Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Karen Yi, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering homelessness and poverty, talks about the lawsuits against the Mamdani administration by a group representing minority-owned grocery stores, which argue that the city's plan to open city-owned grocery stores will hurt their businesses. Then, Walter Wuthmann, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering public safety and the legal system, explains the details of the Mamdani administration's lawsuit to try to stop a law passed by the City Council that would give public school paraprofessionals $10K bonuses—and what it has to do with the way the city bargains with all of its public sector unions.
Photo: Mayor Mamdani Attends a Bangladeshi Humanitarian Aid and Leadership Outreach Back to School Event in Queens. Thursday, August 27, 2026. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
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Karen Yi, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering homelessness and poverty, talks about the lawsuits against the Mamdani administration by a group representing minority-owned grocery stores, which argue that the city's plan to open city-owned grocery stores will hurt their businesses. Then, Walter Wuthmann, WNYC and Gothamist reporter covering public safety and the legal system, explains the details of the Mamdani administration's lawsuit to try to stop a law passed by the City Council that would give public school paraprofessionals $10K bonuses—and what it has to do with the way the city bargains with all of its public sector unions.
Photo: Mayor Mamdani Attends a Bangladeshi Humanitarian Aid and Leadership Outreach Back to School Event in Queens. Thursday, August 27, 2026. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.


![Tank and the Bangas Share The Last Balloon
[REBROADCAST FROM May 14, 2026] Tank and the Bangas performs a few songs live from their latest album, The Last Balloon, which marks the final chapter in their balloon trilogy, following Green Balloon and Red Balloon.
Cover art courtesy of Verve Records Tank and the Bangas Share The Last Balloon](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xf_0cd51nIk/mqdefault.jpg)
![Colson Whitehead On Cool Machine
[REBROADCAST FROM July 22, 2026] Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead discusses the final installment in his Harlem Trilogy, Cool Machine (https://bookshop.org/p/books/cool-machine-a-novel-colson-whitehead/a6627cfe98351ce3?ean=9780385550505) , which follows furniture seller and fence Ray Carney in 1980s New York as he gets pulled into one last heist. Colson Whitehead On Cool Machine](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xvoQUmHqMFw/mqdefault.jpg)


![Did Mamdani’s Free Bus Promise Lead More Riders to Skip the Fare?
[Heads up: technical issues affected the audio quality on this episode. Thanks for bearing with us — the conversation is still worth it.]
The MTA says far fewer bus riders are paying the fare since Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office. Fare evasion has been a problem in the city for years, but MTA Chair Janno Lieber says Mamdanis campaign promise to make the citys buses free isnt helping. Mamdani has a different assessment, and blames the issue on the affordability crisis. WNYC and Gothamist transportation reporter Stephen Nessen and editor Clayton Guse explain what may be driving the issue and what comes next as the MTA plans to step up enforcement.
Photo: Stephen Nessen - WNYC/Gothamist
Got any questions, comments or story ideas? Send us a message at NYCNow@WNYC.org.
Episode Notes:
• Bronx man faces federal hate crime charges in Central Synagogue attack
• New Staten Island trash complex lets city make way for hundreds of new homes (https://gothamist.com/news/new-staten-island-trash-complex-lets-city-make-way-for-hundreds-of-new-homes)
• Luigi Mangione admitted to killing Brian Thompson. Why does NY still want a trial? (https://gothamist.com/news/luigi-mangione-admitted-to-killing-brian-thompson-why-does-ny-still-want-a-trial)
• Mamdani hasnt made NYCs buses free. Riders stopped paying anyway. (https://gothamist.com/news/mamdani-hasnt-made-nycs-buses-free-riders-stopped-paying-anyway) Did Mamdani’s Free Bus Promise Lead More Riders to Skip the Fare?](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ygttZ5Y2JZA/mqdefault.jpg)
![Old Flings and Eruptions of the Heart in Erupcja
[REBROADCAST FROM April 22, 2026] Director Pete Ohs has said he makes movies the same way he did in high school, with everyone playing a part in the writing, acting, and filming. In his new film Erupcja (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOPg38kqJNc) , those collaborators include Charli XCX and Jeremy O. Harris, in a story about a young woman who meets up with a perennial fling while on a romantic trip to Warsaw with her boyfriend, who plans to propose. Ohs and Harris discuss the film. Old Flings and Eruptions of the Heart in Erupcja](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z8ATYF-vI9k/mqdefault.jpg)


