WNYC News

We begin and end the month with a full moon. In between, stargazers can see fast shooting stars with glowing streaks and Manhattanhenge returns with spectacular city sunsets. WNYC's Rosemary Misdary joins Weekend Edition host David Furst for the May astronomy report.   

With festivals to bookend the month, there's a lot of live music coming our way in New York City. Back with his concert picks for May, music writer Hank Shteamer joins Weekend Editon host David Furst to hit some of the highlights.  

The New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks and are now heading to the next round of the NBA playoffs. That means a franchise that wandered the wilderness for two decades this century is now regularly competing in basketball’s postseason. But can they realize their championship dreams? Sports reporter Priya Desai joins Weekend Edition host David Furst to discuss.  

LIRR workers could walk off the job as soon as May 16.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders are nearing a deal to eliminate a lengthy environmental review for certain housing and infrastructure projects, a move the governor hopes will get apartments and condos built more quickly.

National Poetry Month has come and gone at WNYC's Morning Edition. Now that our monthlong celebration of "good neighbors" has come to a close, Morning Edition producers Amazon Rozon and Verónica Del Valle joined WNYC's Michael Hill to talk about some of their favorite poems. 

To grow your own garden in the city, all you need is a small patch of land, a windowsill or just a sunny spot. Amelia Tarpey is the Program and Publicity Manger for GrowNYC Greenmarkets. She said you can find herb and vegetable starts or seedlings at the market to get going, from basil and mint, to peppers and tomatoes. Right now at market, seedlings are going for about $2 to $8. You can also use your SNAP benefits to purchase them.   

Street vendors are an iconic part of New York City whether they're selling roasted nuts at Times Square, Halal food in Washington Square, mangoes on Coney Island or purses on Canal Street. But many vendors work along a complicated thicket of rules and regulations, and can be especially vulnerable to both crime and law enforcement crackdowns.   Mayor Mamdani has established the city's first Office of Street Vendor Services -- as a division of the Department of Small Business Services -- with a goal to help vendors navigate the city's bureaucracy and operate within the laws. Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, the office's first executive director, joined WNYC host Michael Hill.    

Thirteen people died in traffic on New York City streets in April. But it was also a month which saw some major traffic safety improvements, including to Linden Boulevard, where two people died in March.  WNYC transportation reporter Stephen Nessen spoke with Morning Edition host Michael Hill. 

Sometimes, a bouncy house shows up in the middle of the block. Sometimes, people are picking up trash and planting tulips in the tree pits outside a building. Other times, groups of neighbors come together to make their voices heard about planned developments nearby.   These are all functions of block associations, those smallest of civic organizations that help neighbors get to know each other and work together on the things that matter where they live.   Steve Anderson is president of the Upper West Side Coalition of Block Associations & Community Groups. He joined WNYC's Michael Hill to discuss how they function.   

Poetry Month has now come to a close. Here on Morning Edition, we have been celebrating with your poems on the air and across our social platforms. As always, we received hundreds of poems and while we weren't able to air them all, we are grateful to everyone who sent one in.   KC Trommer is the founder of QUEENSBOUND, a collaborative poetry project by, for, and about Queens. She led a workshop at the Greene Space with the Morning Edition team on writing poetry together. But first, hosts David Furst and Michael Hill tried their hands at collaborative poetry. 

Manhattan's Council District 3 was up for grabs in a special election this Tuesday. Only one of the four candidates was openly gay, in a seat that's always been held by a gay person since the district borders were drawn more than 30 years ago.

The outcome of a closely watched City Council race leads this week's Politics Brief roundup. 

Chris Madigan remembers his feet were so cold they hurt. He had no shoes on — only socks — when NYPD officers stopped him for sleeping on the subway in the 86th Street station on Feb. 22. He said police escorted him onto Broadway in handcuffs on a cold night, just hours before a blizzard dropped nearly 2 feet of snow on New York City. The 44-year-old Bronx native said he’s spent the last several years sleeping on benches and friends’ couches. Police body camera footage viewed by Gothamist shows him sprawled across a row of subway seats on the night he was arrested. Two officers tried to wake him up — calmly at first, then pulling him by his jacket off the train. “I remember waking up, and I remember being dragged,” he said. Madigan is one of a growing number of New Yorkers who ended up in court after police caught them occupying more than one seat in public transit or lying on the floor of a station in recent months, according to a Gothamist data analysis. State court data show there were 591 cases last year in which lying down or taking up more than one seat in public transit was the most serious charge. That’s up more than 3,000% compared to the year prior, when there were just 19 of these cases. Court cases for the first three months of 2026 have already exceeded the number during the same period in 2025.

A new film series dedicated to the work of playwright and actor Wallace Shawn is coming to Manhattan's Metrograph theater. It features seven of his films, including "Clueless," "A Master Builder" and movies adapted from his plays. Wallace Shawn: The Master Builder kicks off next month at Metrograph.  He also has two plays, "What We Did Before Our Moth Days" and "The Fever," running through May 24 at Greenwich House Theater. So May is basically Wallace Shawn Month in New York City. Wallace Shawn joins Weekend Edition host David Furst to talk about all of the activity.  

The World Cup is coming to New Jersey this summer and fans are excited for games that will include the final on July 19. But before any goals are scored, there are lots of planning issues facing the region.  Michael Sol Warren covers New Jersey for WNYC. Speaking with Weekend Edition host David Furst, he breaks down the many things we need to be prepared for.   

It's finally over. The New York Mets snapped a 12-game losing streak in Queens on April 23 against the Minnesota Twins. The game — which was superstar Juan Soto's first time back lineup since earlier in the month — had fans crossing their fingers until the very end.  The losing streak was not the longest in Mets history, but it got pretty close. But author Devin Gordon sees losing as a fundamental part of the team's way of life. Devin Gordon wrote "So Many Ways to Lose: The Amazin’ True Story of the New York Mets—the Best Worst Team in Sports." He joined WNYC's Michael Hill to talk about the end of the losing streak. 

Spring alliums, like young garlic and onion, are popping up at farmer's markets and are much milder and sweeter than their more mature selves. Ramps are another favorite for frequent market-goers but are a little less known to the rest of us. Amelia Tarpey is the Program and Publicity Manger for GrowNYC Greenmarkets. She said get out there soon because spring allium season is fleeting. Right now at Greenmarkets, spring onion and garlic range from $3 to $5 a bunch. Ramps are going for about $7 a bunch.                 

For the uninitiated, peptides are short chains of amino acids that naturally occur in the human body, helping to regulate the metabolism and other bodily functions. In recent years, a vast gray market has sprung up around a host of other synthetic peptides that are being touted for purposes such as bodybuilding, anti-aging and tanning, even though they have yet to be approved by the FDA. Read the full story here. 

The arrest of a City Councilmember leads this week's Politics Brief roundup. 

Roosevelt Island residents are demanding answers about why the city is demolishing a decommissioned steam plant on an emergency basis.

We’ve been checking in with new leaders of the Mamdani administration. Today's focus is on the Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP helps bring clean drinking water to New Yorkers, manages the sewer systems and protects air quality.  New Environmental Protection commissioner Lisa Garcia joined WNYC's Sean Carlson to talk more about her priorities.

A few years ago, JPMorganChase asked a little-known agency in Rockland County to grant them $77 million in tax breaks to expand a data center in Orangeburg, near the New Jersey border. In exchange for the massive subsidy, the financial giant promised the project would create a single job.  That's according to the good government group Reinvent Albany, which calls it the largest subsidy per job in history. A public hearing was held on the proposal, but 'the public' did not come. Two weeks later, the project was approved.   Colin Kinniburgh wrote about the issue for New York Focus. He joined WNYC's Morning Edition host Michael Hill to talk through how it all happened.

New York and New Jersey are entering their peak wildfire season, which runs from mid-March to mid-May. NJ officials say there's a particular concern for the forests in the Garden State, where conditions are dryer and windier than state forest fire officials are comfortable with. Greg McLaughlin is the administrator for Forests and Natural Lands for New Jersey,  which oversees the state's Forest Fire Service. He joins WNYC's Sean Carlson to discuss what to look out for during peak wildfire season.

There’s a microdistrict for everything in New York City, from flowers to lighting to diamonds. A new one for vintage clothing may be emerging.

Zosha Warpeha performs on her hardanger d'amore fiddle and speaks about her new album, 'I grow accustomed to the dark.'

Cannabis dispensaries are seemingly everywhere in the five boroughs after New York and other states legalized it a few years ago, and with that comes wider access and more research on the drug. But the science around it is still catching up on the actual effects of the drug. Doctor Timothy Brennan, the chief of clinical services for the Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai, joined WNYC's Sean Carlson more about the effects of the cannabis that's sold today.

As a battle over the state budget continues in Albany and New York City works to close a $5 billion budget gap, we saw some signs of progress this week. For months, it seemed like Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul were hopelessly at odds over taxing the rich. He wants it. She doesn't. But a compromise has emerged. The governor announced a proposal to impose a new tax on second homes in New York City valued at $5 million dollars and above. WNYC's Elizabeth Kim joins Weekend Edition host David Furst to discuss the latest on the plan and the evolving relationship between Hochul and Mamdani.  

The NBA playoffs begin April 18, and once again the New York Knicks are among the teams fighting for those championship rings. But things are different this time. A few years ago, fans were happy just to see this once struggling team back in the post-season. Now, they're facing a new set of expectations. Sports reporter Priya Desai joins Weekend Edition host David Furst with a playoff preview.  

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NJ Transit officials on Wednesday laid out some of their plans --- and limitations --- for getting people to and from MetLife Stadium for this summer's World Cup games.

Imagine this. You just landed at JFK Airport for the first time in your life. You know you need to make it to the subway next, but there's one problem. You have no idea where that is, and communicating with people may not be straightforward because you're deaf.   The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is attempting to solve this problem by rolling out American Sign Language interpretation technology at its major facilities, like the Port Authority Bus Terminal, PATH Stations, and major airports.  Keith Armonaitis is the head of the IT Innovation Lab at the Port Authority. He joined WNYC's Michael Hill to discuss how the new ASL technology works.  A transcript of this interview is available on our news site Gothamist for deaf and hard of hearing readers. 

An April Fool’s post inviting Park Slope parents to a get-together about parenting and pot has generated such high interest that organizers are now considering it for real.

The latest on a pied-a-terre tax and more in this week's Politics Brief. 

In March, Brooklyn prosecutors signed off on their first exoneration of the year, freeing Kenneth Windley after nearly 20 years in prison. Such exonerations have been a proud hallmark of the Brooklyn DA’s office since its Conviction Review Unit was established in 2014. But lately, they’ve been rarer. While the unit has exonerated as many as 10 people in a single year, it only exonerated one person in 2025. Brooklyn is not alone in its slowdown in overturning convictions. In New York City and across the country, the number of wrongful convictions has dipped significantly in the last few years. The National Registry of Exonerations, which collects information about exonerated people in the United States, reported just five exonerations across the five boroughs last year, the lowest total in 15 years, and a precipitous drop from the two previous years. The trend is similarly stark nationwide, where 2025 saw the fewest exonerations since 2011, dropping by more than 60 percent after reaching a nationwide peak in 2022.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who pledged to expand the program during his campaign, is now trying to negotiate a compromise that will cost less and is fighting the City Council in court over implementing the laws. His administration said broadening eligibility for the $1.2 billion program is too expensive, and would drive costs up to $4.7 billion by 2030 — about the size of the city’s entire homeless services agency. More than 65,000 households receive the CityFHEPS voucher, which stands for Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement, making it the nation’s largest municipal housing assistance program. Recipients pay 30% of their income toward rent and the city covers the rest. The Mamdani administration said it's ramping up investments in tenant protections and affordable housing, committing to building 200,000 new homes over the next decade. City Hall spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach said the mayor “has been clear that CityFHEPS is an invaluable tool to prevent homelessness and support homeless New Yorkers. That is why our team is working hard to ensure that it is fiscally sound and sustainable for the long-term.” The expansion would make many people who don't currently qualify for vouchers eligible for them, including people facing eviction and people in shelters who currently don’t qualify. Some people aren’t working enough under the current rules, some are living in a shelter that isn't eligible and some earn too much money. Gothamist spoke to New Yorkers who would benefit from the expansion laws.

New York City gang violence often generates a lot of headlines, especially when an innocent bystander is the victim.  New Yorkers were deeply disturbed by the recent shooting death of a 7 month old girl in East Williamsburg. At least two people have been charged in the crime, and officials said investigators believe the shooting was gang-motivated and that the child was not the intended target. But what do police, and the news media, mean when they allude to gang involvement?   Fritz Umbach is an Associate Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He joined WNYC host Michael Hill to discuss exactly what police, and the news media, mean when they talk about gang involvement.

Mayor Mamdani has been marking his first hundred days in office with a series of events around New York City, culminating in a rally at the Knockdown Center in Queens over the weekend. It’s probably not surprising that a mayor who ran on affordability has placed housing at the forefront of his governing agenda. Leila Bozorg is Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning. She previously served as executive director of housing under former Mayor Eric Adams. Cea Weaver is director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. She was previously the executive director of the advocacy group Housing Justice for All. Both talked with WNYC's Sean Carlson about their priorities on affordable housing in the city.

Students are always looking for ways to make new friends and excel in school, whether it be by joining a sports team, landing internships, or hiring tutors. For a long time, playing video games was seen as a distraction from those goals. But what if excelling at gaming was the thing that gave students a real advantage?  Chris Aviles is the founder of Garden State Esports, a scholastic e-sports league. Nick Sellers is a senior at Barnegat Highschool and a 3-time state gaming champion. Zoey Boersma is a senior at Abington Heights High School and the student production lead for the nonprofit. They joined WNYC host Michael Hill to debunk myths about gaming and to share how gaming has prepared them for college and beyond.

Most of New York City’s trash is put out on the streets, where it’s hauled away by hulking garbage trucks that can weigh more than 25 tons fully loaded. But in leafy Forest Hills Gardens, things are different. The secluded corner of Queens enjoys an amenity familiar to residents of other cities, but alien to New York: alleyways. The city sanitation department relies on a fleet of small garbage trucks that dash through the neighborhood’s alleys, picking up trash from a tiny fraction of New Yorkers who put their trash bins out behind their homes — instead of in front of them.

Food critic Robert Sietsema has been eating his way through New York City and writing about it for the past 35 years. And this month his journey takes him back to the Upper West Side. Robert joins Weekend Edition host David Furst to run down some of the culinary highlights. Robert writes about food for Gothamist and his Substack, Robert Sietsema's New York.  

There are few certainties in life. But we can rest reasonably assured that the sun will rise tomorrow, the days will generally get warmer as we head from spring to summer and New York's state budget will be late. That's certainly the case this year, as lawmakers have now passed a second budget extender. WNYC's Albany reporter Jon Campbell joins Weekend Edition host David Furst with the latest.  

New York City councilmembers are considering a bill that would create job safety requirements and a licensing requirement for last mile delivery facilities. That’s the final leg of a package’s journey, usually from a local warehouse to your door.  Josh Pomeranz is the Operations Director at Teamster’s Local 804 and Councilmember Tiffany Caban is the lead sponsor of the bill. They both join WNYC's Sean Carlson to talk more about last mile delivery workers.

One of the first things to hit the market in the spring are overwintered greens. They're planted in the fall and allowed grow until they set up roots. Then they're covered to protect against the extreme cold and will go dormant until the temperatures pick back up around this time of year. What's harvested is a heartier green vegetable.   Amelia Tarpey is the Program and Publicity Manger for GrowNYC Greenmarkets. She said right now at local farm stands, overwintered greens range from $4 to $6 a bunch.      

Five unions representing more than half of the LIRR's workforce plan to go on strike May 16th if they can't reach a deal with MTA leaders.

On the night Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, he promised the “most ambitious agenda to tackle the cost-of-living crisis that this city has seen since the days of Fiorello La Guardia” Since taking office in January, the 34-year-old mayor has embraced the 100-day benchmark for his ambitious plans.  It’s now been 100 days. So what does Mamdani have to say about the start of his tenure? On April 20, WNYC’s Senior Politics Reporter Brigid Bergin plans to find out during a live conversation about Mamdani’s first 100 days at the Greene Space. He’ll take questions about what his administration has done so far, where it’s headed and what lessons he’s drawn from the legacy of La Guardia, who notably spoke directly to New Yorkers over WNYC’s airwaves. We’re livestreaming the event on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We’ll even select a few questions from virtual attendees which you can submit ahead of the event. Register for the livestream here and submit a question here.

Prosecutors on Long Island say the accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has admitted to killing 8 women. The Long Island architect was arrested in 2023 and charged with multiple women, many of them sex workers and burying their remains along Suffolk County’s South Shore over two decades. Heuermann is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison as a result of the guilty pleas. Robert Kolker is the author of the 2013 book Lost Girls: An American Mystery. It detailed the lives of the Long Island serial killer’s victims and was the basis of the Netflix film with the same title. He joins WNYC's Sean Carlson to talk more about what the guilty pleas mean.

A Brooklyn day care owner whose license had been revoked by the state was allowed to open another program a few months later — only to have the second facility shuttered amid allegations of child abuse. The Eva Crèche Day Care Center in Prospect Lefferts Gardens closed earlier this year after an employee recorded videos showing one worker grabbing and tossing a toddler and children napping and eating on the floor of a private residence that parents had not given permission for their kids to visit. The program was also over overenrolled. Public records obtained by parents at the now-defunct facility show that in 2020, the same owner had her license revoked at a day care she then ran in Crown Heights — that time for failing to let inspectors inside, and leaving too many kids with one worker. Five months later, she opened Eva Crèche a mile away. The Eva Crèche abuse allegations, and several other headline-grabbing incidents at local day cares in recent months, come as the city plans a major expansion of child care. The city shut down one of the Manhattan locations of Bright Horizons, one of the largest child care providers, after an employee gave bleach to children and another sealed a girl’s mouth shut with packing tape. Authorities have charged several workers from Bright Horizons and Eva Crèche for endangering children. Early education experts said these incidents — while outliers — underscore a broader challenge facing the city’s child care expansion plan. New York City’s 10,000 providers are overseen by a patchwork of state and city agencies, creating inequities across the system in terms of pay, training and quality of care. In some cases, this can create environments where abuse happens, the experts said.   Parents at Eva Crèche said the city agencies that were supposed to keep their kids safe failed to stop abuses. The Mamdani administration said creating high-quality programs is a key tenet of the city’s expansion plan and officials are working to create a more cohesive system for parents and providers. Health officials said the city has rigorous regulations, and the majority of programs are providing safe spaces for kids.

New York does not charge tax on the sale of bars and coins made out of gold, silver, platinum and other precious metals that are purchased for investment purposes, which are known as bullion. It’s far from alone: At least 40 states have a similar tax exemption, according to the National Coin and Bullion Association. Now, Senate Democrats want to restore the bullion sales tax as part of ongoing negotiations over the roughly $260 billion state budget.

New York City has one of the largest service industries in the country, and tipping has always been a part of that.  But with tipping expected at way more places now, the rules of who to tip and how much has gotten more complicated.  All Things Considered producer Elizabeth Shwe did some digging and talked with WNYC's Sean Carlson about tipping etiquette in the city. You can read Elizabeth's column on tipping etiquette in WNYC Gothamist's newsletter Looped In.