NYC sees the effects of decades-long tobacco control policies

Also, a very rainy start to the weekend. [View this email in a browser.]( Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( [Smoking-related cancers are declining in NYC, but vaping and e-cigs raise concerns]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter curated by Emily Nadal]( Weather: ☔ Rain, rain, go away. Please. I'm begging you. [We'll have to wait until Sunday to see clear, sunny skies again.]( Expect a high of just 62 degrees. It’s Friday morning in New York City [where rates of smoking-related cancers have decreased in recent years.]( A new report by the New York State Department of Health shows lung cancer diagnoses decreased by more than a quarter statewide between 2006 and 2020. New York City saw that rate plummet by nearly a third during the same time period. The changes are chalked up to all the tobacco control policies implemented over the last few decades, including banning tobacco use indoors, levying taxes on tobacco products and starting a free helpline for New Yorkers looking to quit smoking. But while cigarette smoking rates have gone down, e-cigarette use has gone up, particularly among high schoolers. About a fifth of high school-aged New Yorkers reported that they used e-cigarettes in 2020. Here’s what else is happening: - Hollywood got some good news this week five months after the start of the writers and actors strike. [We spoke with NYC film and TV workers who reflected on months of uncertainty]( and what their life has been like off set. - In a first for New York City’s “Open Streets” program, [a Brooklyn street will be car-free every Friday for weekly Islamic prayer]( outside a local mosque. - MTA and FDNY officials had to [break down an 18-wheel tractor trailer]( carrying paint [after it got stuck]( in the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel Thursday morning. Traffic was backed up for hours, and the driver was issued numerous summonses for ignoring multiple warnings. - Felix Herrera Garcia, the husband of the woman who owned the Bronx day care where a 1-year-old boy died after being exposed to fentanyl, [was criminally charged in Manhattan federal court yesterday.]( He was arrested in Mexico after a two-week search. - After hundreds of auditions and a months-long competition, [20 acts took to the stage at the United Palace yesterday]( for the grand finale of the "Talent Is Timeless" competition, a citywide talent show for seniors. - Charles Daniels has been appointed to the No. 2 job in the city jails department for a second time after being forced to resign from the senior deputy commissioner post six years ago. [These are five things you should know about him.]( - It seems like the only MTA station in the city without OMNY readers is the JFK Airtrain. [But that changed this week when officials installed the machines]( except they’re not in use yet. - It [wasn't always this difficult]( to get a train to JFK Airport. - The federal government’s deadline to approve a new budget is looming, as is a government shutdown. [Here are some of the big ways it would affect New York City.]( - New York City public schools with more than 700 students are required to have a full-time librarian, yet [a Chalkbeat analysis found that nearly a third of schools don’t have a librarian]( listed on their most recent budget. - In more disappointing school news, a Flushing High School teacher and baseball coach was reassigned “away from students” and relieved from his coaching duties after [a video of him shouting homophobic remarks went viral.]( - If you need a reason to go to Staten Island, here’s one: a visit to “Little Sri Lanka.” The borough is home to one of the largest Sri Lanken communities outside of Sri Lanka. [Use this walking tour as a guide to the neighborhood.]( - A New York couple loves Costco so much, they went around the world to visit the franchise. [So far, they’ve hit 200 stores, and wrote a book about it.]( - The Long Island Sound Trawl Survey [crew caught a 6-foot long, roughly 400-pound stingray]( in the Long Island Sound. - Who says New Yorkers are rude? We ranked in the top five least petty states in the country. The pettiest, however, is Alabama, [according to this Canadian study.]( “When you see a consistent decline, it really drives home the point that this is a true decrease and this should continue if we continue on the same path." - Tabassum Insaf, director of the NY state health department’s Bureau of Cancer Epidemiology, [DISCUSSING THE DECLINE IN SMOKING-RELATED DISEASES.]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [NYC Council passes bills on electric vehicles, dyslexia screenings in jail]( The Council also passed bills requiring city employees identify themselves and broaden the pool of EMS promotions. [13 fall drinks from NYC coffee shops that aren’t Pumpkin Spice Lattes]( No shade to PSL lovers, but New York City’s baristas are getting creative. [We Rely On Your Support]( [NYC will pay to house low-income residents outside the 5 boroughs]( For the first time, the city’s social services agency says it will allow people with CityFHEPS vouchers to find and rent apartments anywhere in New York state. [Mental health services are coming to NYC’s family shelters, but staffing concerns loom]( Under the newly implemented law, the city’s 30 largest family shelters will have an on-site mental health provider by July 2024. [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.