WNYC News

The redevelopment of two NYCHA complexes in Chelsea has emerged as a wedge issue in the high-profile race to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler.

Mamdani promised to move the city toward free universal care for every child, regardless of income, starting at 6 weeks old. Here's how his initiative is landing with some New Yorkers looking to start or expand their families. Read the full story here.

Sugaring season runs from February until around early April, though maple syrup isn't usually thought of as a spring product. During this period, sugar makers in the Northeast, which includes Canada, New York and Vermont, make enough maple syrup for the entire year. The amber-colored sweetener is made from sugar maple trees and can be used in marinades, baked goods, cocktails and, of course, pancakes.  

Amelia Tarpey is a Program and Publicity Manger for GrowNYC Greenmarkets. She said right now local maple syrup is going for about $12 to $20 for 8 ounces.

President Donald Trump said he’d take a plan to rebuild Penn Station and relocate Madison Square Garden seriously if the arena’s influential owner is willing to play ball, according to sources familiar with the talks.

A delegation of politically connected Trump supporters floated the plan during a closed-door Oval Office meeting in September that has not been previously reported. If approved, their proposal would transform Midtown by moving the Garden from its location atop Penn Station, which serves 600,000 daily riders.

The meeting took place months before Amtrak, which owns the massive transit hub, announced the nonprofit’s plan as one of three finalists for the station’s overhaul.

Climate protesters are outraged over Gov. Hochul's proposed changes to a landmark New York law. That and more in this week's Politics Brief.

President Donald Trump said he’d take a plan to rebuild Penn Station and relocate Madison Square Garden seriously if the arena’s influential owner is willing to play ball, according to sources familiar with the talks.

A delegation of politically connected Trump supporters floated the plan during a closed-door Oval Office meeting in September that has not been previously reported. If approved, their proposal would transform Midtown by moving the Garden from its location atop Penn Station, which serves 600,000 daily riders.

The meeting took place months before Amtrak, which owns the massive transit hub, announced the nonprofit’s plan as one of three finalists for the station’s overhaul.

The meeting and decision to move the proposal forward signal the president is considering the option to move the storied arena, according to four sources who have knowledge of the Oval Office meeting but asked not to be named because they were not permitted to disclose details.

The group represented the Grand Penn Community Alliance, a nonprofit financed by wealthy conservative donor Thomas Klingenstein. The attendees told the president their proposal would restore the station to its former glory, before it was torn down in the 1960s to make way for the Garden, the sources said.

The proposal, made public last March, would redesign the train hall’s entrances with Greco-Roman columns, install a large clock and deck the space with a glass roof that lets in natural light.

Under the nonprofit’s proposal, the arena’s current site would be replaced by a fountain and green lawn between the new Penn and Moynihan Train Hall. The 19,000-seat arena would move across Seventh Avenue.

It’s technically spring now, but it was only weeks ago that we were shoveling our way out from several feet of snow.  

For some New Yorkers, that melting snow brought an additional hazard – power outages.  

Councilmember Chi Osse, who represents parts of Brooklyn, says he thinks Con Edison needs to do more to reimburse people who lost power during the snowstorms. Megan Rickerson is one of his constituents. She’s 39 years old and has lived in Bed Stuy for over 7 years. She lost power on Lexington Avenue near Herbert Von King Park. Both joined WNYC's Sean Carlson to talk about what they want from the power outages during the snowstorms.

The former commissioner of New York City’s Department of Probation faces a criminal investigation into her rocky tenure at the agency.

It's officially the first day of Spring which means that after a long and brutal winter, we'll finally start seeing a lot more life at local farm stands. Some of the first things to pop up are sprouts, shoots and microgreens. They're cute and tiny and are also known as "vegetable confetti." The little veggies are packed with nutrients and are great in salads or as garnishes on soups and toast.    

Amelia Tarpey is a Program and Publicity Manger for GrowNYC Greenmarkets. She said right now sprouts, shoots and microgreens are going for over $10 per pound, but they're light so you can get a lot for your money. 

Contract negotiations with a pair of New York’s most powerful transit unions are looming over Gov. Kathy Hochul’s re-election bid.

Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents some 40,000 subway and bus workers, tried to dump cold water on the governor’s campaign in a scathing TV ad that ran on St. Patrick’s Day.

Hochul is responsible for the MTA, and Local 100’s contract with the transit agency expires in May. The union is pushing to preserve two-person subway crews and token booth agent jobs, which the transit agency has tried to make obsolete.

“Centuries ago, St. Patrick drove Ireland’s snakes into the sea,” the ad says. “Now, St. Patrick is needed to help rid New York of our snake of a governor, Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who pretends to support workers and working families, but is venomously anti-trade union.”

The jab comes as the MTA and Long Island Rail Road workers represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen are embroiled in a bitter yearslong contract dispute. A Presidential Emergency Board brought in to mediate negotiations sided with the union this week, which clears the way for a potential LIRR strike if there isn’t an agreement in 60 days. 

Unlike subway and bus workers, the LIRR crews are not bound by New York state’s Taylor Law, which prohibits most public-sector workers from striking.

Hochul doesn’t have a major primary challenger, and her Republican opponent Bruce Blakeman faces slim chances to win in deep blue New York. But the disputes mean the governor will enter her re-election campaign without the backing of two major labor unions, which could imperil her ability to win by a wide margin. 

Four years ago, when she was first elected to a full term, Hochul narrowly beat Republican Lee Zeldin with just 53% of the vote. 

“Right now it would just further demonstrate that Kathy Hochul is anti-trade union, anti-worker, if she doesn't instruct (MTA Chair) Janno Lieber to come to a settlement quickly,” said Transport Workers International President John Samuelsen. “The money is there.