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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 Monday, March 17th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill.
Michael Hill: New York City should significantly expand the number of affordable three-bedroom apartments. That's one of five proposals in a new affordability report from the Center for an Urban Future, aimed to address what it calls an exodus of young families. Elliot Dvorkin is the center's editorial and policy director. He says seniors occupy many larger apartments and they should be incentivized to move into smaller ones.
Elliot Dvorkin: We've got tens of thousands of units like that today where it's just a single New Yorker occupying a two-or-three-plus-bedroom unit. It's not easy to help folks make that transition, but it's, I think, necessary.
Michael Hill: The report says the number of children younger than five in New York City fell by 18% between April 2020 and July 2023. According to the report, that decline is far greater than what was experienced nationally or in other big cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.
New York City's biggest power plant is encountering lots of red tape as it tries to make a green energy transition. The Ravenswood Generating Station plans to retire its use of fossil fuel and connect to offshore wind turbines for power, but the state's public service commission is scrutinizing those plans as President Trump pauses offshore wind projects. The plan is surrounded by public housing. The developments have some of the biggest childhood asthma rates in the city. Bishop Mitchell Taylor is the Senior Pastor at the Center for Hope International, which is blocks from the power plant.
Bishop Mitchell Taylor: Here it is a slam dunk. In every turn, what I've seen since the genesis of this project, there has been less and less cooperation from the powers that be.
Michael Hill: Ravenswood says it still hopes to complete the project in about 10 years. It'll be a sea of green, white, and orange on Fifth Avenue today in Manhattan. The city is celebrating St. Patrick's Day with its annual parade. You can watch anywhere from anywhere along 5th between 44th Street and 79th Street. This year's grand marshal is Michael Benn, a community leader in the Rockaway and the chair of the Queens County St. Patrick's Parade Committee.
The MTA says it's running extra Metro-North trains to accommodate paradegoers. A number of Manhattan buses are being rerouted as well. The parade starts at 11:00, but organizers say you should get there as early as possible for a good spot.
54, but rain now. Going up to 57, but then cooling off to the 50s.
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Janae Pierre: Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you this afternoon.
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