Morning Headlines: Atlantic Yards Developer Threaten to Sue NYS, COVID-19 Subway Cleaners Win Backpay , and Pete Alonso Becomes Mets All-Time Home Run Leader

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Speaker 1: Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City, from WNYC. It's Wednesday, August 13th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill.

Michael Hill: New York state officials say there's a reason they're waiving millions of dollars in fines against the developer behind the stalled Atlantic Yard's affordable housing project, the company threatened to sue. WNYC's David Brand reports.

David Brand: Greenland USA was supposed to complete nearly 900 units of affordable housing at the Atlantic Yard site by May, or face millions in monthly fines. New York's Empire State Development set the terms in a 2014 legal agreement, but they waived the penalties when the company blew past the deadline. State officials now say Greenland threatened to sue them if they tried to collect. They say forgoing the fines will avoid costly litigation. Greenland did not respond to requests for comment. Their Brooklyn office was empty when WNYC visited last week.

Michael Hill: Workers who cleaned subway trains during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic are getting $3 million in back pay. That's thanks to a settlement and a lawsuit the city's Controller Office filed against the MTA for not paying the workers' state mandated prevailing wages. Former governor Andrew Cuomo closed the subways to riders overnight for an entire year from 2020 to 2021 to kick out homeless riders, and disinfect train cars.

The MTA issued no-bid contracts to private cleaning companies under Cuomo's executive order, but many of those workers were paid less than what's required for the work. In other news this morning, Pete Alonso is now the all-time home run leader for the New York Mets. WNYC's Phil Corso has more.

Phil Corso: Alonso launched his 253rd career home run at Citi Field, breaking a record Darryl Strawberry held for nearly four decades. The 30-year-old crushed a 95 mile an hour fastball from Atlanta's Spencer Strider over the right center wall in the third inning. The two-run blast gave the Mets a 5-1 lead. The scoreboard flashed a polar bear tribute in a nod to Alonso's nickname as he hugged his teammates. Alonso tipped his cap, and blew kisses to the crowd before heading back to the dugout. It was his 27th homer of the season.

Michael Hill: That one was a line drive too. Alonso later added another homer on the Mets 13-5 win. 76 with some clouds now today, a slim chance of thunderstorms and showers, mainly after 5:00. Mostly sunny, 88.

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Speaker 1: 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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