NYC NOW - September 2, 2024; Midday News

Episode Date: September 2, 2024

Students at Laura Donovan Elementary School in Freehold, New Jersey will start the year scattered at other elementary schools after mold was discovered in school building classrooms. Also, New York City high school students taking the ferry to school can get a ticket for $3 less than the regular ticket price for a total of $1.35 per ride. In other news, a historic military building in Ft. Tilden in the Rockaways will soon be demolished. And lastly, Happy Labor Day! As the West Indian Day Parade takes over Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway, WNYC’s Janae Pierre talks with content creator Nicolas Nuvan who has gained a major social media following by sharing stories, trying local dishes, and shining a spotlight on the vibrant traditions of Caribbean communities.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. I'm Jene Pierre. Happy Labor Day. Hope you're taking it easy if you have the day off. This is our one and only episode today. Here's your news headlines from Michael Hill. Back to school will look a little different for some students at a New Jersey elementary school after the district discovered mold in their classrooms. WNIC's Veronica Del Valle reports. Students at Laura Donovan Elementary School will start their school years scattered at other elementary schools in Freehold. That's after the school district says it found mold in several classrooms during a routine cleaning back in mid-July. The district superintendent says a remediation company has been hard at work since the discovery, but the mold has been persistent.

It returned after an initial remediation. Now, Freehold schools officials say these alternate arrangements may last several months. The first day of school in Freehold Township is Thursday. High school students taking the ferry to class can now save $3 per ride on the New York City ferry. The city is offering student tickets at $1.35 compared to the regular price of $4.50. The discounts are available on weekdays only, and they're for students in 9th through 12 grades in local, public, private, or charter schools. Interested parents and guardians must first apply for a discount code through the New York City Schools Account Portal, starting September 9th. That's next Monday. The student tickets go up 10 cents to $1.45 cents.

A historic military building at Fort Tilden in the Rockaway soon will meet the Demolition Ball. WNIC's Liam Quigley has more. If you've ever been to Fort Tilden Beach, you've probably passed a huge abandoned army hanger. It's called T-9, and it dates back to World War I. At one time, it was used to service trains hauling cargo around the base that held anti-aircraft guns and missiles. The National Park Service took over Fort Tilden in the 1970s. The hangar was mostly abandoned, attracting urban explorer types and graffiti artists. The building was also occasionally used for art installations.

But last summer, a two-alarm fire gutted the building, ending hopes that it could be preserved. The National Park Service now says the building can't be saved. Labor Day means it's time for the West Indian Day parade to take over Brooklyn's Eastern Parkway with the sounds and aromas of Caribbean culture. After the break, we'll chat with the New York City social media content creator who has been celebrating island communities in Caribbean cuisine year-round. Stay close. Today, Brooklyn is buzzing with excitement as over a million people are set to celebrate the West Indian Day parade along Eastern Parkway. This annual event is a vibrant display of Caribbean culture. There's dazzling costumes, pulsating music, and of course, the aromas of Caribbean cuisine.

But one New York City content creator has been celebrating Caribbean culture for much longer than the one day of the parade. A few years ago, Nicholas Nouveau was interviewing people on the street about their music tastes. But then one day he met someone. I was in Brooklyn, just walking around, and I started talking to a woman that was from Trinidad. And when I met her, we completely hit it off. I started just running into Trinidadians everywhere and connecting with them. Ever since then, it's just been like a snowball effect of me falling in love with Caribbean people in general. Nicholas grew up here, but he was born in Colombia.

And ever since that encounter in Brooklyn, he's been sharing stories, trying local dishes, and shining a spotlight on the vibrant traditions of Caribbean communities. Excuse me, sir? What's your name? Tony. What do you do here? I sell $5 food. Only $5.

Yeah. Fish and chips. Fish and cook up rice from Guyana. You're not driving a hard bargain. I'm a poor guy, so I feed the poor. You're rich in your heart. Nicholas joined me a few days before the West Indian Day parade to talk about his journey, his passion for these cultures, and what he's most excited to see at this year's parade.

Nicholas, I know you were born in Columbia and came here at a young age, but you've really connected with the Caribbean diaspora here and abroad. What draws you to the culture? Do you see any similarities with Colombian culture? Yes, I see a lot of similarities. I think when you go to Columbia, people speak to you a certain way. Growing up with my grandmother, my mom, everything is, can I do anything for you? My love, my sweetheart, like the language is very sweet when you're in. in Colombia, like the Spanish is very sweet and it's very servient.

Like my grandmother was somebody that was super giving with her time. And so when I meet a lot of Caribbean people, it's exactly the same. When I met Trinidadians, for example, it was like, as soon as they met me, I was like their grandson a lot of the time. And food plays a big role in your videos. What are some of your favorite dishes from the islands and why do they stand out to you? Ooh. Okay.

I really love a lot of Trinidadian dishes. So I love like Palau. It's just like a delicious rice. And I had it in this island in Grenada called Kariaku. I really love that dish when I had it with some guy that I met for the first time on the street. Because I was asking him where to get food. And he's like, well, I have an extra plate. You want to eat this?

And I'm like, okay. So that was my memory with that. But I really love roti, Jamaican food. I really love, you know, jerk chicken and rice and peas. But I think for me, it's memory-based rather than, I'd all taste good. Like, we can all agree that Caribbean food tastes good. But I think the memories make it better. So when you're eating jerk chicken or rice and peas, what moment are you brought back to?

You know, I am really fortunate. I met this woman. Her name is Nikki, and she sells jerk chicken in Brooklyn. And I met her quite literally on the sidewalk one day. We never told the people that we're going to Jamaica. Often you go back to Spanish Town. Getting ready to go back down there in July. What if I came with you one time?

Come to our house. I'm not joking. Brother, I'm dead ass. I'm inviting you to come to Jamaica, man. You leave on a 15th. Oh, you're right. Next thing you know, she invites me to Spanish Town, Jamaica. I just got back from a trip with her in Spanish Town, Jamaica.

We went to Kingston, Spanish Town, and a bunch of little neighborhoods in between those. So when I think of jerk chicken, I think of Nikki. And it's just like one of those stories that's actually insane where I meet somebody. They invite me to the home that they grew up in. And I say, okay, I'll take you up on it. We go, we visit. And we just, like, create memories together. And I think that's really beautiful.

When I first met Mama Juice, she said, you have to try my Polori. It's been one year since you told me that. You have such good technique. Boom, boom, boom. So when I think of Jerch chicken, I think of Nikki. When I think of roti, I think of this woman, Mama Juice, she sells juices on the sidewalk. Juices, delicious delicacy. So where are we at right now?

This is Lavantilde. I have sauce. I have mango chow. I'm going to get some mango chow. That's biting. And she just started becoming kind of like my grandmother. Like, I would just talk to her on Sundays, call her, see what she's up to. This is my girlfriend.

We're in love for many, many, many years. How did you to meet? Baby, sit there. We just fall in. And she always mentions, oh, like this, that and Trinidad, like every time I talk to her. So then one day I just pulled up and I said, okay, pick a date. We're going to Trinidad. Like, you invited me.

Like, I'll buy the ticket. Next thing you know, I'm in like Maloney Gardens Trinidad. We made it to your house in Trinidad. You yet, no. Mama Juice took us to this restaurant in her neighborhood that this guy runs out of his family home. And she's feeding me her daughter's alu pie. And that's quite literally the same story over in. over and over and over again.

Wow. With every single place that I've been to. And they said, I'm from this place. And this is what we do from this place. And then I'll be like, wow, this guy told me about these fruits in Grenada. All I want to do was learn about these fruits in Grenada. So then I just go into researching what this person told me. And then next thing you know, I want to see this thing in person.

So then I go to Grenada and I'm trying the man. that he was talking about in Brooklyn. So months later, after I do tons of research and I'm like losing sleep over this topic, then I'll be like, all right, time to go see the real thing in person. Yeah. So let's get to the big celebration happening in Brooklyn. What are you most looking forward to at this year's West Indian Day parade, both in terms of food and, you know, the overall experience?

I think I'm excited to just see all the Caribbean islands represented in one place. hopefully there'll be like lots of vendors on the streets representing their own islands. So that's what I'm looking forward to at the West Indian parade. Will you be posting a special about the parade? Is there anything you can share with us right now that you plan on doing? You know, it's funny because I don't plan any of my videos. I'll literally go out with my cameraman Jamie. If something happens, we post it.

If nothing happens, we don't post it. So yeah, I have the intention to bring the camera out. for that day to make a story. But we'll see what happens. I think it could be one overarching story, you know, in one video, or it could just be like a bunch of segments of people's stories. But, you know, I think that's why people are drawn to my page so much is because it's so spontaneous.

I want to talk about the dishes that people should definitely try from vendors along Eastern Parkway. What should folks be looking out for? Let's go around to the island. Let's do it. Okay, so you're not going to eat a full meal, like running around. You'll probably be a little bloated, but maybe have a little Trinidadian doubles. You can have a roti.

If you want to try something that you maybe not have had before in your American, haven't tried too much, maybe you can try an oil down from Grenada. I loved Caribbean baked goods, so they have the currents roll if you want something sweet. eat the coconut rolls. All the rolls are amazing. I think a lot of the fruits that they prepare with a little bit of sweetness are amazing. So sometimes they'll have like these mangoes with like a cinnamon that are really good. But I could probably go on for a while. But what I will say, I'll say this. If you see somebody selling something and you haven't seen it before, ask them what it is in a nice way and try it. That's how you love.

learn about things. And that's how you can expand not only your palate, but like, you're just your worldview. That's good. That's good. Hey, is that Nicholas? Yes, ma'am. Oh, my God. Guess what I have here? What you have? Tameric ginger. You know, each of your stories, it seems like you've become that extra cousin that no one really knows, but it's like you've just become family. I'm wondering, what is it about you and your personality that makes you connect in this way with people? I've always been somebody that is super nosy, I guess, is like the funny term. But I'm just so curious about different ways of doing things.

Because growing up, I can go down a long list of positive things about Colombians. But, you know, the way that I was raised was a little bit one-dimensional. And when I was growing up, I was always like, man, like, there's definitely another way to do this. And then I meet kids in my neighborhoods and their parents. You know, I grew up in a neighborhood where it was like Pakistani, El Salvadorian, Russian, African Americans. There's Caribbean people, mostly Haitians. And my grandma and my mom are telling me, this is how we do things. There's only one way to do this.

And then I'm like going out to my friend's houses and I'm like, well, they do this completely differently. So then I think I just get addicted to like just trying to understand that there's not only one way to do something. And then like it's funny because my grandmother would be like, there's only one way to do this and we are different from them. Right. But then I'm like, no, my Haitian friend, his grandmother is so similar to you and you have no idea. So I think a lot of who we are is just like how we grew up. And you either try to grow from those things or you just become what you were taught when you're younger. But I'm definitely somebody that tries to understand the world.

And I'm just very curious about everything, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. I'd say you're curious, not nosy. Nicholas, this has been great. Thanks so much for joining me. All right. I appreciate you.

Nicholas Nuvon is an influencer based in New York City. You can find him on TikTok or Instagram with the handle Nicholas Nuvon, spelled N-I-C-O-L-A-S, N-U-V-A-N. Thanks for listening to NYC now from W-M-YC. I'm Jeney-Pierre. Enjoy the holiday. We'll be back on our regular schedule tomorrow.