WNYC News

It’s summertime, and bees, butterflies and other pollinators are out and about!

But many of these pollinators are facing dangerous population declines worldwide. Pollinators play a vital role in the fertilization of crops, gardens and wilds plants. The city parks department has 23 pollinator gardens to promote pollinator friendly plants and practices across the Five Boroughs. 

Matthew Morrow, the director of horticulture for the parks department, and Georgina Cullman, an ecologist for the parks department, talked with WNYC's David Furst more about why pollinators are important and what New Yorkers can do to help.

After Zohran Mamdani's margin of victory widens in the Democratic primary for mayor following a ranked choice tally, the frontrunner suddenly has a calendar packed full of meetings with influential New Yorkers. That and more in this week's Politics Brief. 

When Miguel Rodriguez Bermudez walked across the stage to get his high school diploma in Newark last week, he also got something much greater. Administrators handed him a $74,000 contract to return to the public school district as a music teacher once he gets a degree. 

Thirty four students, including Miguel, received job offers to become future teachers in Newark Public Schools. Miguel and Newark School's Superintendent Roger León joined WNYC's Michael Hill now to talk about the offer.

A database compiled by NJ Advance Media shows that since 2015, roughly 140 coaches and trainers across all youth sports in New Jersey have been accused of sex crimes..

Matt Stanmyre, investigative reporter at NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, authored this investigation with his colleague Keith Sargeant. Matt joined WNYC host Michael Hill. 

It’s tick season, and according to Fordham University’s tick index, the risk of being bitten by one of the parasitic arachnids in the New York region this summer is high. 

Tom Daniels is the director of Fordham’s Louis Calder Center in Westchester County. He’s spent 40 years studying ticks and works with the State Health Department. He talked with WNYC's Sean Carlson about what you can do to protect yourself this summer.

New York City's 2026 fiscal year officially begins today. The city budget determines everything from the NYPD's headcount to Mayor Adams's "war on rats." This year's budget includes a pilot for universal childcare and a new city division to regulate e-bikes, among other initiatives.

The City Council Speaker plays a leading role in negotiating the annual budget with the Mayor's office. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams talked with WNYC's Sean Carlson about this year's budget and what the future holds for her after her loss to Zohran Mamdani in last week's Democratic primary.

The transgender pride flag won’t be part of this year’s Pride display at the national park near the Stonewall Inn, which typically transforms each June into a sea of rainbow and trans pride flags lining its perimeter.

Although the National Park Service had previously covered the cost of the trans pride flags, the agency shifted gears this year, only agreeing to fund rainbow flags at the Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village, according to Steve Love Menendez, the artist and activist who created the display.

The move comes after the department removed other references to trans people as part of an executive order from President Donald Trump. It is one of many rollbacks of legal and symbolic protections for LGBTQ+ Americans launched under the new administration in the five months since Trump took office.

And it’s just one of the many ways that Pride will look different this year for Menendez and other LGBTQ+ New Yorkers.

When Miguel Rodriguez Bermudez walked across the stage in June to get his high school diploma from The Arts High School, he also received a $74,000 contract to return to Newark public schools as a music teacher. The moment went viral on social media.

Miguel and Newark School's Superintendent Roger León joined WNYC host Michael Hill.

Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani’s stunning victory over former governor Andrew Cuomo was fueled in part by an outreach strategy that sought to expand the electorate, even in places where Donald Trump gained support in November. WNYC went out in search of those Trump-Mamdani voters – and they weren’t hard to find.

It’s one of about a dozen clubhouses for people with serious mental illnesses that are opening or expanding across the five boroughs, aided by millions of dollars in new funding from the city health department. Read the full story here.