WNYC News

In five weeks, voters in New York City will vote for their next mayor. And it's a different looking race this week, after incumbent Mayor Eric Adams dropped out Sunday. 

Ben Max is the program director at New York Law School's Center for New York City and State Law, and host of the Max Politics podcast. He spoke with WNYC Morning Edition host Michael Hill about the shake up and all the latest in the campaign. 

Election day is six weeks away for New Jersey's next governor. Major party candidates Democratic Representative Mikie Sherrill and Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli debated each other over the weekend, each trying to make their case to voters.

Charlie Stile is a political columnist for The Record. He joined Morning Edition host Michael Hill to talk through the latest on the campaign. 

In six weeks, voters in New York City will vote for their next mayor. 

Democratic nominee and assembly member Zohran Mamdani faces former Governor Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, both running on independent lines, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

Errol Louis is an anchor at NY1, and hosts the nightly show "Inside City Hall."  He joined Morning Edition host Michael Hill to talk through the latest on the campaign

In seven weeks, voters in New Jersey will elect their next governor. Democratic nominee Congressmember Mikie Sherrill faces Republican former state assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli

WNYC's Mike Hayes spoke with Morning Edition host Michael Hill about how the race is shaping up in the Garden State.

In seven weeks, voters in New York City will vote for their next mayor. Assembly member Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary, but former Governor Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams are both running on independent lines. Curtis Sliwa is running as the Republican nominee. 

We’re headed for the first competitive general election in New York City in recent memory. WNYC's own Brian Lehrer talks with Morning Edition host Michael Hill about what that tells us about the political moment we’re in right now.

It's peak apple season! 

New York State is the second-largest apple producer in the country, right behind Washington State, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Amelia Tarpey is a program and publicity manger for GrowNYC Greenmarkets. WNYC joined her at the Union Square Greenmarket for a tour of the apple stands, where shoppers can find some of the best varieties -- like the popular Empire apple and a new variety called "Ludacrisp."  She said apples are priced at $3 to $4 per pound right now, and many orchards are selling mixed bags of apples for $5 per pound. Tarpey also said local apple farmers are critical to the apple economy, because they often make use of undesirable apples by turning it into cider. On Friday, October 10th, you can try hard ciders from makers from across the state at GrowNYC's Cider Village. 

WNYC and the nonprofit Street Lab regularly team up to highlight stories from neighborhoods across New York City. We recently set up shop on St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem, and though we didn’t set out to talk about climate and the environment, it was on people's minds. As Climate Week continues at the UN General Assembly, here's some of what we heard.

The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Aisha Kiani: I'm 23 years old. I was originally born in Pakistan, but I grew up in the Bronx and now I'm in Harlem.

My first few experiences were learning experiences in terms of finding my footing. I biked a lot of the routes by Pelham Bay, Van Cortlandt, Bronx Park East. So it was really just seeing the beauty of the Bronx, to be honest. We have so much nature.

In the future I hope to continue to take guidance from the people and mentors that are doing studies to help forward climate justice related causes.

Everyone can be a victim of climate injustice. You won't know it until your house is flooding. You won't know it until you feel the heat on your skin and it's unbearable. This is something imminent, and this is something that is affected by global powers and where money is going. My plan is to slowly and continuously bridge these gaps.

That means you can go to community gardens and volunteer here in your neighborhood. You will know the soil, you will know what you can grow, and you will also know how it's being harmed.

Now we know bees have plastic in their guts. These things are going to affect us and our future generations. And so we do need to take initiative to get more involved for our protection, but also for the earth because we are earth's beings.

Gregory Baggett: I am the president of the A. Philip Randolph Square Neighborhood Alliance.

We're activating green space in Central Harlem in order to improve quality of life for the residents of this district.

In creating a greenway–a park out of a lifeless transportation corridor–the project actually served our environmental justice needs. 

Harlem is suffering from heat island effect. The area doesn't have enough trees and shade to protect people from the negative effects of sunlight and heat. If we're actually able to put trees along this 15-block stretch, we would actually help increase the tree canopy for the community.

The benefit is obvious. It's an improved quality of life. Whether it's transportation, infrastructure, sidewalks, streets, parks, it's bringing the community that has largely retreated from the public realm.

Khadija DeLoaché: I'm a long term resident of Harlem. I've lived for over 35 years in the same building, and I'm sitting here today in A. Philip Randolph Park, enjoying the Harlem Breeze.

I feel like this park has been underused for at least the number of years that I've been here. So I'm a very big advocate for  the revitalization of this park.

This is a community where the kids…  We have Halloween for the children in the building, and that could be extended out here to this park.

And we have a lot of seniors in my building. We plan to be there forever, and we should be able to have a place where we can come out for all people in the community.

The Guardian Angels founder was speaking outside the 96th Street station on Monday morning, one day after Mayor Eric Adams had dropped out of the race. Bill Apple, 76, emerged from the station and ran into Sliwa.

The registered Democrat donated twice to Sliwa, whom he described as someone who “knows the city.”

“I detest Andrew Cuomo,” Apple said, citing the former governor’s management of the pandemic and his sexual harassment scandals.

But Apple had started to have second thoughts about Sliwa’s viability.

“It seems to me that this is going to be a collision course,“ he told Sliwa.

The Major League Baseball regular season has come to an end, and it's been a roller coaster of emotions for New York baseball fans. The New York Yankees are gearing up for their 60th playoff appearance in franchise history, all while their captain Aaron Judge vies for the American League MVP award.  The Mets will miss the playoffs this year in a stunning collapse for the star-studded club with one of the highest payrolls in the majors. Dave Sims, play by play commentator for the Yankees on WFAN radio, and Evan Roberts, co-host of "Evan and Tiki" with Tiki Barber on WFAN radio, joined WNYC host Michael Hill.

New York City living comes with its own set of challenges, especially if you're a renter.

WNYC’s Morning Edition is back with another installment of “Ask a Super,” answering your questions about making city living work for you.Ron Pioquinto is a building super in Long Island City and a member of the 32BJ labor union. He joined WNYC’s Michael Hill to talk about heat season, leaves, unwelcome mosquitoes, and much more.

If you have questions for a building super — especially if they have to do with apartment problems that pop up during the colder months — send them to [email protected]. You might just hear them on air during our next installment.