🌱 Hochul Vetoes NYC 'Stop The Chop' Bill + 5G Towers Around Town

Good morning, New York City!

• 🚁 Gov. Kathy Hochul has vetoed legislation aimed at ending NYC's helicopter noise pollution headache.
• 🏠 The city is asking faith leaders to help house asylum seekers.
• 🗼 Patch shows you where massive 5G towers are coming to across the city.

But first, today's weather:

Mostly sunny and breezy. High: 43 Low: 30. ☀️

Here are the top five stories in New York City today:

1. Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a "stop the chop" bill aimed at limiting helicopter traffic over New York City, saying that it would run afoul of federal control over the state's airspace. It's been reported that Hochul has spent over $250,000 in taxpayer dollars on her own flights. A state senator that supported the bill criticized the veto and vowed to double-down on closing a heliport on Manhattan's west side. (New York City Patch)
2. Emails obtained by the Legal Aid Society detail correspondence between ShotSpotter, a company with devices around the city that listen for gunshot sounds, and an Upper West Side police precinct. The Legal Aid Society suggests the emails demonstrate a violation of the company's privacy policy not to share exact information with the NYP over privacy concerns. (New York City Patch)
3. Seventeen thousand unionized nurses at New York City's private hospitals are considering a strike early in the new year as their contract is set to expire at the end of December. A union representative said they have concerns about their health benefits, staffing ratios and Mayor Eric Adams' plan to forcibly hospitalize mentally ill New Yorkers. (NBC New York)
4. The city is asking faith leaders to house recently arrived asylum seekers from the southern border, according to an email sent out by the mayor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships to clergy members on Thursday. As of Thursday, there were 64,788 people in the city's main shelter system, exceeding a 2019 record of over 61,000. (THE CITY)
5. Patch has mapped the location of 90 32-foot-tall 5G poles coming to neighborhoods across the city. The poles are part of New York City's LinkNYC network and aim to close the "digital divide" by providing free wifi to communities lacking in high-speed internet service. The city said it aims to roll out 2,000 towers in the coming years. Eighteen poles recently met opposition on the Upper East Side. (New York City Patch)

New York City pic of the day:

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Today in New York City:

• Celebrate the Season with Flatiron NoMad Holiday Cheer! (12 p.m.)
• 2nd Annual Island Jingle Holiday Marketplace at Essex Market (12 p.m.)
• Holiday Food & Essentials Distribution at Flatbush Central Caribbean Marketplace (1 p.m.)
• Cristina Fontanelli's 19th-annual "Christmas in Italy®" — Bruno Walter Auditorium for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center (2:30 p.m.)
• Christmas Pajama Party! — Bar Marseille Rockaway (8 p.m.)

Here's Patch's full guide to the weekend in New York City

From my notebook:

• Some NYCHA public housing residents in Baruch Houses say on the Lower East Side they aren't receiving heat in their apartments due to a malfunctioning boiler that is leaking steam. They said they have been putting in requests to remedy the situation since September. (THE CITY)
• After they found out an FDNY firefighter wouldn't survive an injury sustained in a 20-foot fall during a training exercise this week, his family decided to donate his organs. Mayor Eric Adams called him a hero twice during a press conference. (New York City Patch)
• A New York appeals court ruled that Yeshiva University must officially recognize an LGBTQ+ club on its campus. The University plans on appealing the decision to a higher court. (Gothamist)
• A city ban on foie gras — fattened duck or goose liver — is in violation of state regulations because it restricts the business of two upstate farms, a stage agency said. Animal welfare advocates say the delicacy's production is cruel because it involves force-feeding the animals. (AMNY)
• The owner of an Astoria pet store is speaking out against a law signed on Thursday that will ban the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits at New York pet shops in December 2024. "We'll be out of business," he told Patch. "It's just a horrible law." (New York City Patch)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Saturday. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— Dashiell Allen

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming New York City Daily? Contact me at patchnyc@patch.com