NYC NOW - October 9, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: October 10, 2024

***Note: This is the evening episode for Wednesday, October 9. Because of a technical error, it did not publish until October 10.New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he's still running for re-election next year, despite facing multiple corruption charges. Plus, WNYC’s Radio Rookie, Erica Xing, shares her story of changing her name legally. And finally, WNYC’s Janae Pierre chats with sports journalist Jackie Powell ahead of the WNBA’s championship series between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. 

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. I'm Junae Pierre. New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he's still running for re-election next June, despite facing multiple corruption charges. And I think when both sides of this come out, people are going to have a second look at this entire event that's taking place around me. A recent poll shows 69% of the United States. New Yorkers want Adams to resign amid his recent federal indictment. The mayor says he hasn't done anything wrong and insists he can continue to govern the city. Adams' re-election campaign has already raised more than $4 million and could be eligible

for almost $4 million more thanks to matching funds. Even in a city as diverse as New York, many immigrants feel pressure to assimilate. For 16-year-old Erica Singh, that meant deciding to legally change her name. Erica shares her story as part of WMYC's Radio Rookies program. I always dreaded the first day of school. There was a ritual that happened every year. Teachers would re-through the attendance list, try to say my name, and get it completely wrong.

My parents named me Zao, but it felt like I had many names, Zao, Ziao, Shiao, just to list a few. I didn't know there could be this many ways to mispronetious, my name. I tried to correct every teacher, and sometimes the other kids laughed when my name was called. I already felt like I didn't fit in because I moved here from China when I was four years old. And even though my parents decided to live in Flushing Queens, a predominantly Chinese neighborhood,

all my classmates were born here that had names like Katie and Kevin and Jake. I know a lot of immigrants who use a name other than their own to blend in, including my own parents. They picked names from the movie Titanic, Jack and Rose. I started unofficially going by Erica when I started school here about 10 years ago. My parents came up with that name because America was our new home. America, Erica, get it? Most of my Chinese friends were the foreign sounding name also go by an American name, except for my best friend. I still go by my Chinese name, Lan.

I met Lan Zhang nine years ago at a Saturday school for kids learning English as a second language. Back then, she was trying out an American name. I remember in second grade, you made me call you Joanna for a week. Why did you do that? That was because my parents wanted to westernize me. They felt that by giving me a westernized name, I could fit into school better. I'm grateful my parents had the same idea. I wanted nothing more than an American name,

so I wondered why Lan decided to embrace her name. Here's what she told me. Why did you choose to still go by your Chinese name? Because I would like to hold on to my heritage and stay true to my grandparents who named me. What Lan said made me think. I never really thought about the ways my name, connected me to my culture, I was just tired of having my name mispronounced.

So, as soon as I was old enough, at 14, with my parents' blessing, I went to court to legally change my name. But lately, I've started to wonder, did I give up a part of my heritage by choosing to become Erica? I asked Lan more about the meaning behind her name. What does the name land-made. Isn't that the color blue in Chinese? Isn't that beautiful? The sky is blue on a clear, beautiful blue day. Isn't it beautiful? All the time, I never really asked my parents about what my name meant. My dad told me that Zhao means sun and moon. The name was created by the first and only woman emperor of China. What it really means, is that impossible things are possible because the sun and the moon shouldn't both be in the sky at the same time.

I can see why my parents wanted me to have such a powerful name. I'm glad that when I did change my name to Erica, I made Zhao my new middle name. I don't regret changing my name. It's already made my life easier, but I regret feeling embarrassed about my Chinese heritage. I used to push away my culture just to fit in. I think that's common for a lot of immigrants. But as I settle into being Erica officially, I'm realizing it's important to balance who I am with who I used to be.

It's a journey I'm still navigating. That's 16-year-old Erica Singh. This story is part of WMYC's Radio Rookies Program. The New York Liberty will get another shot at the championship when they take on the Minnesota Links in the WNBA Finals. Can they close the deal this year? We'll get a preview of the series after the break. Stay close.

The New York Liberty are getting ready to host game one of the WNBA Finals Thursday night against the Minnesota Links. This is the Liberty's sixth trip to the finals. But the franchise is still seeking its first title. I'm here with sports journalist Jackie Powell. And Jackie, the last time we spoke, the lives were strategizing a game plan to be, the Las Vegas aces, and they did just that. Now, let's talk about the Minnesota links. The team is

armed with Nefisa Collier, the MVP runner-up. How can the Libs slow her and this team down? So what's really interesting about that question is when the Liberty were trying to handle Asia Wilson, what they did from the get-go was double her, and that was very apparent and it was quite successful. But the difference here, and the reason why you can't do that with the Minnesota to lengths is because this is a team that shares the ball so, so well. If you try to double Nefisa Collier, she, since she's a very good passing big, will know exactly who is open and will kick out for an open three. But the point is, when it comes to stopping Nefisa Collier, the Liberty need to use their length to get in her line of sight so that she can't make those passes.

The defense has to be scrambling. The Liberty talked about how good their defense was against the Las Vegas Aces in game four of the semifinals. And essentially, that scramble defense where you have multiple players moving through the quarter court, that's what needs to happen against a team like the links that shares the ball really well. The Liberty have to use their length to block those passing lanes and they have to move quicker. and they have to apply even more pressure than they did against the Las Vegas Aces because the Minnesota links are a much less one-on-one type team. And Jackie, with all of that in mind, what do the Liberty need to do in game one in order to set the tone in the series? I mean, I think you just said it. They need to set the tone and you do that with the defense.

They need to apply that first punch by being incredibly aggressive at the point of attack. That means Benizal Laney Hamilton is pressuring Courtney Williams. That's the Lynx's own point card. That means Lainey Hamilton pressuring Courtney Williams from 90 feet. That needs to happen. So it's going to be about the defense. It's going to be how they can frustrate the lynx is very free-flowing and beautiful offense. Yeah.

The Liberty are the top-seated team in the WMBA, which has granted them home court advantage throughout the playoffs, has that made a big difference? Oh, it absolutely has. There is no doubt about it. I mean, I'm sure everyone saw Spike Lee interacting with Sabrina UNESCO and then his comments back and forth with Aces Guard, Kelsey Plum. I mean, if Spike comes back, I expect that to happen with Courtney Williams

because she's sort of someone who's got the juice and has a bit of a dog mentality. as well. But, I mean, the crowds have been, I think they've averaged around between 12,000 and 14,000 each game. I expect that number to go up for the finals. And so far, the Liberty have not lost a playoff game at home. So clearly, the home crowd and all that is, Ellie the Elephant, has helped this team. Absolutely. Jackie, I know you attended a Liberty practice Wednesday afternoon. What's their energy like? Focused. That's sort of the sense that I got. It's that they were very business-like. They were relaxed, but laser-focused at the task at hand

and very much so understand how much of a challenging task this is going to be ahead. That's sports journalist Jackie Powell. Jackie, thanks so much for joining us. And thank you for having me. The WNBA finals, which required three wins, we'll start off in Brooklyn Thursday and Sunday afternoon. Then the series shifts to Minnesota for games three and, if necessary, game four. If neither team has had three wins by then, a winner takes all game five will be Sunday, October 20th in Brooklyn.

Good luck, ladies. 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.