NYC NOW

Chef Ham El-Waylly grew up in Doha, Qatar, eating his mom's Egyptian and Bolivian cooking and dreaming about New York bagels while watching Seinfeld. Today, he's the co-owner and chef behind Strange Delight, a Creole restaurant in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

In this episode, Ham joins NYC Now host Janae Pierre to talk about the unexpected throughlines between Southern cooking and the food he grew up on, how the pandemic sent him back to his late mother's recipe book after years of avoiding his grief, and the empanadas that helped him finally process it. He also breaks down what actually separates fine dining from cooking for his own family, and how affordability shaped the recipes in his new cookbook, Hello Home Cooking.
Watch Ham and Janae cook a New York inspired recipe straight from the book on Youtube!

Get the cookbook: Hello Home Cooking, by Ham El-Waylly

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Lawyer challenging NYC rent freeze releases Mamdani officials’ emails and text messages
Hochul names NY AG James as special prosecutor on rape case at Cornell University

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October 1st marks the start of heat season in New York City, when landlords are legally required to keep buildings warm... but getting a landlord to actually fix a heat problem can be its own battle. Tenants' rights attorney Leah Goodridge walks us through what tenants are entitled to and the steps she, herself, took to get the hot water back in her apartment. Then, WNYC and Gothamist housing reporter David Brand breaks down landlords' perspective on why heat repairs can take as long as they do and also what the city's new policy requiring inspectors to check every complaint individually means for New Yorkers.

Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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Mamdani must redo his pied-à-terre tax rollout, NY judge orders
What Trump's Title IX rollback means for LGBTQ+ students in New York



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New York City has seen a string of deadly Legionnaires outbreaks. Daniel Thomas reflects on losing his father, retired New York State Supreme Court Justice Charles Thomas, after he contracted the disease during this summer’s Upper East Side outbreak. But death is not the only lasting consequence. WNYC and Gothamist reporter Joe Hong speaks with two survivors of the 2025 Central Harlem outbreak who are still living with serious health problems more than a year later, and looks at why Legionnaires outbreaks keep happening across the city.
Photo cred: Daniel Thomas, son of The Honorable Charles J. Thomas

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NYC childcare providers say city contract rates fall $12.6K short per child
Mamdani says NYC will investigate every tenant heat complaint starting this October
The NY Liberty head back to the playoffs today. Catch up on what you missed.
For more on Legionnaires
NYC Now - New York City Vowed Reform After Harlem’s Legionnaires’ Deaths. A New Outbreak Is Exposing the Gaps
What we know so far about the Legionnaires’ outbreak ahead of Bronx town hall
5 Bronx buildings had no recent record of monthly testing before Legionnaires’ outbreak
NYC councilmembers plot next steps on Legionnaires', hear from a widow

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WNYC and Gothamist culture reporter Sonia Rao joins Matthew Schnipper to discuss the Harry Styles pop up that drew huge crowds to the East Village and a confrontation that ended with cookbook store owner Bonnie Slotnick being arrested. They also look at a new film about location scouting in New York, the growing number of creative workers going freelance and the return of Saint Vitus in Bushwick. Plus, they preview an interview with saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins ahead of his return to the Village Vanguard.

Photo: Sonia Rao / WNYC & Gothamist

Got any questions, comments or story ideas? Send us a message at NYCNow@WNYC.org.


Judge orders NYC officials to turn over phone messages, keeps rent freeze in place - Gothamist
NYC councilmember wants to ban tickets for spitting after arrest video circulates - Gothamist
How a Harry Styles pop-up in the East Village led to a nearby bookstore owner's arrest - Gothamist
NYC’s creative workers are increasingly self-employed, report says - Gothamist

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As the New York Liberty head into the WNBA playoffs for a sixth straight year, the franchise is also marking its 30th season. WNYC's Morning Edition producer Amanda Rozon takes us to Liberty Legends Weekend in Brooklyn, where original team members like Teresa Weatherspoon and Crystal Robinson reflect on the franchise's early years, as rising ticket prices are reshaping who gets to be in the stands. Then, sports reporter Priya Desai breaks down the Liberty's up and down season under a new coaching staff and what it'll take for the team to make another title run.

Photo: Peter Fisher for The Washington Post via Getty Images

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DoorDash to pay $131.5 million to delivery workers, admitting it ‘screwed up’
NYC Marathon changes route for first time in 15 years
NY, NJ sue Trump admin over deals to scrap offshore wind projects

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