Announcer: Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC, it's Wednesday, January 22nd. Here's the midday news from David Furst.

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David Furst: Police are investigating the death of a man who they say was beaten and robbed in a ride-hail car in Brooklyn last night. NYPD officials say Michael Shelonchik was sitting in the back of the vehicle at West 5th Street and Neptune Avenue in Coney Island. That's when police say two men opened the door, attacked him, and snatched a chain off of his neck. According to officials, the rideshare driver tried to drive away but made it only a few blocks before Shelonchik lost consciousness. Shelonchik later died at a local hospital. Investigators have yet to determine his cause of death. Police have not announced any arrests.

The James Beard Awards are sometimes called the Foodie Oscars, and they are out with their long list of semifinalists. Dozens of restaurants in the New York area made the cut, including in the prestigious best new restaurant category, where the Flat Iron Restaurant Cafe Carmellini was picked. Jersey City Pizza Spot Razza was nominated yet again in the best chef category. Clinton Hill's Fan Fan Doughnuts was among the outstanding bakery nominees. The winners will be crowned at a ceremony in June.

Taking a look at the weather, it is cold, 15 degrees at the moment, just inching up to a high of 21. Today it will be sunny, so that's something. Tonight, mostly cloudy, a low of 17 degrees. Then tomorrow a little bit warmer, mostly sunny skies with a high near 30 degrees.

Announcer: Stay close. There's more after the break.

Sean Carlson: On WNYC. I'm Sean Carlson. We're getting a look at Governor Hochul's latest state budget proposal. For the first time, it's set to top a quarter of a trillion dollars. The governor's plan includes a small income tax cut for most tax filers as well as rebate checks for millions of New Yorkers. It's not just dollars and cents. The governor's budget would also prohibit students from using smartphones during school hours.

Joining us now from the state Capitol is WNYC state government reporter Jon Campbell to break it down more for us. Jon, we spoke last week about the governor's State of the State agenda, and now we know how she plans to pay for it. What is the biggest takeaway from her budget proposal?

Jon Campbell: Sean, the biggest thing is the state is projecting a $5 billion surplus. There's a number of reasons for that, but the economy is doing reasonably well. Wall Street had a strong year, and the state's taking in more money than it expected. That's what's paying for things like this, which the governor laid out in her budget address.

Gov. Kathy Hochul: I'm fighting for an historic middle-class tax cut, $1 billion of investment, to bring rates to their lowest level in 70 years.

Jon Campbell: Now, that tax cut would apply to people in the first five state tax brackets. If you're a joint filer, that's under $323,000. Don't get too excited. It's a cut of 0.2 percentage points over the next two years. If you were paying, say, 6% in state income taxes, it'll be 5.8% if this goes through.

Sean Carlson: Now, Jon, we mentioned the governor wants to ban smartphones in schools. What can you tell us about that?

Jon Campbell: Yes, this is something the governor has been teasing for months. Basically, it'll apply to not just smartphones, but a bunch of Internet-enabled devices. Smartphones, smartwatches, tablets. Every school district in the state would have to come up with a policy to implement it. Basically, the governor makes the case that phones are a huge distraction in schools. At this point, legislative leaders seem to agree. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is a Democrat from the Bronx. He says he gets it.

Speaker Carl Heastie: You always think about wanting to be in communication with your child if it's important. I do think the cell phones can be very distracting in schools. I think we need to make sure that children have to learn not to be distracted.

Jon Campbell: Andrea Stewart-Cousin is the Senate Majority leader. She said something similar, and she said she anticipates they'll be able to strike a deal on this.

Sean Carlson: Here's what I want to know about this. As governor, Hochul could just propose a bill to ban smartphones in schools. Why is this a thing that's in the state budget?

Jon Campbell: This is pretty classic Albany, Sean. Governors always put a ton of policy proposals into the budget because it increases their leverage with lawmakers. These budget bills end up with lots of different proposals in them, and it makes it really tough to vote them down because surely there's something in there that a lawmaker isn't going to want to vote against. This isn't unusual, at least by Albany standards. That said, the governor's proposal does come with some money attached to it. She wants to put up $13.5 million to help school districts buy equipment to lock phones up during the day.

We should mention here, too, there are some exceptions to the rule. Districts would have to come up with a policy on those exceptions, like, say a student has to use their phone to monitor their insulin, or maybe it's English as a second language student who has to use their phone to translate.

Sean Carlson: Let's talk about public transit a little bit here. There's been a lot of talk about the need for a new tax, or fee, to help pay for the MTA's Capital Plan. What's the governor proposing on that?

Jon Campbell: That's a little complicated, Sean. She's not proposing a new tax or fee. She's proposing that the state put in $3 billion, the city put in $3 billion. A lot more from the MTA, a lot more from the feds. There's still going to be a gap there between what the state is funding and what the feds are funding and what is needed to fund the capital plan. That is to be negotiated over the coming months. The governor did not propose a new revenue stream for the MTA. Lawmakers haven't done that yet either, and they're all just waiting to see who's first to blink.

Sean Carlson: Now, the governor and state lawmakers have to negotiate a final budget plan. Where do we go from here? What's next?

Jon Campbell: For the next few weeks, there'll be new budget hearings. The legislature will hold hearings on all sorts of different topics, from mental health, to health, to transit and the MTA, and those will keep us busy at the Capitol for the coming weeks here. From there, they'll negotiate a final spending plan. The final budget is due March 31st.

Sean Carlson: It's WNYC's Jon Campbell. Thanks so much as always.

Jon Campbell: My pleasure.

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David Furst: January can be a rough month for the New York City cultural scene. The cold temperatures and the post-holiday hangover can sometimes make it difficult for us to get off the couch. The city knows this and tries to counteract our inertia with deals to entice us to get back out on the town. You might know about Broadway Week and Restaurant Week, but today we're going to talk about Must-See Week. Joining us to explain is WNYC culture and arts reporter Hannah Frishberg. Welcome.

Hannah Frishberg; Thanks for having me.

David Furst: Must-See Week. What is this thing?

Hannah Frishberg; It's a series of deals sponsored by the city's tourism bureau to help theaters, museums, and arts organizations get people through the doors in what's a notoriously tough month.

David Furst: What deals are we talking about?

Hannah Frishberg; It's a lot of well-known organizations in New York City. Carnegie Hall, MoMA, the Nets. There's a meditation center in Chelsea. One that caught my attention is Life and Trust, which is the new show from the producers of the freshly closed Sleep No More. Tickets for that start at 140, but with the deals during Must-See week, you can get two for the price of one.

David Furst: You mentioned Life and Trust. What is that? Is this a theatrical production?

Hannah Frishberg; It is. It is a genuinely immersive show. It's 100,000 square foot set in the basement of the Financial District. A wordless choreographed retelling of sorts about the 1929 crash and a Faustian bargain. It is fascinating. It is hard to follow, but it is an incredible experience.

David Furst: That's a wide mix there. From a meditation center to an NBA game, seeing the Nets. Does this work, for example, for all of the events happening at Carnegie Hall?

Hannah Frishberg; No, it doesn't. At Carnegie Hall, the offer specifically applies to the Orchestra of St. Luke's January 23rd show, Bruce Liu's January 24th show, and the International Contemporary Ensemble's January 30th show.

David Furst: You have to pick and choose your shows carefully. Is that true for most of the locations involved?

Hannah Frishberg; Correct.

David Furst: I also see that you can go fishing in Central Park and take advantage of some savings. Do I have that right?

Hannah Frishberg; You do. There is usually a $95 per person now, 95 for two-person program. That's a catch-and-release class for all levels. It includes snacks, drinks, a fishing rod, reel, tackle, bait, and someone who's going to tell you how to go fishing in Central Park.

David Furst: In January.

Speaker 4: Yes.

David Furst: Do these deals offer significant savings that you can't take advantage of at other times of the year? It seems like there's always deals happening to some extent around town, right?

Hannah Frishberg; Yes. With this one, it depends. If you're going to go for one of the higher priced ticket options, you are functionally getting 50% off if you get two for the price of one and then you split it with a friend. Some of the things on here, like there's a class at the meditation center In Chelsea that's $5. 50% off $5, but 50% off 140, that's something.

David Furst: When does "Must-See Week" actually begin?

Hannah Frishberg; The name is actually misleading because it is almost three full weeks, not a single week. It starts this Tuesday, January 21st, and it goes till February 9, which is almost 19 days.

David Furst: Must-see 19 days. A lot of fine print to check out. Make sure you know which shows are actually part of the deal. WNYC's Hannah Frishberg, thank you for joining us.

Hannah Frishberg; Thank you.

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Announcer: Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. Check us out for updates every weekday, three times a day, for the latest news headlines and occasional deep dives. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back this evening.

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