Announcer: Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City. From WNYC, here's the midday news from Michael Hill.

Michael Hill: Delayed federal food assistance is flowing to residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Today, the Supreme Court is expected to say whether the Trump administration must start complying with lower court rulings that require full payments in the SNAP food program. Yesterday, the Senate adopted legislation to resume the program, and it now awaits action in the House to reopen the federal government.

Meanwhile, the FAA is now requiring a bigger reduction in flights, 4% last Friday, 6% starting today, because of the shutdown-induced shortage of air traffic controllers. 250 flights cancelled as of noon today at the three major local airports. Nearly 12,000 cancellations across the country since last Friday, mostly because of the shutdown. The New York City Veterans Day Parade is today, marking the 250th anniversaries of the US Army, Marine Corps, and Navy. The parade starts at 12:30, runs till three o'clock this afternoon. Anticipate street closures and traffic delays in and around Fifth Avenue between 26th and 45th Streets.

The tri-state area is buzzing about the first flakes of the fall. Off and on, light snow falling across the area combining with the coldest temperatures we've had in quite some time. Pre-dawn temperatures were below freezing in some areas, with high winds making it feel much colder. Just to give you a heads up, you're going to want to keep those gloves and scarves handy. While the wind should die down by tomorrow, most states will have lows in the 30s in the coming week, 39 with some flurries across the area. Snow showers through the day, clouds, chilly 42 for a high, winds gusting to 40 miles an hour. Wrap up.

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

Michael Hill: The Bronx's historic Fulton Fish Market recently held quite the party at its 400,000 square foot facility. WNYC's Hannah Frishberg reports from Hunts Point.

Hannah Frishberg: It's 8:00 PM and I'm on the selling floor of the Fulton Fish Market, but no one's selling fish. That's because the market operates overnight, leaving the enormous space empty much of the day and evening. Tonight, Bronx-born Vivant Justin Fournell is throwing an epic dinner party. He kicked off the main event by holding up what's known as a Jenny Haniver, a creepy carving and classic fishmonger creation.

Vivant Justin Fournell: Fishmongers, when they were on the dock, when they had nothing to do, and they were out of fish, they still needed to find other ways to make money. They would take the skates, the rays, and they would dry them out, and they would carve them to look like little mermaids.

Hannah Frishberg: There was also a singing Laphroaig rep and a lot of Laphroaig to drink.

[MUSIC - Here's a Health to the Company: The Longest Johns]

[singing]

Speaker 1: Let's drink and be merry, all grief to refrain,

For we may or might never all meet here again.

Hannah Frishberg: The heart of the evening, though, were the monologues given by fishmongers, young and old, about lonely lobster boats and antics at the Old Market in South Street Seaport.

Eddie Crusy: [unintelligible 00:03:14]. [chuckles] You went home to sober up and sleep, to come back for the next day. You didn't have to go home and have a drink so [unintelligible 00:03:20].

Hannah Frishberg: That's Eddie Crusy, a market veteran who's been in the fish business 44 years. Even though the market isn't new to the Bronx, it moved up here in 2005, he still misses when it was in lower Manhattan and mostly outdoors.

Eddie Crusy: It was maybe a five-square-block area. It was a community, it was a neighborhood. The building is nice, but it's not a neighborhood.

Hannah Frishberg: The Old Market was notorious for its organized crime, but the monologuers kept it clean, even longtime market character, Sal Ruggiero.

Sal Ruggiero: Some of the stories, I could get indicted for, [laughs] so we're going to keep them on the hush-hush.

Hannah Frishberg: Overall, the mongers agreed, the Bronx location deserves to be celebrated and better utilized. Bobby DiGregorio, or Bobby Tuna to his friends, has worked at the market for 53 years. He says--

Bobby DiGregorio: This is a long time overdue, arguably the second largest fish market in the world, and never given its full celebration. I'm delighted to see this happening tonight.

Hannah Frishberg: The market has no other events planned for now, but hopes to, soon. In the meantime, anyone is welcome to come buy fish there during operating hours. That's a brutal 2:00 AM to 7:00 AM Monday through Friday. Hannah Frishberg, WNYC news.

[music]

Announcer: 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, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. More soon.

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