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AGBC News Episode 40: The 1990s Murder That Made NYC Safer

Podcast artwork
Podcast artwork via AGBC

A subway stabbing brings the city's crime rate into public view.

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AGBC News Episode 40: The 1990s Murder That Made NYC Safer
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  • This may be the final measles update for this season: The city Health Department declared the Brooklyn outbreak over as of September 3rd. During the outbreak, 33,805 doses of the MMR vaccine were administered to people younger than 19 years old in Williamsburg and Boro Park, and the 2018 to 2019 outbreak involved 654 confirmed cases. Numerous others who were unvaccinated received vaccinations from other health professionals. Although the increased vaccination rates will help prevent transmission if the disease appears again, it's important to make sure newborn children receive their vaccinations on schedule, which involves two separate doses of the vaccine. Nearly all the infections during the outbreak were in children under 18 years old. For more information on city resources, call 311 or visit the Department of Health at nyc.gov/doh.

  • As a result of the New York outbreak, the World Health Organization may now rescind the measles elimination status of the United States, which has been in place since the year 2000.

  • It's been one year since Emirates flight 203 from Dubai landed at JFK after passengers reported feeling sick. On-board the plane, people were posting to social media, describing a group who seemed to all know each other, and all of who had been sick during the flight, but gotten much worse as the plane approached New York. Ten people were hospitalized and tested positive for the flu. Although the United Arab Emirates, where the flight originated, currently has CDC travel notices for diseases like MERS, which have similar symptoms to the flu, it seems like last year's flight that caused an endless string of Twitter jokes about horror movies was instead just a routine case of the flu, which is also a great reminder to get your flu shot this season, which can eliminate your chance of getting the flu this winter or lessen its impact if you're exposed to it. You can find flu shots at local pharmacies, private hospitals, and city health clinics. Visit nyc.gov/flu for more info.

  • 29 years ago on September 2, 1990 — Brian Watkins is stabbed and killed after confronting a group of teens trying to rob his family

  • 114 years ago on September 11, 1905 — The Ninth Avenue Elevated derails and falls off its track, killing 13 and injuring 48

  • Just before making a second political appearance on the Fox channel, Bill de Blasio declared this week that he will likely maybe consider thinking about suspending his presidential run if he does not meet the polling and fundraising requirements for the next month's debate, after already not qualifying for the upcoming September debate. The requirements are the same for October as they were for the September debate: Candidates need to achieve 2% in four polls or have 130,000 unique donors. While de Blasio is still polling between 0% and 1%, some more-recognizable fellow candidates throw in the towel, including New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Facing a multitude of problems at home, from NYPD officer suicides, the long-delayed firing of officer Pantaleo, and ever-increasing traffic fatalities, de Blasio took some time to visit the city this week and propose requiring Citi Bike riders to wear helmets and that all bicycles should be licensed, two measures that have previously been proposed, will never be implemented, and have shown to result in less cycling. In a reference to the Iowa state fair where de Blasio had been campaigning, comedians Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler took the opportunity last week to lay out some corn dogs and ears of fresh corn on a bed of hay outside City Hall, in an effort to lure the Mayor back home.

  • This week in AGBC history: Criminal City, Train Trouble, and Superstorm Scammers

  • One of the fake Buddhist monks in Times Square was arrested for knocking the phone out of a person's hand when the person tried to take a picture of the scammer, one of the imitation monks who roam Times Square, handing trinkets to tourists, then aggressively demanding payment.

  • Also 4 years ago, a string of incidents in the subway showed the danger that subway conductors face while trying to keep the city moving. That week started out with five separate assaults on MTA employees, occurring at all hours throughout the day, including three attacks within the span of two hours. By 2018, after an increase in incidents targeting their workers, the MTA proposed a voluntary program for MTA workers to wear body cameras, but it's hard to tell what the status of the program is today. As recently as this year, the transit workers' union has called for greater police enforcement in the subway due incidents where MTA workers were spit upon.

A Great Big City has been running a 24-hour newsfeed since 2010, but the AGBC News podcast is just getting started, and we need your support. A Great Big City is built on a dedication to explaining what is happening and how it fits into the larger history of New York, which means thoroughly researching every topic and avoiding clickbait headlines to provide a straightforward, honest, and factual explanation of the news. Individuals can make a monthly or one-time contribution at agreatbigcity.com/support and local businesses can have a lasting impact by supporting local news while promoting products or services directly to interested customers listening to this podcast. Visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more.

AGBC is more than just a news website: Our fireworks page monitors the city's announcements of upcoming fireworks, lists them on our site, and automatically sends out a notification just before the fireworks begin, so that you can watch the show or prepare your pet for the upcoming sounds of explosions. Visit agreatbigcity.com/fireworks to see the full calendar and follow @agreatbigcity on social media to receive the alerts

Park of the day

  • Eastchester Playground — Adee Ave. at Tenboeck Ave., the Bronx — This playground bears the name of one of the earliest settlements to have existed in the Bronx area. Eastchester was originally the name of the second English community, after Westchester, to be founded in what was considered the Dutch colony of New Netherland.

Parks Events

  • Urban Starfest in Central Park — Date: September 7, 2019 See the universe from Central Park! Join the Urban Park Rangers and the Amateur Astronomers Association (AAA) of New York for their Annual Autumn Starfest. Our Urban Park Rangers will be your guides to the solar system, discussing the science, history, and folklore of the universe....

  • 9th Annual Washington Square Park Folk Festival — Date: September 8, 2019 The Washington Square Park Folk Festival features the best of local New York and sometimes national talent in the field of folk music - including old-time string bands, Blues, jug bands, traditional Mexican and Balkan music, songwriters, New Orleans Jazz, Klezmer music and more! Washington Square...

Concert Calendar

Here's the AGBC Concert Calendar for the upcoming week:

Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events.

Did you know?

Here's something you may not have known about New York:

Weather

The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:
Record High: 101°F on September 7, 1881
Record Low: 43°F on September 10, 1883

Weather for the week ahead:
Rain tomorrow through next Thursday, with high temperatures peaking at 81°F on Saturday.

Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com — News sound via Ali Imran on Youtube


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