NYC NOW - Who is Bishop Ron Hicks, and the Vinyl Find of a Lifetime

Episode Date: December 19, 2025

Pope Leo XIV has named Joliet, Illinois Bishop Ron Hicks to replace Archbishop Timothy Dolan at the Archdiocese of New York. Plus, a long lost piece of music and its unlikely journey to an East Village record store.

Who is Bishop Ron Hicks, the new leader of the Archdiocese of New York? And an East Village record store had the vinyl find of a lifetime. From WNYC, this is NYC now. I'm Jenae Pierre. New York City mayor-elect Zoramam Dani, Rector of Appointments, resigned over anti-Semitic posts on social media 10 years ago. Our administration will operate under a standard of excellence. And setting that standard is not only about fulfilling it, it's also about holding yourself accountable when you are not doing so. Catherine Almonte DeCosta had been appointed to her role for only one day

before the Anti-Defamation League and others surfaced the old anti-Semitic social media posts. In a statement, she said she felt, quote, deep regret for the past statements. DeCosta's resignation comes as the mayor-elect faces criticism from some Jewish New Yorkers, wary of his stance on Israel and past defense of the phrase Globalize the Intifada. Mamdani says he's committed to protecting Jewish New Yorkers. Two Democratic members of the New York City Congressional delegation say conditions at the migrant holding rooms at the federal building in Lower Manhattan have improved since

the summer, but they add that they are still, quote, inhumane. Adriano Espayat and Dan Goldman represent parts of New York City in Congress. They've been demanding access to inspect the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza, as detainees and their attorneys have noted crowded and squalid conditions for migrants being held there. Earlier this week, a judge ordered ICE to allow the lawmakers in. In our previous episode, we mentioned a change coming to the Archdiocese of New York. Pope Leo the 14th named Juliet, Illinois Bishop Ron Hicks to replace Cardinal Timothy Dolan as one of the most prominent religious figures in the U.S. For those unfamiliar with the structure of the Catholic Church, we called a priest to help us understand the Archbishop's responsibilities.

So an Archbishop is the head of an Archdiocese, which would distinguish him from a bishop who's the head of a diocese. And he's basically, you could say, the CEO. That's Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest and the editor-atian. large of the Jesuit Publication America Magazine. He says the ministry of the Archbishop is to teach, govern, and sanctify. What does that mean? Teach, so to preach the Gospels, govern, run the Archdiocese, sanctify. You know, he's kind of the chief liturgical officer of the diocese.

Bishop Ron Hicks will take the reins of the Archdioces at a ceremony at St. Patrick's Cathedral in February. Father Martin says Bishop Hicks has a great background. He was ordained back in 1994 and has worked at several. parishes. He's also spent a lot of time at the seminary. But then interestingly worked in El Salvador for five years with a series of orphanages and then came back and worked again in the seminary and then became auxiliary bishop in Chicago and then finally Bishop of Jolias. So he's had a lot of experience even at a very young age. Bishop Hicks is 58 years old, making him a relatively young leader for such a prominent archdiocese.

Now to the East Village, where a record store had the vinyl find of a lifetime. That's after the break. Magic happens every day in this world. And New York City being what it is, a fair bit of that. magic tends to find its way here. Take this story from WMYC's Ryan Kylath about a long-loss piece of music and its unlikely journey to an East Village record store. Catherine Kath Bloom was a folk singer whose moment never really arrived in the 70s and 80s when she was most active. But she slowly developed a cult following. It is not often when one comes across a record store where there is a

Kath Bloom and Lauren Mazakane's section. Andy Breslaugh was record shopping in the East Village one day, when the nonprofit exec found a whole section for Bloom, and her longtime collaborator, guitar player Lauren Mazakane Connors. So that kind of stopped me in my tracks. I turned to the back of the store. I said, well, I produce a record of theirs. Breslau had fallen in love with the pair's music in the 80s,

and released the stripped-down folk recording, 1,200 vinyl copies. At the time, there wasn't a huge audience for their wonderful music and was left with a whole bunch of them in my basement. Andy put out a record called Sing the Children Over from 1982, and those records are incredibly rare. Adrian Rue runs Urgett Records, the shot Bresla had stumbled into.

He's a huge Kath Bloom fan, and the two got to talking. At that point, I was frankly blissly unaware that they had become. these huge collector's items online. Use copies would sell for over a hundred bucks, and Breslau had boxes of unopened records in storage in Maine. He shipped them down to the city, and when Rue put up a little note on Instagram about the find, I sold 200 copies in two hours.

43 years after it was released, Breslaa sent Kath Bloom and Lauren Connors their cut. They weren't waiting for that check, I imagine. No. It wasn't a big check. But they didn't respond to our interview requests, but Breslau says they're happy the music is finding an audience. Thankfully for the rest of us, the album also found its way online. Sing the Children Over by Kath Bloom and Lauren Mazakane Connors.

That's WNYC's Ryan Kylath. Time to highlight what's fresh and affordable at local farmers markets. Amelia Tarpy is a program and publicity manager for GrowNYC Green Markets. She says, head to the green markets this week for parsnips. I just think parsnips deserve a place on your holiday menus, regardless of what you're celebrating. Parsnips tend to be sweeter than carrots, and they also are a mellower vegetable. They tend to be a little softer and chewier, and there's a lot of really incredible ways to prepare them. If you are celebrating Hanukkah this week, one of our favorite things to do with making loquas is throw in a root vegetable that's not a potato.

Obviously, we love a classic potato locke, but shredding in, you know, some other root vegetable can add so much depth of flavor and parsnets are a perfect vegetable to add to your loquas. They also are really good vegetables to graze. And so if you're making a brisket, throwing in some parsnips, you can do sort of a medley of parsnips, carrots, potatoes, and put that into the pot in the last hour of cooking your brisket. And you'll have a nice, hearty, vegetable side dish to serve alongside. If you're looking for a side dish for your Christmas Eve or Christmas Day dinners, having a

Parsnip puree is like a really decadent way and easy way to elevate your holiday meals boil those parsnips until they're soft and then you can

puree them along with like a little bit of butter as an alternative to mashed potatoes and it's just like a much richer or more flavorful vegetable side dish

you can also do parsnip chips slice them really thin roast them in the oven and then you can use the chips to like serve over some soup stews really good

over like a lintel soup and it just adds a nice textural element, a nice flavor element to whatever you're making. Amelior Tarpie is a program and publicity manager for GrowNYC Green Markets. She says right now, green markets across the city are selling parsnips for three to six bucks a pound. Okay, after you're done Googling Parsnips recipes, consider putting your phone down in honor of World Meditation Day this Sunday.

The UN formally declared December 27, 21st as World Meditation Day last year, I'm sure we can all benefit from a moment of Zen. As always, thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. Have a lovely weekend. Thank you.