The "A Casino in Times Square" Edition
Mayor Adams is shamed into fulfilling a promise, the migrant shelter on Randall's Island is open, hard kombucha gets a tap room, how to avoid traffic camera tickets, where to celebrate Diwali, & more
Today - Low: 50˚ High: 62˚
Clear throughout the day.
This weekend - Low: 56˚ High: 64˚
• Mayor Adams is moving to make Diwali a school holiday after being shamed into doing so. (Christopher Alvarez for The City)
• Casinos in Times Square, the first steps towards making this dystopian future happen have begun with Cesars Palace filing for a gaming license for 1515 Broadway in Times square. Their plans include doubling the number of safety officers in the neighborhood and, for some reason, adding surveillance drones. Additional casino bids include Resort World (for a full license), Wynn Resorts in Hudson Yards, Empire Casino in Yonkers (for a full license), and an often rumored casino in Coney Island, which seems like the worst option to me. (Aaron Ginsburg for 6sqft)
• 88,830 vacant rent-stabilized apartments in 2021, that's what a new analysis is showing, compared to the state's figure of 61,000. That means nearly 1 in 10 rent-stabilized apartments were empty last year, which is a horrifying figure. (Sam Rabiyah for The City)
• Mayor Adams's "temporary" migrant shelter is open on Randall's Island. Temporary is in quotes because of the quote “There is no limit to how long people that are seeking asylum can stay in this facility,” which was given by a health department official while giving a tour of the facility. There are concerns that the high volume of beds packed into the facility violates the city's right-to-shelter law and creates dangerous conditions for the spread of respiratory illnesses. Good thing we have none of those going around. Unrelated, it's flu season so make sure to get your flu shot. (Clio Chang for Curbed)
• If you want to help the migrants seeking asylum in the city, here is a list of drop-off locations for donations. Fall and winter clothing are being requested. Cash donations are being directed to the United Way. (Aaron Ginsburg for 6sqft)
• "People are seeing themselves and their colleagues not getting promotions or raises and then Adams is hiring his friends or supporters for high-level positions with high salaries, and they’re mad about it." A conversation with an outgoing NYC social services worker. (Nick PInto for Hell Gate)
• The good news is that the city has almost completely eliminated monkeypox. Gothamist has a professor of biology on what the city needs to reach zero. (Livia Ebertz, Michael Hill, and Nsikan Akpan for Gothamist)
"I fear that we tend to only notice the immersive sensory details when we’re paying 50 cents/minute to be put in a dark room and forced to stay present."
- Rossilynne Skena Culgan, "Let me tell you—we need to have a talk about all these NYC ‘immersive’ experiences" for Time Out
• Hard kombucha fans rejoice! JuneShine is getting ready to set up in Williamsburg with the city's first hard kombucha tap room. (Luke Fortney for Eater)
• A history of the Village Halloween Parade. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft)
• Review: The MTA's subway sandwich is bad. (Amber Sutherland-Namako for Time Out)
• Galaxy Brain: You can't get caught by speeding cameras if you don't have plates. (Eric Krebs for Hell Gate)
• Ten sit-down restaurants for celebrating Diwali with family and friends. (Robert Sietsema for Eater)
Top Clicked Links in the Last Edition:
Boot scrapers are a hidden relic of 19th century New York City
'Utter takeover': Pickleball invasion prompts turf war in West Village
'Abusive Customer' James Corden Called Out And Banned By NYC Restaurant Owner
Featured City Pets: Scooter and Pepper!
Yeah, my pups! I need more photos of pets! Send them to thebriefly@gmail.com.
Goodness Scooter and Pepper are adorable!