Midday News: Beware of Congestion Pricing Scams, Gov. Hochul Targets Hedge Funds in Housing Market, and Mayor Adams Highlights Mental Health in State of the ...

Announcer: Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Friday, January 10th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill.

Michael Hill: With congestion pricing underway in Manhattan, drivers should be on the lookout for tolling scams. WNYC's Sean Carlson has more.

Sean Carlson: New York State isn't issuing any late fees or fines for the congestion relief zone for the first 60 days of the program. Officials say you should always be suspicious of any surprise message saying you owe payment for any toll. Scammers could be looking for personal information that the real tolling system would never ask for, like your Social Security Number. For example, if you get a text from NY Toll services, do not respond. That is definitely fake. If you really do owe a toll, you can pay it directly at the website tollsbymailny.com.

Michael Hill: We have more advice for you on the tolls. Just go to our news site, Gothamist. New York Governor Kathy Hochul says she's targeting hedge funds to keep single family homes more accessible to everyday New Yorkers. WNYC's Giulia Heyward explains.

Giulia Heyward: The governor says she plans to introduce legislation this year that would impose a 75 day waiting period before large investment firms can bid on homes hitting the market. The proposal would also limit tax benefits for firms buying single family homes. It's a move aimed at discouraging investors from snapping up properties and shrinking the housing supply for individuals and families.

Michael Hill: Lawmakers in other states have proposed similar measures as concerns grow over the effects of large scale property investments on local housing markets. 37 and partly sunny now, mostly sunny today and right there, 37 and gusty. Chance of snow tonight, chance of snow on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Sunshine in high of 40.

Announcer: Stay tuned for more news after the break.

Michael Hill: New Yorkers regularly interact with people living in the street with serious mental illness. Mayor Adams put those experiences front and center at his annual State of the City address. He delivered his remarks at the world famous Apollo Theater in Harlem. WNYC's Brigid Bergin was there and joins us now to explain it all. Brigid, let's start there. Mayor Adams says he wants to put a lot of money into helping homeless people, but that's not all. Why is this such a priority for him, and what exactly is he proposing?

Brigid Bergin: Michael, it's a priority because he makes this issue really personal. He talks about growing up on the brink of homelessness, but as we know, he's also facing real challenges. There's been that spate of high profile crimes on the subway, people have been stabbed. A woman was burned to death. Even though some crime stats are down, he's acknowledged that people, and particularly families need to feel safer here. He's proposing a $650 million investment that he said would tackle these questions.

Mayor Adams: How can we help people on our subways? How can we help people with serious mental illness? How can we keep families out of shelters?

Brigid Bergin: That money would fund one new supportive housing facility, 900 new safe haven shelter beds, and create a pilot program that he said would help connect expecting parents entering the shelter system with permanent housing. Now, there weren't many details on when and how those initiatives would take place, but the mayor is also looking for state lawmakers to make a change that would make it easier to forcibly hospitalize someone with mental illness. That's something Governor Hochul said this week that she will also be pushing for in Albany.

Michael Hill: We know that Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is offering some pushback on then, offering to come up with some other ideas, at least fishing for them. How likely is this-- the governor's plan and the mayor's plan, how likely is this to happen? Are there any other obstacles?

Brigid Bergin: You named one right there. The state legislature. As Jon Campbell noted earlier this week, this is not a new idea in Albany. There have been versions of this legislation that have been introduced before but have come up against opposition. That could be from state lawmakers, but also from homeless advocates and civil liberties groups. Next week, Hochul will have another chance to make a case for in her State of the State address, but obviously it's something state legislators will be considering.

Michael Hill: Brigid, what else did the mayor propose in this Apollo speech?

Brigid Bergin: He was building on his City of Yes housing rezoning plan. He talked about building another 100,000 units of housing in Manhattan over the next decade, a so-called Manhattan plan. He also proposed some smaller scale initiatives, opening more schoolyards to the public and increasing park maintenance, more financial literacy, education in schools and expansion of some current programs related to water safety and swim classes, a fatherhood initiative. He talked about some programs that have already been announced, like a student debt relief plan for 100,000 city workers.

Michael Hill: I want to hear how Adams's colleagues in government are responding, but before we get there, I want to vibe check something with you, Brigid. The mayor's State of the City comes as he is up for reelection, as we know, and dealing with both primary challengers and a federal indictment where he's accused of taking bribes. The mayor, of course, has denied that he did anything wrong. Tell me, Brigid, did either of these things cast a pall over what is normally a pretty celebrated event?

Brigid Bergin: I wouldn't say they cast a pall. Adams did make a few comments that nodded towards some of the competitors he may be facing in the race, several of whom have taken position to his left on issues like policing in particular. He contrasted that with how his administration has taken a different act. He said when others wanted to defund the police, his administration defended them. He also touted his pushback in Washington over the arrival of migrants and asylum seekers, but this was his only comment about his legal challenges.

Mayor Adams: There were some who said, "Step down," I said, "No, I'm going to step up." I'm going to step up.

Brigid Bergin: Really more a defiant as opposed to downcast tone there.

Michael Hill: As we were saying, how are others in government, perhaps Adam's opponents, how are they responding to his ideas?

Brigid Bergin: There were at least two of Adam's primary challengers at the speech, eager to critique what they thought it lacked. City Comptroller Brad Lander, assembly members Zohran Mamdani. I also reached out to the Working Families Party, which is seeking to influence the Democratic primary through its endorsement process. Adams will not be getting their support. I spoke with the co-director, Ana Maria Archila, and she said for her, there was a real dissonance in this speech between all that Adams says he has accomplished and what she hears New Yorkers say they're really dealing with in terms of safe, affordable housing, reliable public services like early childhood education and libraries, both of which were cut and then restored in the last budget. Archila says she is looking for candidates for mayor to address all of that and issues out of Washington.

Ana Maria Archila: That also speak to the fact that New York City, as the largest city in this country, needs a leader willing to protect New Yorkers from the abuses and the attacks of a Trump administration of which he said absolutely nothing.

Brigid Bergin: Now, of course, Michael, given Adams precarious legal situation and his attempts to curry favor with the incoming president, it is not a huge surprise that the mayor made little mention of him. His reluctance to engage and make clear how the city may respond to policies out of Washington could be a liability for Adams in a Democratic primary.

Michael Hill: Brigid, what did the mayor say about the zoning proposal he's dubbed City of Yes?

Brigid Bergin: It was very much a victory lap with a lot of praise for his deputy mayor, Maria Torres-Springer. This is a plan that will make it easier for the city to build more housing and they can zone more housing, even in low density areas, has the potential to just transform some, even suburban parts of the city in Queens and Staten Island. Of course, not everyone is thrilled about it, but the mayor wants to keep up that building. As I mentioned, it's got that new housing plan for Manhattan high on the list.

Michael Hill: That is WNYC's senior politics reporter, Brigid Bergin, on the mayor's State of the City address.

[music]

Announcer: 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. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. We'll be back this evening.

[music]

New York Public Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline, often by contractors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of New York Public Radio’s programming is the audio record.