The "52 Square Feet for $1000/month" Edition
Mayor de Blasio tries one more time for a "day one" promise, the MTA is late on replacing signals, Manhattan Mini Storage sold, 15 holiday markets, and more
Today - Low: 37˚ High: 47˚
Clear throughout the day.
This weekend - Low: 45˚ High: 55˚
• If you're a journalist that was laid off this year, Nick Robins-Early and Layoff Pies has free pie for you. Every time I was in a newsroom with layoffs we'd go to the closest bar and drink until closing. (Rachel Sugar for Grub Street)
• Mayor de Blasio is making one last attempt to ban horse-drawn carriages, a promise he said would be done on "day one" of his first term. (Dana Rubenstein for NY Times)
• On Tuesday it almost seemed like the city was going to start cracking down on placard abuse in Downtown Brooklyn, towing seven cars and ticketing fifteen. On Wednesday, lol, 70 cars abusing their placards were back in the same spot. (Gerh Kuntzman for Streetsblog)
• The Mast Brothers, whose multiple shameful scandals helped shame them out of Brooklyn, are hoping that maybe people on the Upper West Side near their new shop won't remember. (Bobby Panza for I Love the Upper West Side)
• Two painters fell from the Manhattan Bridge on Wednesday. The fall was caused by strong winds, killing one while injuring the other. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist)
• The Fearless Girl statue has been staring at the New York Stock Exchange for three years. A delay from the Landmarks Preservation Commission may mean the statue will have to be removed. (Laura Itzkowitz for Untapped New York)
• Muhammad A. Aziz and Khalil Islam's convictions in the murder of Malcolm X were vacated on Thursday. Aziz and Islam had alibis and Talmadge Hayer testified that he took place in the killing and Aziz and Islam were not involved. According to Manhattan DA Cy Vance's investigation, a cover-up involving the NYPD and FBI was discovered. (Jen Chung and Arun Venugopal for Gothamist)
• The Onion: Exhausted Rockefeller Center Staff Decide To Take It Easy And Go With 3-Foot Artificial LED Christmas Tree This Year. (The Onion)
• Video: For $1,000 a month, you can rent a 52 square foot apartment in SoHo. No kitchen. Shared bathrooms. (Cash Jordan on YouTube)
• Don't let the inclusion of McSorley's deter you from looking at the rest of this list of 15 iconic New York restaurants, bars, and cafes. (Lara Elmayan for Untapped New York)
• A new bill in the state senate will limit a defendant’s lyrics, videos, or other 'creative expression' as evidence shown to a jury. While no one would use Jimi Hendrix's lyrics from "Hey Joe" to convict him of shooting his old lady down, but rap lyrics are regularly used against defendants in court. File this under "we shouldn't need a law for this, but here we are anyway" (Brooklyn Vegan)
• Stop me if you've heard this one before. The MTA's work is hitting delays and will cost more than originally promised. This time it's the signal replacements on six lines that were supposed to happen between 2020 and 2024 and cost $7 billion will be delayed at least a year and cost hundreds of millions more, but if they can't get their trains to run on schedule, whatever made us think they could make construction run on schedule? (Jose Martinez with additional reporting by Christopher Alvarez for The City)
• Dame Products has settled its lawsuit with the MTA and will become the first female-founded pleasure product brand able to advertise its wares on the subway. For years the MTA denied that a female-oriented sex toy company couldn't advertise on the subway but dick pills were fine. Congrats to Dame Products. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist)
• Vaccinated revelers will be allowed back into Times Square on New Year's Eve. 2022, the third calendar year of the pandemic. Hooray? (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)
• Real Estate Lust: A $1.25 million Flatbush pre-war apartment with three beds, two baths, treetop views, access to dedicated parking, a laundry room with washer/dryer, and more. (Michelle Cohen for 6sqft)
• Can I install a washer/dryer combo in my NYC apartment? (Evelyn Battaglia for Brick Underground)
• Manhattan Mini Storage was sold to a Missouri company. The Missouri-based company says they want to bring "the same sass" to their marketing campaigns. (Jen Chung for Gothamist)
• A look at the festive holiday cocktails of Loreley Beer Garden on Rivington. (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)
• Resigned-in-disgrace former Governor Andrew Cuomo could be forced to give back the millions of dollars he earned for writing his book after a state ethics board revoked their authorization, claiming Cuomo broke his promise not to use state resources towards completing it. "Leadership Lessons" indeed. (Grace Ashford and Luis Ferré-Sadurní for NY Times)
• If your problem with Starbucks was the staff, the Starbucks inside the Amazon Go store on 59th has no cashiers. There are still baristas, so this isn't a completely robotic future just yet. (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)
• The 15 best NYC holiday markets of 2021. Michelle Cohen for 6sqft)
• Will House of Yes' House of X translate to Manhattan? (Shane O’Neill for NY Times)
• Congrats to City Councilmember Justin Brannan, who declared victory over Republican-candidate Brian Fox to represent Dyker Heights and Bay Ridge. The CBGB Caucus stays in the City Council. With both members of the caucus representing Brooklyn, wouldn't it have been better named the L'Amours Caucus? (Gabriel Sandoval for The City)
• 19 "timeless" French bistros and brasseries in NYC. (Alexandra Ilyashov for Eater)
Featured Pet: Lil’ Prince Capo!
This photo of Lil’ Price Capo comes to us thanks to reader Elizabeth, who says “he’s feisty and spicy with lots of personality and loves long leash-less walks in Central Park.” Send your pet photos to thebriefly@gmail.com. I always need more photos!
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