Month: October 2019

HOST INTRO: In recent weeks, the movement to combat climate change has made headlines around the world with major speeches addressing the topic at the United Nations General Assembly and protests by the Extinction Rebellion causing disruption in major cities from New York to London. One of the common denominators in this movement is that it is largely led by young people who have the most at stake. Here in New York, one conservation group is trying to empower the next generation to be the environmental leaders of tomorrow. Reporter Melissa Bacian has the story.

AMBI: (natural sound, “volunteer showing the kids marine life.”)

TRACK: On September 28^th, at Pier 40, TRP presented “SUBMERGE,” a marine science festival that provided hands-on activities and marine life, in hopes of educating young children in the importance of preserving the Hudson River.

TRACK: I’m here at Pier 40 on the Hudson River on the west side of Manhattan with Lorraine Sanchez, a volunteer for the River Project. It’s an organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the ecosystem of the Hudson River Estuary through scientific research and education programs. It’s a warm and windy day in late September and Sanchez is showing horseshoe crabs and other marine life to a group of wide-eyed kids.

AMBI: (Run the clip of interaction with kids.)

TRACK: This is SUBMERGE, a marine science festival aimed at educating young children about the importance of preserving the Hudson river.

ACT: (soundbite) Sanchez: I think what’s really unique about this part of the river is that it’s an estuary. It’s where the river meets the ocean, so it’s really ecologically active. A lot of animals that live upriver, and also a lot of animals that live in the oceans, start their lives here in the estuary.

TRACK: Each booth I walked past displayed teams from different programs, each demonstrating remotely operated underwater vehicles, marine specimens, and research stations. SUBMERGE really was a free celebration of the park’s estuary, a rich ecosystem where freshwater and saltwater meet.

AMBI: (natural sound, “festival singing “this land is your land.”)

TRACK: The River Project has been running a fish ecology survey for 30 years to track trends in the lower section of the Hudson River, and since 1988 it has discovered nearly 60 species. Sanchez says that thanks to the project’s efforts, the Hudson River has improved tremendously.

ACT: (soundbite) Sanchez: The river has gotten so much healthier after the clean water act. Ever since the 70’s, you have just seen an increase in population and better water quality. Then there’s keystone species. Certain animals like oysters are coming back as well. We worked to help restore oyster populations as well as other organizations like Billion Oyster Project or Hudson River Park. There’s lots of efforts by great community groups.

AMBI: (natural sound, “volunteer showing the kids marine life.”)

TRACK: The SUBMERGE festival aims to inspire audiences of all ages and make marine science and STEM accessible and engaging for everyone. It’s interactive experiments and kid-approved science entertainment have raised public awareness and allowed children to understand our local waterways. But, why children? Recently, Sweden teenager Greta Thunberg has made international headlines. She is an environmental activist on climate change and has called for stronger action against global warming. Jenna Moore, a staff member at the Climate Museum, says she has the right idea.

ACT: (soundbite): Moore: The youth are trying to point out that the older generation has failed them on this huge issue. The young people are the ones that are going to have to deal with climate change in the future. Some people are unfortunately already having to deal with it right now. They’re trying to step up, we’re sacrificing their childhood to fight this thing that you guys have made us deal with. We shouldn’t be in this situation because something should have been done about this a long time ago.

TRACK: Moore points to a recent lawsuit where 21 youths sues the federal government over climate change and has since gained supporters, including 30,000 youths who have signed onto a legal brief asking the long delayed court case to go to trial.

ACT: (soundbite): There are lawsuits now of children suing the U.S. Well, I shouldn’t say children because they’re acting like adults. They’re totally in the right and covering a ground that hasn’t been covered before.

AMBI: (natural sound, “festival singing “this land is your land.”)

TRACK: Climate change is a fight that will continue to be an uphill battle against political leaders. However, Moore is hopeful a slow, but sure change is occurring globally, largely because of the youth leading the way.

ACT: (soundbite): Moore: People underestimate these students because they assume, they don’t see what’s happening. But they know. And they come at you with such powerful messages, really raw anger and totally intelligent points and it moves you into action.”

TRACK: It’s because of festivals like SUBMERGE that families can celebrate marine science and raise awareness on the importance of climate change.

TRACK: For Baruch College, this is Melissa Bacian in New York City.

 

Santiago Ruiz’s 7 year old pitbull and scruffy steel toe work boots greet you at the bottom of the stairs when you enter his Queens basement apartment. His Milwaukee lunch box sits on top of his kitchen counter with a voltage tester sticking out of the side. There are sweaters and t-shirts with “IBEW” and local 3 spewed on the front and back hanging from various hooks and hangers in his closet. From the moment you enter his home, you are greeted with reminders that Santiago is not only an electrician but also a member of the electrical union. The day he joined, he says, was one of the happiest days of his life. 

  “ The non union job is just every man for themselves.”

After being used as a scapegoat for a job gone wrong, Santiago was fired from a non union company he had worked for for several years. Unemployed with bills to pay and a family to support, Santiago found himself applying to be apart of local 3’s apprenticeship program and three months later got in. 

 “ I feel valued at my job. I feel like I matter at my job. Im making some sort of  difference at my job and they actually care.”

Today over 60 labor unions represent more than 14 million Americans whose common goal is to protect the rights of workers in various industries. Joe Hester who is the assistant employment director of the Joint Industry Board of the Electrical Industry in conjunction with Union Local 3 explains why unions are important.

“Being apart of a union means a sense of structure, a sense of just guidance of protections most people aren’t afforded unfortunately. You have an opportunity to build a camaraderie, build a family structure where you know there’s an organization behind you that won’t let you get harmed or afflicted in anyway.”

Currently overseeing the employment of over 27,000 members, Joe is in charge of the distribution of manpower throughout New York City, Westchester and parts of Connecticut. While optimistic of the attitudes towards unions even though he knows they are declining in popularity, he explains that policies passed by the Trump administration such as restricting unions in the public sector are just the start and is one more step closer to the private sector. 

 “Under the Trump administration right now the NLRB has taken a big hit. The NLRB is the organization that protects workers all across the country of all sorts but when the people who that the president gets to place there aren’t pro worker, you’ll see they stated back in the Spring i think that there was an 11% drop in cases even being heard because people don’t even want to have their charges that they bring up slapped down all in favor of pro business people that they’ve appointed. So it just gets tougher and tougher fight.” 

While he believes unions to be only unpopular but will always be present, Joe describes that if in the future unions are no longer around, it would mean the disappearance of the middle class. 

  “Unions were made to support the middle class. One of our mottos you will hear all across the country is a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.We understand that companies have to make money that businesses have to make money but people just want their fair shake. But the harder it gets for unions to form and have the strength to help their workforce the worse it will be for workers all across the country.”

Santiago too has noticed the fight on the horizon and similarly to Joe doesn’t believe unions will become obsolete. Seeing how he has worked non union before however, the declining popularity of unions has kept him up at night picturing a world without them.

 “It would be pretty sad. I haven’t seen the positive side to the non union work. That might be dangerous in our field in particular because they’re aren’t many people qualified to the the work that we do… They don’t have things in place to teach you the right way. They just throw you into the pool and expect you to just learn things on your own”

While unions might be declining in popularity it seems that union members will not give up just yet and will continue fighting to have unions around. In Queens for Baruch College this is Imani Seda.

At just 22 years old, Emelia Vero is already making a name for herself in the Bronx. The singer / songwriter’s unique sound has attracted many listeners, with her most popular upload on youtube reaching almost seven thousand views. Anacaona Rodriguez Martinez went to the Bronx to hear for herself.

AMBI: Emelia playing R&B melodies on keyboard.

I’m here in Emelia Vero’s home studio in Hunts Point, a neighborhood of about 12,000 residents, that has a reputation for crime and poverty. However, Emelia’s goal is to paint her neighborhood in a better light. 

“I feel like a large part of why I do what I do in terms of music is wanting to represent. Growing up I always felt I was in this awkward middle ground. In DR, I was never Dominican enough: I was always the American. Over here I was never American enough: I was always that Dominican. Kind of being criticized for not knowing Spanish as well as someone from the island, I guess you could hear the difference, and then being here and not speaking English well enough for some people.”

AMBI: Emelia’s cover of Cardi B’s “Be Careful.”

Even though music is something Emely’s now comfortable sharing, her love for sharing her music wasn’t always something that came naturally.One place where she was able to find her confidence, however, was at a train station on the L Line. 

“It wasn’t that hard of a transition because I always viewed train station performers as celebrities as a kid whenever I took the train, which was barely. I would always be shy to give them a dollar and stuff like that, so I always a deep appreciation for them. But I guess by forcing myself to do that was, I don’t know. I guess intimidating: there’s people walking by you, people looking confused, mad sometimes. And there’s great people that you come by. It helped me, I guess, become more confident in myself and my abilities, see what works. That’s how I met a lot of the people that I know today. So, I guess that was a really good start to, I guess, the whole music journey I’ve been on,” she said.

AMBI: Emelia practicing scales on nylon guitar.

Emelia’s passion for music also comes with a passion for sharing her story.  

“It’s like my music represents that middle ground: that first generation upbringing where it’s Spanglish, you know? I throw in some Spanish lines whenever I can. I try to throw in some references and try to include my culture into it. I feel like that’s what touches me the most is being able to listen to my music and have my family, my grandma, be able to understand some parts of it even if it’s not the entire song; still kind of get a gist of what’s going on. My music is kind of like, I do it to represent the middle ground: the first generation upbringing.”

AMBI: Emelia live at the Tiny Bronx Contest performing ‘Nice Smile,’ an original. 

She says, “So, the next song I’m going to do is an original, and it’s called ‘Nice Smile’.” 

“The reason I like this song so much is because it was so hard for me to write. It was like pulling teeth because it’s a flirty song. I tried to not include insecurity into it because I feel like a lot of my love songs come out of pain and a place of admiring the other person but putting myself down a little bit. I wanted to kind of grow from that, and that was my first song that kind of demonstrated it. It’s kind of like, it has a little more confidence to it in comparison to, like, the songs written previous to that point, and I’ve seen myself grow a lot after that point. So I feel like ‘Nice Smile’ was the first song where I really grew in terms of my own confidence and trying to demonstrate that.” 

AMBI: Emelia rehearsing ‘Nice Smile’ in her homemade studio.

She describes her sound as “an influence of all the influences she’s had. 

“So if you were to listen to three of my songs, in terms of the production and stuff, back to back they would sound very different. But I would say the baseline is R&B influenced. There’s kind of like R&B chord progressions and little bits of that in every song. Some songs might sound a little bit more poppy. Some songs might sound a little more latin-influenced. Some songs I sping and I just go straight up Hip Hop, Trap in it. I guess just an influence of all the influences I’ve had.”

AMBI: Emelia practicing a guitar solo on a nylon guitar.

To Emelia, the best piece of advice she’s received is to never forget why you started in the industry. 

“Interestingly enough, I got that piece of advice after playing at the subway. I went out on 42nd Street and Dua Lipa was doing an interview at one of, I don’t know, one of those music station things. When she walked out to say ‘hi’ to the fans, I stopped by. I was just like, “Hey, any advice you would give to someone that’s trying to make it into the industry?” She told me that and said that that’s what her father told her. So that was really nice, and it’s still the most relevant and the best piece of advice I’ve heard to this day,” she said.

TRACK: Emelia live at the Tiny Bronx Contest performing ‘Nice Smile’

For the future, Emelia hopes to keep following Dua’s advice, and have her music be an inspiration to others for years to come. From Hunts Point, this is Anacaona Rodriguez Martinez. 

 New York City is known for its busy streets, city lights and crowded trains. Earlier this year, New York City became more expensive due to an increase in the MTA fares. Although the MTA decided to increase its fares, it hasn’t changed the fact that there are still many issues with the busses and trains. The MTA fare increase affects almost every person that uses the MTA services including students, specifically college students. How does this rise affect students and parents? Sherell Susan has the story.

 I’m in the one-bedroom apartment that Lisa Mapari shares with her mother in Queens, New York. As I walked into the narrow apartment, I realized they’ve been here for fifteen years, and the couch under the cracked window looks even older than that. Mapari is a full-time college student who works a minimum wage job as a waitress while her mother works with special needs kids. She said it has been very difficult to live in such an expensive city, especially now that the MTA increased its fares. Mapari wasn’t aware that the MTA received their funding’s from taxes, tolls and bridges and says she is paying twice over for her monthly metro card.

 “I was not aware but hearing this now is actually a little frustrating because as a student trying to balance full time studies and a full-time job, all my hard-earned money is getting cut because of taxes and on top of that I need to maintain a monthly metro card, so it’s double the expense,” she said.

 This past April, the MTA put into effect the increase in the bus and train fares. The price of a weekly metro card went from $32 to $33 and the cost of a monthly metro card went from $121 to $127. Although a single bus or train ride stayed at $2.75, the cost of the express bus increased from $6.50 to $6.75. Even though a single ride only went up $0.50 in the last ten years, the monthly metro card increased by much more. In 2009 a monthly metro card was $81 compared to $127 that it is today. Despite the increase in fare, many riders believe that the MTA hasn’t done much to better its services rather it has gotten much worse. As a frequent MTA rider, Mapari hasn’t seen any improvements in the busses or trains and believes that the fare increase is another way for the government to get more money.

 “I think the increase in fare is just another thing that’s being done to give the government more funding because we’re getting charged more but the services haven’t changed and still there are many delays and issues with the public transportation. My daily bus ride ranges from 1-2 hours and sometimes I end up being late which results in issues with my boss and professors when I walk in mid shift or class,” she said.

 There are plenty of reasons to be critical of the MTA in terms of how it is run but it is undeniable that the subway system needs a drastic and expensive overhaul. It’s going to take decades to do so. Earlier last month, the MTA once again promised to fix its services but this time with a $51 billion plan in question. This would be considered the largest amount in the MTA’s history and would be effective in 2020. With this new program, the MTA plan to use $40 billion towards improving New York City transit. This plan is supposed to include many benefits for those who use the MTA services daily like more frequent and reliable service on 6-line segments, 70 new ADA accessible stations, over 1,900 new subway cars and over 2,400 new buses. During an MTA board meeting, Lisa Daglion, the executive director of the permanent advisement committee to the MTA says, that congestion pricing funds will be beneficial to the capital plan.

 “We are excited about the FY 2024 capital’s plans potential to transform the riders experience and improve the system, including long awaited accessibility projects. The infusion of congestion pricing funds is a huge game changer,” she said.

Gabriella Barry, a mother of four children of whom two are in college, lives in a three-story house in Queens, New York. Although she does not work, her family’s only provider is her husband who works for a construction company. Having two children in college, Barry needs to pay double every month for their monthly metro card, which is over $250 a month and about $3,000 a year. With the MTA increasing its prices every two years, it puts many NYC citizens under an ever-increasing financial burden, especially Barry. Not only was she not aware that her tax money goes towards the MTA, but now it also goes towards her children’s monthly metro card, which keeps on rising. She believes that the MTA should increase their fares every 10 years because paying for her children’s metro cards gets very expensive.

 “No, I didn’t know they receive the money from taxes. I feel very bad because I pay a lot of taxes and I didn’t know it comes from me in the end and they keep raising and raising and raising and there’s no end to it. I think the increase is too often. They should increase it like every 10 years. I think it’s very expensive especially if you have more than one kid and I think it’s not fair,” she said.

For Baruch college, this is Sherell Susan in Queens, New York.

Script:

HOST INTRO: The Bronx night market, where vendors from different boroughs and cultures come to display and sell their food, has become a popular event. The event is held every Saturday, from May until the last Saturday of October. With over 50 vendors and over 80,000 people expected by the time the event is over on October 26. It has become something the community and vendors look forward to. Christian spoke with one of the vendors from the market.

AMBI: People talking and music playing.

TRACK 1: The delightful look as people try their food and the smiles as people talk and enjoy the music.  Along with the sizzling sound of food being grilled fills Fordham plaza where the Bronx night market is taking place. I go to talk to Rafael Quinones, who co-owns Revelations Catering alongside his wife. And has worked under other chefs before starting his own catering company. This is also the first time ever displaying his food in the Bronx Night Market. Here’s what it’s done to help his business.

Chef Quinones: It’s brought us a lot of exposure to our food for the customer. And the customer standpoint it got us a lot of. we received more requests than anything else.

TRACK 2: People attending The Bronx Night Market for the first time like Maria. Were treated to food they have never tasted before. One of those foods was the chimichurri burger, which is a popular food in Dominican Republic she has never tasted it before and once she did. It became one of her favorite foods she has tried there. She also described her experience attending the Bronx night market for the first time.

Maria: I seen food from different parts of the world and how it’s made. The Bronx night market inspires you to learn and try different cultural food, and it brings people together.

TRACK 3:  The process of being able to participate in the Bronx night Market isn’t difficult. All you need is an application, an email and to be persistent in showing how serious you are about getting that chance to be able to participate. Why he choose the Bronx night market is most likely why some other vendors did as well.

Chef Quinones: we’re a Bronx based business, and we wanna showcase what the Bronx has to offer you know. The Bronx has a lot of untapped business that people don’t know about. And the only way they can do it is through the Bronx night market. And through social media, but the Bronx night market is a very good outlet to showcase what you have and where you come from.

TRACK 4:  Some of the food Revelations catering sells includes rice bowls. Chipotle chicken Carne asada Korean Short Rib and Seasonal roasted vegetable also a Thai burger and their most popular item on the menu their loaded fries, which is made of French fries mixed with carne asada and any vegetable topping of your choosing. All mixed in one dish. Nothing is off-limits for chef Quinones. On top of that he told me something he is currently trying in the Bronx night market.

Chef Quinones:  No I. I gotten exposed throughout the years, a lot of different foods Asian, Indian, American, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese you name it.  Primarily right now what I’m doing is I’m mixing both my Latin roots with the Asian cuisine.

TRACK 5:  Since spring 2017, the Bronx night market has been a key event for different chefs around New York City to display their food and culture to people.  It also helps that they’re so close to Fordham University.  But probably the biggest reason why some chefs like chef quinones participate in the Bronx night market is to lay the groundwork for bigger things.

Chef Quinones: So our hope is to open our own little… our own restaurant we don’t wanna start off big we wanna grow little by little. We don’t wanna.. We wanna crawl before we run you know what I mean. We wanna make sure everything is on point you know. That our hope is to open our own restaurant.

TRACK 6: For more information about the Bronx night market or revelations catering you can follow their social media. For Baruch College, this is Christian Nazario in the Bronx.

Script of Just a Small Taste of Uptown

HOST INTRO: Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the northern portion of New York City and a predominately Hispanic neighborhood. Starting October 7th until October 17th, 40 restaurants will be participating in Uptown Restaurant Week hosted by Washington Heights Business Improvement District. Giselle Medina went to Washington Heights to investigate. 

AMBI: Street sounds of 181st – can hear some buses, cars, and people singing 

TRACK: This is Giselle Medina and I am walking on 181st Street. There are multiple vendors trying to sell fruit and Spanish music is coming from just about everywhere. Washington Heights is a pretty bustling neighborhood with buses constantly driving by, but that’s not all, they also have a large Restaurant and Lounge industry. The Washington Heights Business Improvement District also known as the BID is hosting their very first Uptown Restaurant Week, starting on October 7th. 

AMBI: Yuby picks up the phone, “Good Afternoon this is Yuby at the Washington Heights BID” 

TRACK: Yuby Hernandez is the program manager at the BID. She wants Washington Heights to be seen in a different light and show off how vibrant of a community it is as well as what it has to offer. 

ACT [YUBY HERNANDEZ]: A lot of our restaurants people don’t think about them as being ”high quality” or being really exciting by offering restaurant week we hope to get people to come in and really think about “Oh this restaurant is actually really great” “Oh this is really, they have really great services, it’s a really great experience” “ Oh yea I do love this neighborhood.” 

TRACK: The BID did a study of all the industries in Washington Heights and Inwood where they noticed that the biggest industry is the Restaurant and Lounge industry. 

ACT [HERNANDEZ]: We had a brainstorming meeting and we came up with a list of around 60 restaurants that we wanted to invite and so a lot of the list started with of course the 22 that participated in the Taste of Uptown.

TRACK: Taste of Uptown was a free food festival that took place this past June. 22 restaurants participated at the festival that had over 500 people attend including all of the local elected officials.

ACT [HERNANDEZ]: That was a really great celebration of what the community is and then so this way is a great way to engage Restaurant Week to have those people who participated in that event to continue to taste our restaurants, to continue to have opportunities for them to do things with their families so it’s just a fun way to get people to reinvest in their community and to you know try something new.

TRACK: After coming up with their list of restaurants, the BID went tried to recruit them; however, not all of them could participate. 

ACT [HERNANDEZ]: Some restaurants couldn’t participate because their offerings are less, a couple other restaurants said they weren’t interested they said “oh that’s our busy season, we can’t offer discounts because that’s when we make all of our money”

TRACK: Not all the participants are restaurants, there are few cafes that are doing their own spin on Uptown Restaurant Week to show that not everything has to be a “sit down dinner”.

ACT [HERNANDEZ]: Bizcocho De Colores, they are a cake supply store and bakery and they also are doing specials for the week of Restaurant Week and they are going to offer discounts on their cakes, discounts on their coffee, and desserts and things like that.

AMBI: Atmosphere of Bizcocho De Colores

TRACK: Stacey Lebron is the manager of the family-owned cake supply store, Bizcocho De Colores, and hopes that by being a part of Uptown Restaurant Week they can become more known and gain more clients.

ACT [STACEY LEBRON]: So every order over $100 receives 12 free cupcakes or a tres leche and we just like to support anything that’s related to the community really like uptown and for people to just taste our tres leche and cupcakes and for them to know that we offer other things besides cakes. 

TRACK: Uptown Restaurant Week is one of the ways the BID is promoting the community. 

ACT [HERNANDEZ]: And so the BID is collaborating with Small Business Services and with the Inwood Merchant Association because Inwood has a ton of different businesses that are not just restaurants and so they are all helping us promote the series of events because you know it’s not one day through by putting up posters, by giving out postcards, and it’s really a community event people are excited for it people want to engage and so we think that we are going to be really successful. 

AMBI: Street sounds of 181st – can hear some buses, cars, and people singing

TRACK: Washington Heights is a very lively community which Yuby Hernandez wants to showcase during this week. She wants to change the reputation of the neighborhood and knows that this event will help do just that. For Baruch College, this Giselle Medina in Washington Heights, New York.

 

Just a Small Taste of Uptown

By Giselle Medina

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NEW YORK – The Washington Heights Business Improvement District also known as the BID is hosting their very first Uptown Restaurant Week, starting from October 7th until October 17th, around 40 restaurants will be participating.

A predominately Hispanic neighborhood, Washington Heights is located in the northern portion of New York City. It is a bustling neighborhood with buses constantly driving by as well as multiple vendors trying to sell fruit and Spanish music is coming from just about everywhere. Washington Heights also has a large Restaurant and Lounge industry. 

Yuby Hernandez is the program manager at the BID. She wants Washington Heights to be seen in a different light and show off how vibrant of a community it is as well as what it has to offer. She says, “A lot of our restaurants people don’t think about them as being ”high quality” or being really exciting by offering restaurant week we hope to get people to come in and really think about “Oh this restaurant is actually really great” “Oh this is really, they have really great services, it’s a really great experience” “ Oh yea I do love this neighborhood.”” 

The BID did a study of all the industries in Washington Heights and Inwood where they noticed that the biggest industry is the Restaurant and Lounge industry. Uptown Restaurant Week is not the first time the BID has promoted this industry. 

Taste of Uptown was a free food festival that took place this past June. Twenty-two restaurants participated at the festival that had over 500 people attend including all of the local elected officials. “That was a really great celebration of what the community is and then so this way is a great way to engage Restaurant Week to have those people who participated in that event to continue to taste our restaurants, to continue to have opportunities for them to do things with their families so it’s just a fun way to get people to reinvest in their community and to you know try something new,” says Hernandez. 

After coming up with their list of restaurants, the BID went and tried to recruit them; however, not all of them could participate. Hernandez says, “Some restaurants couldn’t participate because their offerings are less, a couple other restaurants said they weren’t interested they said “oh that’s our busy season, we can’t offer discounts because that’s when we make all of our money.””

Not all the participants are restaurants, there are few cafes that are doing their own spin on Uptown Restaurant Week to show that not everything has to be a “sit down dinner.” One example is Bizcocho De Colores, a cake supply store and bakery that will be offering specials throughout the week. “So every order over $100 receives 12 free cupcakes or a tres leche. We just like to support anything that’s related to the community really like uptown and for people to just taste our tres leche and cupcakes and for them to know that we offer other things besides cakes,” says Stacey Lebron, the manager of the family-owned cake supply store.

Uptown Restaurant Week is one of the ways the BID is promoting the community. Hernandez says, “The BID is collaborating with Small Business Services and with the Inwood Merchant Association because Inwood has a ton of different businesses that are not just restaurants and so they are all helping us promote the series of events because you know it’s not one day through by putting up posters, by giving out postcards, and it’s really a community event people are excited for it people want to engage and so we think that we are going to be really successful.”

Washington Heights is a very lively community that Yuby Hernandez wants to showcase during this week. She wants to change the reputation of the neighborhood and knows that this event will help do just that.

ANCHOR INTRO:
A VICTORY FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
THE SUPREME COURT GIVING THE WHITE HOUSE A GREEN LIGHT TO ENFORCE A NEW NATIONWIDE ASYLUM POLICY.
IT’S A DECISION THAT COULD DRASTICALLY AFFECT IMMIGRATION FROM CENTRAL AMERICA.
OUR CORRESPONDENT FRANKLIN MORALES TELLS US MORE ABOUT THE CHANGE AND SPEAKS TO FRESHMEN CONGRESSWOMAN, ILHAN OMAR, ON THE ISSUE.

TRACK:
THE SUPREME COURT’S DECISION TO OVERRULE A LOWER COURT BLOCK ON THE NEW POLICY REVERSES DECADES OF U-S POLICY.
UNDER THE NEW RULE, THE GOVERNMENT WILL PROVIDE ASYLUM ONLY TO IMMIGRANTS WHO HAVE BEEN DENIED ASYLUM IN OTHER COUNTRIES THEY HAVE PASSED THROUGH FIRST.
THIS WILL MOSTLY AFFECT CENTRAL AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS WHO HAVE TO PASS THROUGH MEXICO TO REACH OUR SOUTHERN BORDERS.
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMAN ILHAN OMAR FROM MINNESOTA, KNOWN FOR BEING CRITICAL OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, IS CONDEMNING THE MOVE.

ACT:
OMAR says: “I- I believe that decision is morally and legally wrong. Seeking asylum is a legal right that people have and we know that the Supreme Court has been wrong before.”

TRACK:
OMAR IS JUST ONE OF MANY DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS MEMBERS CRITICIZING THE SUPREME COURT DECISION.
SHE WANTS TO CREATE IMMIGRATION POLICY THAT IS HUMANE AND JUST.
MEANWHILE, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS THEY HAD TO CREATE THIS POLICY DUE TO CONGRESS NOT DOING ITS JOB AND PASSING IMMIGRATION REFORM.
OMAR DOES NOT AGREE.
SHE SAYS THE HOUSE HAS BEEN DOING ITS JOB SINCE DAY ONE.

ACT:
OMAR says: “People have to understand that the immigration crisis that we have is one that we could avoid. And many of the policies that we’ve been advocating for, many that are currently sitting at the doorsteps of Mitch McConnell, will create a positive impact on how our immigration system is carried out.”

TRACK:
OMAR’S REMARKS CAME DURING An INTERVIEW WITH MARGARET BRENNAN ON CBS’ FACE THE NATION.
FOR BARUCH COLLEGE, THIS IS FRANKLIN MORALES, IN NEW YORK.

In class today:

We’ll look at a few of your script exercises and some more examples of radio wraps.

In Québec, teachers return to school under new religious symbols ban

A small town in Italy offers houses for sale for less than an espresso

Antarctic robot might lead way to life beyond Earth

Example of a clever host intro: Scottish town wants its witch bones back

Upcoming dates:

• Scripts for your 4-5 minute radio story will be due Monday, Oct. 7; you will need to have completed your interviews and reporting by this point in order to write your scripts. We will not have class as usual that day; instead, I will be meeting with you all individually in my office to go through your scripts and give them an edit. I will send out a Google spreadsheet when it gets a little closer so you can all sign up for time slots. If none of the time slots work for you, we can schedule an edit session over the phone.
• There is no class on Wednesday, October 9 because of Yom Kippur.
• There is no class on Monday, October 14 because of Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
• Your final, edited radio story, along with accompanying photos and web version, will be due by midnight Wednesday, October 16. Class that day will be devoted to editing and production, and the recording studio will be open for anyone who needs to record their narration.