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Janae Pierre: New York City takes action to support a local student arrested by ICE. Pregnant New Yorkers lean on doulas more than ever. Albany's interim US attorney wants the job permanently. A mobile clinic helps homeless people with mental health services and Gen Zers compete for art schools across the city. From WNYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Janae Pierre.

The Adams administration is calling for the release of an 11th grader who was detained by federal immigration authorities last month. Derlis Snaider attended Grover Cleveland High School in Queens. He's now at a detention facility in Texas. Federal officials detained the 19-year-old Ecuadorian outside a courtroom after he attended a mandatory immigration hearing. In a legal brief supporting Snaider, the Adams administration says federal officials are making the city less safe by weaponizing the judicial process. Snaider is one of at least three local public school students detained by ICE in the past two months. Homeland Security officials previously defended the effort to deport the teen, saying ICE is following the law.

A small but growing share of pregnant New Yorkers are leaning on doulas for information and emotional support. A new report from the City Health Department finds that doulas were involved in more than 6% of births last year. That's up from less than 5% in 2022. Doulas are not clinicians, but studies show they help reduce the likelihood of getting a C-section and provide some other benefits. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has expanded free access to doulas as part of a larger effort to improve Black maternal health.

Mayor Eric Adams: Doulas do more than spend time with the parent; they nurture them, they encourage them. They answer so many questions.

Janae Pierre: City data shows white New Yorkers are still far more likely to use doulas during pregnancy than other groups.

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Janae Pierre: An immigrant from El Salvador, is in jail after pleading guilty to threatening the top federal prosecutor in Albany with a knife. The incident unfolds while the prosecutor is seeking a permanent appointment. WNYC's Jimmy Vilkine has more.

Jimmy Vilkine: US Attorney John Sarcone says he's still shaken up by his June 17th encounter with Saul Morales-Garcia. It was late at night near an Albany hotel. Morales-Garcia started shouting in a foreign language and pulled a knife, seemingly at random.

Attorney John Sarcone: Emotionally distressing. Distressing to me, distressing to my children. Distressing to my wife and family.

Jimmy Vilkine: Police initially charged Morales-Garcia with attempted murder. Sarcone went on Fox News a few days later and said he was attacked, but video footage of the incident shows Morales-Garcia never came within 10ft of Sarcone. Albany County Prosecutor Joseph Meany explained the charges were downgraded.

Prosecutor Joseph Meany: We've spoken with the complaining witness and reviewed the video referenced by defense counsel, and it's our position that, based upon the results of that investigation that the facts and circumstance warrant proceeding as a misdemeanor.

Jimmy Vilkine: Morales-Garcia pleaded guilty to a lower charge of menacing. He faces deportation after a 90-day jail sentence. The defendant's lawyer, Vincenzo Sofia, said it was a fair outcome.

Vincenzo Sofia: From day one, it was pretty clear that the charges against Mr. Morales-Garcia were blown out of proportion.

Jimmy Vilkine: The case is unfolding as Sarcone seeks permanent appointment to his job before his term expires next week. He is able to serve on an interim basis for 120 days, but then requires approval from the federal Judges in the 32-county Northern District. Sarcone hasn't previously been a prosecutor, but worked with President Trump's 2016 campaign and practiced law in Westchester County. He says a meeting with the judges went well.

Attorney John Sarcone: I fully expect to get a vote of confidence from them.

Jimmy Vilkine: Representatives of the judges didn't comment.

Janae Pierre: That's WNYC's Jimmy Vilkine.

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A new mobile clinic is pulling up to homeless New Yorkers who need mental health services. More on that after the break.

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A New York City nonprofit is offering psychiatric services to the most vulnerable New Yorkers by pulling up to where they are, WNYC's Karen Yee explains.

Karen Yee: Parked across the street from a soup kitchen in Chelsea is a big white RV-like trailer run by the nonprofit Project Renewal. Inside, there are two examination rooms and a narrow waiting area. The mobile clinic offers primary care, but two years ago started offering psychiatric services to respond to a pressing need. According to the city comptroller, there are about 2,000 New Yorkers living with serious mental illness, cycling through the streets, subways, jails, and hospitals. Dr. Rachael Holbreich is a psychiatrist on board.

Dr. Holbreich: Typical clinics don't work for everyone, especially a population with lots of stuff going on in their lives and unstable housing, and don't have charge phones.

Karen Yee: Dr. Holbreich says the mobile clinic offers an easier way for homeless New Yorkers struggling with mental health issues to get the help they need before they reach a level of crisis and risk getting sent to the hospital against their will. In 2022, Mayor Adams added more reasons for when somebody could be involuntarily committed. Now those rules have been codified into state law.

Dr. von Dornum: It's a little bit like being at sea.

Karen Yee: Dr. von Dornum is the Chief Medical Officer for Project Renewal. She says they're trying to catch people who may not be able to get to brick-and-mortar clinics or who had a negative experience with the healthcare system. For other patients, they just need:

Vonda Sutton: -somebody to actually talk to you.

Karen Yee: 66-year-old Vonda Sutton sees Dr. Holbreich every month for her session.

Vonda Sutton: Before I got here, I wasn't going to psych or anything like that. You know, I had to decide what is best for me because I needed help because a lot of trauma.

Karen Yee: Sutton lives in an apartment, but used to sleep on the street after she lost her job as a lighting specialist.

Vonda Sutton: I design your apartment, tell you which fixtures going to use.

Karen Yee: Every time you walk into a room, do you look up at the light?

Vonda Sutton: Yes. You know what? This is weird. I could design other person's place, but I can't do mine.

Karen Yee: [laughs]

Vonda Sutton: It's weird.

Karen Yee: Why?

Vonda Sutton: I don't know.

Karen Yee: Patients like Sutton can get prescriptions or help managing their medications without the usual hurdles they encounter at typical mental health clinics, like having to disclose their entire medical histories or committing to additional appointments.

Dr. von Dornum: This is a low-barrier way for them to come into treatment and then hopefully be able to follow up with us.

Karen Yee: Dr. von Dornum says the measures of success can be small, but seeing a patient again, even just a few times a year, is a win.

Janae Pierre: That's WNYC's Karen Yee.

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New York City art schools are seeing an application boom. Yes, even in this economy. Fine arts programs in schools like Pratt Institute, the School of Visual Arts, Hunter College, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and LaGuardia Community College are all reporting record-high applications and waitlists, even though some of these art schools cost $65,000 or more.

WNYC's Hannah Frishberg talked with some educators about the surprising trend and says it's similar to what's causing the increase in vocational schools. Hannah says young people are sick of screens and also want to work with their hands. Plus, she says, there's the threat of AI.

Hannah Frishberg: With AI threatening many knowledge workers' jobs, working with your hands, teaching arts, and doing other jobs that have a basis in art feel relatively secure. Dahlia Elsayed, director of LaGuardia Community College's Fine Arts program, thinks people may also be embracing what makes them feel good in a world where so much feels so bad.

Dahlia Elsayed: I don't think students buy the myth of capitalism, and so they are seeing a doom and gloom world presented to them. Why not go and create a life that is meaningful, where you have community and a real sense of doing something constructive, creative, and positive in the face of all this doom and gloom?

Janae Pierre: The class of 2025 is the largest graduating class in US history, which also plays into this trend of more people choosing art school. Hannah says more students:

Hannah Frishberg: -also means more competition. Sasha Chada is CEO of NYC-based college consultancy Ivy Scholars. He believes many people are playing to their competitive advantage.

Sasha Chada: I think the cohort of students who were "maybes" have drifted towards fine arts because they know they are not competitive for the increasingly much more competitive world of, say, business, computer science, engineering, and to a slightly lesser extent, social sciences and humanities majors.

Hannah Frishberg: He calls some of these fine arts majors a walled garden where these students have a strategic advantage. If their parents are willing to support them in these precarious industries, they can play to their strengths academically.

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Janae Pierre: That's WNYC's Hannah Frishberg. Thanks for listening to NYC Now from WNYC. I'm Janae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.

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