The "24 Rush Hours, 7 Days a Week" Edition
Broken promises for Open Streets, great Puerto Rican restaurants, inside Rikers, real estate lust, the best LGBTQIA+ bars, and more
Today - Low: 62˚ High: 72˚
Mostly cloudy throughout the day.
• The mayor promised 100 miles of Open Streets. They provided less than half of that number. Of the 274 locations listed on the city's website, only 46% of those are even active. In the Bronx, 84% are non-operational, leaving only half a mile of Open Streets in the entire borough. If the mayor was capable of shame, this would be embarrassing. (Gabriel Sandoval for The City)
• The grounded flight at LaGuardia over the weekend was caused by someone tinkering with a camera and the person sitting behind them thought it was a bomb detonator. (Matt Troutman for Patch)
• A terrifying look inside the problems at Rikers. (Jan Ransom, Jonah E. Bromwich, and Rebecca Davis O’Brien for NY Times)
• The 20 best LGBTQIA+ bars in NYC. (Kyler Alvord for Thrillist)
• A new study from the city comptroller's office shows that rush hour doesn't happen 9-5, it happens 24/7. While ridership is still low, nights and weekends are recovering faster than the traditional 9-5. The study recommends the entire transit system run all subways and high-traffic buses every six minutes at all times. (Matt Troutman for Patch)
• Real Estate Lust: A $4.3 million historic Harlem brownstone on West 123rd with a triplex owners’ apartment, an original 1880 Argentinian wooden doorway, an iron clawfoot tub, multiple fireplaces, and more. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft)
• A new proposal would make holiday street closures around Rockefeller Center permanent, closing off 49th and 50th between Fifth and Sixth Ave. The proposal has the support of City Councilmember Keith Powers and Manhattan President Gale Brewer. (NY1)
• Go inside the renovations of David Geffen Hall, which was stripped down to the concrete and beams as part of a $550 million rebuild. (Justin Davidson for Curbed)
• If putting The Power Broker on a shelf behind you for a TV interview isn't enough, "Turn Every Page": Inside The Robert A. Caro Archive exhibition at the New York Historical Society opens October 24. The exhibition features notebooks, interview notes, scrapbooks, and more from the writers' archive. (Irene Madrigal for Untapped New York)
• Video: The Comptroller debate between Daby Carreras and Paul Rodriguez, moderated by Ben Max. Democratic nominee Brad Lander decided not to participate. (Gotham Gazette)
• The idea to install a storm sewer on Staten Island goes back to Giuliani's second term. Construction is set to start in early 2022 for a three-block stretch of Willow Ave in Rosebank. (Reuven Blau for The City)
• Renderings: Green-Wood Cemetery Welcome Center and Weir Greenhouse, this is on the construction site across the street from the entrance to the cemetery on Fifth Ave. (Sebastian Morris for New York YIMBY)
• Public speakers at next week’s MTA board meeting will, for the first time during the pandemic, be able to testify remotely while in real-time. Welcome to the 21st Century, MTA. (Jose Martinez for The City)
• Real Estate Lust: A $345k studio apartment in Park Slope two blocks from Prospect Park. If you're scared of falling out of bed, this apartment gives you the added fear of falling off your second-story vaulted bedroom. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft)
• More than 40 city and state elected officials signed a letter on Thursday calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to deny permits for the Gowanus Repowering Project, a franked-gas update to the barge-based power plant off the coast of Sunset Park. (Kirstyn Brendlen for Brooklyn Paper)
• Seven great Puerto Rican restaurants. (Marisel Salazar for The Infatuation)
Featured Pet: Phillip!
Happy Birthday to Phillip, who celebrated in style! Phillip began his life in a feral colony before one of the feeders realized that he is a sensitive soul with no outdoor survival skills whatsoever. Send your pet and animal photos to thebriefly@gmail.com