NYC NOW

Migrants living at the Row Hotel in Midtown Manhattan are receiving notices to leave the shelter as the city prepares to close the facility. Plus, MGM Resorts has decided to withdraw its bid for a full casino in Yonkers. And finally, more people are struggling to afford dog and cat food, so they’re turning to pantries for help.

Messages from a leaked group chat obtained by Politico show members of Young Republican groups from New York and across the country using racist, sexist, and antisemitic slurs. The outlet reports several members have since lost their jobs. Meanwhile, New York’s power grid operator warns the city could face longer and more frequent outages over the next five years due to rising electricity demand and delays in new power generation. Also, officials in White Plains are urging the public to avoid the area around the Westchester shopping complex after a partial parking garage collapse forced multiple road closures. Plus, Politico reporter Jason Beeferman joins us later to discuss the fallout from the leaked messages.

Several families are without homes after an auto body shop explosion and six-alarm fire Tuesday night in Hillside, New Jersey. Meanwhile, Governor Kathy Hochul’s office says state run New York airports will not air a Homeland Security video from Secretary Kristi Noem that blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown. Newark Airport won’t air it either, according to the Port Authority. Plus, Governor Hochul says she remains committed to expanding universal childcare in New York, speaking at the Variety Boys and Girls Club in Astoria alongside Assemblymember and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.

MTA Chair Janno Lieber called the system’s billionth ride a milestone and says it's another sign of growing post-pandemic ridership. Meanwhile, Broadway musicians are one step closer to potentially walking off the job in the next few weeks. And finally, advocates for people incarcerated in New York State are pushing Gov. Hochul to sign a bill that would expand prison oversight and require more cameras.

Miss Major Griffin Gracy, a veteran of the 1969 Stonewall uprising and a longtime LGBTQ and public health activist, has died. Meanwhile, the NYPD is searching for a driver who struck an 11 year-old boy on an electric scooter in Gravesend, Brooklyn. The child remains in critical condition. Also, New York Attorney General Letitia James is speaking publicly after her federal indictment last week by the Trump administration’s Justice Department. And as temperatures drop, Gothamist food writer Robert Sietsema joins us to talk about the best spots in the city for a comforting bowl of soup.

New York City’s next mayor could decide whether to dramatically raise the minimum wage. Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani wants to double it to $30 an hour, while independent candidate Andrew Cuomo proposes $20. Policy experts are divided on how the increases would affect workers and businesses. Meanwhile, overcrowding is worsening in the city’s juvenile detention centers, with some teens reportedly sleeping in classrooms and common areas. And the City Council is holding hearings this week on the future of Hart Island, New York’s public cemetery, which could reach capacity by 2030

New York City renters have filed more than 1,100 complaints since the city’s ban on most broker fees took effect in June, many accusing landlords and brokers of ignoring the new rule. Meanwhile, Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is criticizing President Trump over the federal prosecution of state Attorney General Letitia James. Also, city contractors hired to replace a crumbling, century-old elevated stretch of Riverside Drive West in Washington Heights walked off the job last year, leaving behind an unfinished construction site and hundreds of residents stuck in a public works purgatory. And finally, we meet the guy behind those “Friend” ads at subway stations across the city.

With less than a month until Election Day, public safety remains a top concern for New York City voters. WNYC’s Brittany Kriegstein and Ben Feuerherd report on how residents across the city are responding to each candidate’s plans for policing and mental health response.

New York State’s top law enforcement official, Attorney General Letitia James, is facing federal charges of mortgage fraud. Plus, after years of protests over the Israel-Hamas war and allegations of discrimination, some Columbia University students and faculty question whether honest dialogue is possible. And finally, Gov. Kathy Hochul and mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani both want universal child care for the state but they disagree on who’s paying for it.

A long stalled plan to build nearly 900 affordable apartments at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards site is getting new life after state officials tapped a new developer. Meanwhile, the NYPD is deploying 140 new hybrid patrol cars as it works toward the city’s 2035 all-electric vehicle mandate. And on Long Island, the group behind Islip Forward, an app that lets residents report and track ICE sightings, says it will keep operating despite criticism from the Trump administration. Founder Ahmad Perez joins us to explain.