I HEART* NY Veronica and Hao

#7 – We try unpack a couple local news items that may have been (understandably) shadowed by national events. There's an ongoing, maybe successful even???, effort to repeal state law 50-A, which over-broadly protects the personnel records of police officers. We do a deep dive into what seems like the unfolding track wreck that is the De Blasio administration. His past and present staffers have written an open letter to him (http://lettertothemayor.nyc) about police brutality. Is he seeking a job on the police force after his second term? Is he looking for a term? Or is he just depressed?? Also: PBA cards, De Blasio's daughter was doxxed by the SBA on Twitter, and two Brooklyn lawyers were caught driving around selling Molotov cocktails. Please forgive all our factual errors, it's really hard to juggle a dozen browser tabs while speaking continuously into a microphone. | https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co | https://ballotpedia.org/New_York_Sample_Ballot


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#6 – As NYC passes the peak on the coronavirus, there's more room in the news cycle to discuss some of the other pressing local concerns. We wanted to tackle some topics that are just as important to the city, but haven't received major attention. As the city battles coronavirus, the pandemic has touched on other, ongoing narratives in the city's local politics, sometimes providing a cover for political action that would otherwise garner negative press.




We follow up on the $850M budget allocated by De Blasio's administration to his wife Chirlane McCray's ThriveNYC program and the questionable ways the mayor has used his office to promote his wife's potential bid for Brooklyn Borough President.
The L Train Tunnel rehabilitation work is "complete." We look back on the costs of Governor Cuomo's actions, and how his image has changed, for better or worse, since the pandemic.
The NYC Department of Health has been tracking coronavirus statistics by zip code and race. As has been reported already, they betray a troubling picture of a city divided into two separate, deeply unequal classes.
The city has promised laptops to its students during the shelter-at-home, but where are they? We talk about how the city struggles to keep its children educated and fed during this time.



We hope that the episode isn't too heavy with coronavirus news. We tried to highlight some topics we thought warranted more attention. See you next time!



Sound credits this week: "jingle news" by Jay_You; "Last stop.wav" by jerk01 (both freesound.org).


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#5 – With preparations for COVID-19 underway, we thought we would quickly make an episode about the enormously hectic last few weeks, where federal, state, and city governments are all attempting to coordinate a response to COVID-19. Also: possible contestants for the 2021 mayoral race; Chirlane McCray and her $850M-1B ThriveNYC program have to answer for where the money is being spent; our pre-coronavirus trips to 92Y and Murmrr.



Sound credits this week:


"jingle news" by Jay_You, freesound.org
"Last stop.wav" by jerk01, freesound.org


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#4 – Coronavirus! First cyclist death of 2020! Bloomberg’s running for president, and his VP is his money! Andy Byford resigned! A LaGuardia AirTrain is being built in a bewildering location! Cuomo vs. De Blasio!

We also talk at length about Andrew Cuomo’s legacy as a builder, and how he wields his power to get what he wants, both at Albany and NYC. It’s never been as starkly realized as this past month, in the silence from city officials over Byford’s resignation. This didn’t fit into one exclamation, so it got its own paragraph in the episode description. Thanks for listening!

link to Andrew Cuomo’s poster

twitter: @nyc_links


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#3 – Happy last week of the New Year. Veronica and Hao are back, on the ONLY podcast about New York City, to regale you about municipal legislation you can look forward to in 2020. Bail reform! They're closing Rikers (maybe)! Plastic bags ban (sort of)! Also, find out about the Mysteriously Lost M14 Bus Episode that we mis-recorded after the citywide elections.



twitter: @nyc_links


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#2 – It's been a busy month since our last episode, and we have much ground to cover.


14th St has "banned" cars, but where's the apocalypse that Arthur Schwartz (city villain) predicted?
Andy Byford's fractious relationship with Andrew Cuomo hit another speed bump last week
The movement to close Rikers Island is gaining momentum. Predictably, the proposal from City Hall making both sides unhappy
Early voting is happening this week for NYC's 2019 general elections. You can vote on five amendments to the city charter! What are they, and what does the podcast endorse?

Links from this episode:


Locate your Early Voting and your Election Day polling site
Check out Veronica's sketch show this Wednesday at 7pm

Follow us on Twitter | Rate us on Apple Podcasts


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