Announcer 2: Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Tuesday, December 3rd. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill.

Michael Hill: A police watchdog agency has found evidence of misconduct in a 2023 NYPD shooting. WNYC's Caroline Lewis reports.

Caroline Lewis: The Civilian Complaint Review Board has found that Officer Derek Bernard used excessive force and abused his authority when he shot and critically injured Raul de la Cruz in the Bronx in March 2023. De la Cruz's father had called 311 for help because he was worried about his son's mental state. De la Cruz was holding a kitchen knife when police officers arrived, and the incident escalated quickly. The board's charges could lead to Bernard getting suspended or fired, but that decision is up to the NYPD. The Police Department has asked the watchdog agency to reconsider its findings.

Michael Hill: In other news this morning, millions of New Yorkers have just six months to get a Real ID or enhanced license if they want to fly domestically or enter certain federal buildings. The new requirements stem from the Real ID Act passed in the aftermath of 9/11 to improve security. The deadline has been postponed multiple times, but it's May 2025. To get a Real ID, you'll need to prove your name, Social Security number, and state residency. The DMV is encouraging people to apply now to avoid delays before that deadline.

There's no longer a fire ban on open fires in Westchester County parks after recent rain helped alleviate New York's drought conditions. While Westchester remains in a drought, officials say the risk of fire has decreased. Smoking, grilling and other sources of open flame remain illegal though in New York City parks. The MTA wants to skip the gridlock this holiday, and wants you to do it as well and take mass transit to some of the area's most festive celebrations. That includes taking the BDFM line to the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting that's tomorrow evening in Midtown, or catching the N-R trains to the Menorah Lightings at Grand Army Plaza. The agency is rolling out a trip guide called MTA Away for tips on routes, travel discounts, and holiday event details. You can find it on the MTA's website. You'll also find travel tips to holiday lights, like taking the D train to Dyker Heights' dazzling home displays, or the 23 trains to Lightscape at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, so a lot going on there. 41 and partly sunny now, sunshine and 43 for a high today. Then tomorrow, increasing clouds, 41, rain, maybe a mix with snow at night. Once again, 41 with sunshine.

Announcer 2: Stay close. There's more after the break.

Michael Hill: It's Giving Tuesday. While it's never a bad time to give back, some of us feel especially compelled to donate our time or money during the holiday season. Sapreet Saluja is the executive director of the volunteer network New York Cares. She joins us now with some tips on how to do exactly that. Tell us about New York Cares' annual Coat Drive. We hear a lot about it. It's certainly been cold outside these last few days, and certainly this morning, with some places now issuing those Blue Code alerts. How many coats are you aiming to collect this year, and how do you get them to the people who need them?

Sapreet Saluja: Well, good morning, Michael. Happy Giving Tuesday. Thank you so much for having us. It is cold out, especially this week, wow, right? Hard to imagine how many New Yorkers are walking the streets without a proper winter coat this winter. This is the 36th annual New York Cares Coat Drive. Our goal this year is to keep 85,000 New Yorkers warm, and the way that we do that is by engaging everyday New Yorkers. You can go to our website, newyorkcares.org, and see a map of all of our public collection sites. We have hundreds of New Yorkers that also stage private collections in their buildings, in their neighborhood, in their school, in their church, with their book club, and bring those coats to the public collection sites. They make their way to our donated warehouse space in midtown Manhattan where volunteers come and sort them. We want to make sure every coat has dignity. We have a group that pro bono or through volunteer [crosstalk]--

Michael Hill: What do you mean by "dignity"?

Sapreet Saluja: Dignity? Well, your coat that's gently worn should have another life in it. It should be respectful to the next wearer of the coat. It shouldn't be tattered, it shouldn't be dirty. It should have another life in it, and so we have volunteers that go through the coats to ensure that that's the case. And we have a company that stepped forward to dry clean a number of the coats that just need another launder, then they're separated into different categories. We work with hundreds of our community partners and their wish lists for the clients that they're serving, then they are [crosstalk]--

Michael Hill: I understand some of the partners you have are professional sports teams?

Sapreet Saluja: Well, yes, we have all sorts of partners. We have our partners who get behind the Coat Drive and implore folks to donate their time, their coat, their resources, their financial resources, like all of the New York City sports teams and all the major leagues, as well as UPS that picks up coats from our public collection sites and brings them to the warehouse, and Piece of Cake Moving & Storage that also picks up coats. Bloomberg Philanthropies is with us, Vornado has donated the warehouse space. It's a real team effort across the city.

Michael Hill: It sounds like it.

Sapreet Saluja: Yes, quite incredible. Then we have the hundreds of nonprofits that we work with on a regular basis, and many of them are serving clients that need coats in the winter, so they send us their wish list, how many they need, usually in the hundreds. Whether they are, let's say, a shelter serving women and children and they need specific sizes, we have schools, we have community centers, we have transitional housing. We have partners that are in the business of helping with food insecurity, and chances are, if you need services like that and support like that, you probably also are in need of a warm winter coat.

Michael Hill: Sapreet, what are some of the other ways people can help out if they are short on time to volunteer or money to donate?

Sapreet Saluja: There are so many ways to get involved. You can check us out, newyorkcares.org, and you can see how many nonprofits we work with across the city. It's as simple as sorting based on your area of interest, the issue area you're interested in, the borough perhaps, the location, the time, and opportunities will pop up. It's Giving Tuesday, you can think about a cause that you find dear to you that you want to make a difference in, you can do a quick Google search, head to their website, and make an online contribution. I would tell you that no donation is too small, and none is too big either. It takes financial resources to power these efforts. People think it's difficult to get involved like that, and I have to tell you, the most difficult part is sort of deciding you're going to take that first step. Once you get there, it's pretty simple.

Michael Hill: Now, quickly here, you have a list of vetted organizations on your site there. If a group is not on that list, what are other ways people can check out a group before they give? We have 15 seconds left.

Sapreet Saluja: Absolutely. You can check out their website. Nonprofits that are in great standing post their financials up on the website and a lot of their impact reports, so it's important to do a bit of research there and to see the ways that they leverage volunteers and financial resources to deliver their mission.

Michael Hill: Sapreet Saluja is the executive director of volunteer network New York Cares. Thanks so much for joining us on that.

Sapreet Saluja: Thank you so much.

Announcer 2: 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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