Midday News: NJ Officials Push Back on Affordable Housing, Brooklyn Shooting Investigation, Police Search for Queens Burglars, and St. John’s Basketball Head...

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Janae Pierre: Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City, from WNYC. It's Wednesday, March 12th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill.

Michael Hill: Home builders have no business telling them how much affordable housing they should develop. WNYC's Mike Hayes has more.

Mike Hayes: It's a contentious fight that started when 158 New Jersey towns asked the state to reduce the number of affordable homes they're required to build. New Jersey law requires each municipality to build its fair share of units for low and middle income residents, but the New Jersey Builders Association sued. It's asked the judge to decline the towns' request, arguing it would drastically reduce the state's goal of building 84,000 affordable homes over the next decade. Now, the towns are seeking to dismiss the trade group's legal action. A decision is expected later this month.

Michael Hill: Looking for someone who shot and killed a 21-year-old man yesterday getting his car fixed at a Brooklyn auto shop. Officials say Joharis Rivas was gunned down a little after 2:00 in the afternoon on Meserole Street in Union Avenue in Williamsburg. NYPD data show shootings are relatively rare in the precinct encompassing most of Williamsburg. The NYPD is looking for three burglars stealing from Queens businesses.

Investigators say the burglars hit a grocery store, a nail salon, and another shop that shares the same building on Queens Boulevard near 42nd Street in Sunnyside. Police say the thieves got away with more than $20,000 in cash, including from ATMs and in a black Mercedes Benz with New Jersey license plates. 48 with some clouds now. Partly sunny and a high of 53. Partly sunny tomorrow right around 54 high. Then Friday, partly sunny in mid 50s. Then Saturday, cloudy and near 60. Rain chances on Sunday.

Janae Pierre: Stick around. There's more to come.

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Michael Hill: There's a red storm brewing in Queens. The St. John's University men's basketball team is having its best season in decades. The Big East tournament starts at Madison Square Garden tonight. St. John's plays its first game tomorrow at noon and it'll play in the NCAA tournament after this weekend. That's what most of us know as March Madness. What are the vibes like on campus for SJU students? Kyler Fox is a senior journalism student at St. John's and is the managing editor at the student newspaper, The Torch. He joins us now. Kyler, welcome to the show.

Kyler Fox: Michael, thank you for having me.

Michael Hill: You're welcome. As I said, it's been a minute since the school's hoops program has had so much to celebrate. What's the atmosphere like on campus?

Kyler Fox: Honestly, it's been fantastic seeing the fans all come out and support. The students are all very excited. The basketball lovers really saw this coming last year when we hired coach Rick Pitino.

Michael Hill: Absolutely.

Kyler Fox: This year has just been completely different. Seeing so much success is something that as a senior, I've been here for four years now, and if you would have come to me three years ago and told me that we'd be here now, I wouldn't have believed you, and I think a lot of the student body wouldn't have believed that either.

Michael Hill: When was the last time St. John's did this well? I mean, it must have been some time ago, as we said.

Kyler Fox: On March 1st, St. John's beat Seton Hall at the Garden. That clinched them their first outright Big East regular season title since 1985.

Michael Hill: Wow.

Kyler Fox: They had won a share of it previously in 1998, 1992, 1986, 1980, but the first time that they won it outright in 40 years.

Michael Hill: What about alumni, Kyler? Are they returning to campus in big numbers?

Kyler Fox: Not particularly to campus. There have been a lot of basketball alum at some of the games at the Garden. Felipe Lopez came to a game at Carnesecca Arena earlier in the season, but there have also been some very, very big names coming out to support at the Garden. Spike Lee was there recently, which was very cool to see.

Michael Hill: When St. John's is good, the city really adopts them as their college team. For example, they recently played a game, as you mentioned, at Madison Square Garden, and a nearby sports bar had a watch party for them. So tell us, Kyler, what are you seeing out in the world when it comes to New Yorkers supporting your school?

Kyler Fox: It's been unbelievable, Michael. Seeing the billboards and the flags and the signs, it seems like the whole city has red storm fever that extends beyond people that were alumni or currently go to the school. I mean, I've met fans of the team now who have no relation to the university whatsoever, but they're winning, and the style of play that they rely on resonates with New Yorkers.

Michael Hill: Yes, people love a winner, too. All right. So, let's get down to some basketball here. Beyond the Big East tournament, St. John's has punched a ticket, as you said, to the March Madness tournament, because they won the Big East regular season outright. What kind of run are you expecting, Kyler, for the Johnny's to make in the tournament? March Madness tournament?

Kyler Fox: Michael, that's very difficult to predict, especially with this kind of team, because of the way that they play, because they rely on their defense and their effort. This isn't, say, a team like Kentucky last year, who relied solely on their offense, and their first game of the tournament, they had an off night shooting and they got upset. Coach Pitino mentioned this earlier in the week, this team has the potential to be upset in the first round, or it has the potential to go all the way to the Final Four. It's all going to depend on their matchups and if that defense can travel regardless of who they play.

Michael Hill: Fantastic. Our guest has been senior journalism student, Kyler Fox, the managing editor at The Torch, that's St. John's student newspaper. Hey, Kyler, thanks for joining us, and you have to come back and see us as the team progresses through the tournament.

Kyler Fox: That sounds great, Michael. Thank you for having me.

Michael Hill: You're welcome. The Big East Conference tournament, as we said, starts tonight. St. John's plays its first game at noon tomorrow.

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Janae Pierre: Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now, from WNYC. Catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. More soon.

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