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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 Friday, March 14th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill.

Michael Hill: The man accused of stabbing and killing a 14-year-old in an unprovoked Bronx attack has been deemed unfit to stand trial. WNYC's Charles Lane reports.

Charles Lane: Waldo Mejia pleaded not guilty to murder and weapons charges in the January death of Caleb Rios, who police say was stabbed on his way to school. Mejia's family say they pleaded with him and his mental health provider to have him hospitalized so he'd take his medication. Being found unfit means Mejia will likely stay in a psychiatric hospital until he understands the court process enough to help his defense, which could take months or years. Mejia's lawyer hasn't decided whether to contest the evaluation.

Michael Hill: Suffolk County health officials say 12 residents have been notified of potential exposure to the measles after a new case was reported this week. WNYC's Caroline Lewis reports.

Caroline Lewis: The exposures occurred earlier this month at the Cohen Children's Medical Center near the border of Queens and Long Island. Suffolk County health officials say all but one of the people exposed was vaccinated against the measles. The remaining person, a child too young to get the vaccine, has been quarantined. This is the third measles case reported in New York State this year, and there are ongoing outbreaks in other parts of the country. State health officials are urging New Yorkers to make sure they are up to date on their MMR vaccines, guarding against measles, mumps, and rubella.

Michael Hill: New York Mets owner Steve Cohen's casino development plan won a key approval from the New York City Council. Lawmakers greenlit a series of zoning changes for the planned $8 billion casino and entertainment complex near Citi Field in Queens. Local Councilmember Francisco Moya backs the plan and touts the 23,000 union jobs the Metropolitan Park development would create.

Councilmember Francisco Moya: I'm ecstatic at the prospect of finally turning huge swaths of often vacant pavement into usable recreational space.

Michael Hill: The project is one of 11 vying for a casino license from Albany. The state Gaming Facility Location Board plans to award three downstate casino licenses by year's end. 41 and cloudy right now. Mostly cloudy on this Friday, March 14th, and sunny. High in the mid 50s. Drizzle and fog overnight and low 40s. More drizzle and fog in the morning and a high tomorrow near 58 degrees with some afternoon shower chances.

Janae Pierre: It's Friday. That means it's time for our weekly segment of On The Way, covering all things transportation. That's after the break.

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David Furst: On WNYC, I'm David Furst. It's time for On The Way, our weekly segment on All Things Considered. Breaking down the week's transit news. Joining us is WNYC's transportation reporters Stephen Nessen and Ramsey Khalifeh, and editor Clayton Guza. This week, we learned about a new proposal to redesign Penn Station. It would move Madison Square Garden across 7th Avenue and rebuild the train hub with a new park and entrances. The plan is backed by a wealthy Republican donor with ties to President Trump. Ramsey, what can you tell us about this new pitch?

Ramsey Khalifeh: Well, David, like you said, it is a new proposal, because we've had all these different proposals for a Penn Station redesign the last few years. This latest one comes from a group called the Grand Penn Community Alliance. They're pitching an idea that would completely change the block where Madison Square Garden sits. Imagine a brand new arena across 7th Avenue and a new public park to replace that existing arena. This plan is backed by a group that believes we need to "make America beautiful again." What does that mean?

David Furst: Sounds familiar.

Ramsey Khalifeh: Yes, sounds familiar.

David Furst: Yes.

Ramsey Khalifeh: What does that mean? Basically, to reintroduce classical architecture to our buildings. That's actually straight from the Trump administration playbook. The station in this design would have a new concourse with high glass ceilings and even a waterfall. The chief architect, Alexandros Washburn, argues that the Penn Station would be more beautiful and more accommodating to the around 600,000 daily passengers that use the terminal. The cost to come up with this design is backed by the National Civic Art Society, based in D.C.

Their whole MO is to encourage classical design in architecture. In order to actually get this plan done, the group would have to convince MSG to move their arena, convince a private developer to sell a vacant lot across the street, and also convince the federal government to secure-

David Furst: A lot of moving parts.

Ramsey Khalifeh: A lot.

Stephen Nessen: Also, don't forget, Amtrak still owns Penn Station and are actively engaged with the MTA, NJ Transit, and New York State's Economic Development Corporation in building a new Penn Station already.

Ramsey Khalifeh: This new proposal doesn't actually address that expansion plan, but it's interesting because of its ties to President Trump.

David Furst: Well, let's get into that. You wrote that this design directly appeals to Trump's taste. What do you mean by that?

Ramsey Khalifeh: The design is filled with Greco-Roman columns and arches. It's similar to many of the buildings you might see in Washington, D.C. Trump actually calls this "traditional design," and he's a big fan of that. He signed an executive order in January, and actually a very similar one during his first term that's trying to force all federal buildings to honor "classical architectural heritage." He believes this would beautify public spaces.

Stephen Nessen: Yes. This sort of opinion, I mean, don't tell Adrien Brody, but this sort of opinion is born out of this reaction, over the past few decades, to the Brutalist architecture movement. Brutalist architecture uses sturdy, cheap materials like concrete and kind of bold ways that fly in the face of these Greco-Roman standards. New Yorkers might be familiar with it. You go up to Albany and look at the Albany Renaissance and the Empire State Plaza, you'll see it there, or the Breuer Building on the Upper East Side, you'll see it there. These designs are polarizing, especially for people with these traditional historical views of architecture.

Trump's one of them. He explicitly calls out Brutalism in one of his executive orders as something that he doesn't want to see in federal buildings. Governor Hochul, meanwhile, today says she's going to Washington tomorrow to meet with President Trump on Penn Station, as well as congestion pricing. There's a real world in which she says, "Hey, I'll work with you on this design, or a design for Penn Station if you keep your hands off congestion pricing." Remember, the USDOT told the MTA they have to shut down the congestion tolls by March 21st. The program also hinges on a federal lawsuit that's filed by the MTA. So a lot going on.

David Furst: [chuckles] A lot going on. Okay, so last week you spoke about a new proposal for fixing the triple cantilever section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, below the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. This week we've got this Penn Station proposal, which, by the way, is the second idea for fixing that neighborhood this week. It seems like we are awash in proposals. Stephen, will any of this stuff actually get built?

Stephen Nessen: Well, actually, David, there's a third project you didn't even mention, that came out last week, on the Cross Bronx Expressway. Folks may remember elected officials from the Bronx wanted to cap it. That's covering portions of the highway with parks and plazas, reconnecting the communities that it sliced when it was built decades ago. They did get some federal funding to get the ball rolling on that about two years ago.

Last week, a study came out which basically noted there's a need for more study. So I called longtime urban planner expert at NYU, Mitchell Moss, to get his thoughts on will any of this get done, or are we just drowning in studies these days with little action? Here's what he said.

Mitchell Moss: The federal government makes it difficult to do anything quickly. Great irony of all, Joe Biden put money into projects that he won't live to ever see, because it takes 10 years to get all the planning done, and another 20 years to get it built.

Stephen Nessen: Right. In part, he blames federal regulations that require years and years of study. That said, when a politician wants to get something done, they can find a way to get the money.

Clayton Guza: This kind of analysis paralysis, this kind of study industrial complex, as we're calling it, however you want to describe it, it gets to the core of a problem that many Democrats are facing right now. It's one that New York Times columnist Ezra Klein points out in his new book. Klein points out that the onerous environmental and permitting laws all over the country are a big reason why progress is not made on major infrastructure work.

David Furst: What's the solution? Many of those environmental laws were well intended, and prevented a lot of harm and overreach by the government and private interests alike.

Stephen Nessen: I spoke with Congressman Jerry Nadler on this. He says we need environmental review laws to be amended at the state and federal level to make things happen faster. Other experts say New York is perfectly capable of building big projects, but politicians really need to have the will to do it.

Clayton Guza: Yes, and one example that I think of all the time, David, when it comes to circumventing environmental law is back in 2020, during the COVID pandemic, New York's hospitals were filling up. The Trump administration sent then Governor Cuomo, a hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, to dock on the west side of Manhattan. The problem was that the Hudson riverbed in the area where they wanted to park it, wasn't deep enough to handle the ship. So the Army Corps of Engineers had about two weeks to dredge several feet of depth out of the riverbed, several football fields wide. They got it done in a matter of days.

They didn't need environmental approval, but it just goes to show, we have the know how, we have the materials, we have the people. It's just a matter of getting it done and circumventing a lot of these obstacles in the way.

David Furst: Every week in our On The Way newsletter, we answer a question from a curious commuter. This one is from Stephen in Westchester County. He asks, "Why has Metro-North canceled the Quiet Car service? It was a wonderful program and would be great to reintroduce since congestion pricing is encouraging more commuters to use the railroad.

Clayton Guza: Real quick, quite and simple, the COVID pandemic, sticking to theme, killed the Quiet Car service. They wanted to give riders more space to social distance. MTA officials say that ridership has recovered a lot, but they still want to be able to have all the cars available so everyone can sit where they want. There's also a lot of concerns that the Quiet Car wasn't properly enforced. So don't hold your breath, Stephen, for the Quiet Car to come back.

David Furst: Okay. So perhaps a little more elbow room this way, but no peace and quiet?

Clayton Guza: Yes, I think that's the compromise.

David Furst: Okay. That's WNYC transportation editor Clayton Guza, and reporters Stephen Nessen and Ramsey Khalifeh. You can stay in the know on all things transit, or ask a question of your own, by signing up for our weekly newsletter at gothamist.com/ontheway.

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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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