Morning Headlines: Potential NJ Transit Strike Nears, Lawmakers Demand Answers in Prison Deaths, and MTA Holds Subway Music Auditions

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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 Thursday, May 15th. Here's the morning headlines from David Furst.

David Furst: The clock is ticking on a New Jersey transit strike. That's if the transit agency and engineers' union don't come to an agreement on a new contract. The strike would be the first major transit work stoppage in the region in 20 years. Tom Haas is a commuter rail operator and general chairman of the union, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.

Tom Haas: We're a 24-hour a day, 365-day a year operation. Usually, what we tell people when they start is that things like weekends, holidays, your children's birthdays, baseball games, things like that, you're going to miss them.

David Furst: Haas says he's optimistic the two sides will come to an agreement later today. The union says its members haven't gotten a raise since 2019. If engineers walk off the job, it would shut down commuter train service for hundreds of thousands of commuters. Albany lawmakers are still looking for answers from prison officials after corrections officers were charged with murder in the recent beating deaths of two incarcerated people. WNYC's Jimmy Vielkind reports.

Jimmy Vielkind: Corrections Commissioner Dan Martuscello says body cameras will be implemented in all but one state prison before the end of the summer. The recently adopted state budget requires corrections officers to record all interactions with incarcerated people. Martuscello says that investment will help hold officers accountable.

Dan Martuscello: In terms of our investments around fixed cameras, body-worn cameras, I think that that again will help us capture evidentiary material critical in making sure we're getting it right.

Jimmy Vielkind: Body cam footage showing the beating death of prisoner Robert Brooks shocked lawmakers and led to murder charges against six corrections employees. Five officers have pleaded not guilty, but one accepted a plea deal.

David Furst: The MTA is on the hunt for some new musical talent.

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David Furst: The agency held auditions at Grand Central Madison yesterday for its Music Under New York program, now in its 35th year. 54 musicians performed everything from classical violin to South American pan flute in hopes of becoming official subway performers. Juliette Michaelson is interim director of the MTA Arts and Design. She says the performers are joyful for New Yorkers and tourists alike.

Juliette Michaelson: For visitors, it's often a very memorable experience. We've all seen friends coming to visit New York, and that is actually what they remember most about the trip.

David Furst: The MTA will announce that 20 new performers selected to join its transit music lineup next month. 59 degrees right now. Fog and mist. Cloudy this morning. A chance of showers today. Thunderstorms also possible this afternoon.

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Speaker 1: 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, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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