raise rates for its customers. Liam Quigley, WNYC News. Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. check us out for updates every weekday, three times a date, for the latest news headlines and occasional deep dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcast.

We'll be back this evening.