The "A Cocktails To Go Opponent" Edition

The vaccine mandate hits 1,430 city employees, the $100 vaccine incentive is back, ten secrets of Astoria, where to get pasta and wine by yourself, and more

Today - Low: 29˚ High: 30˚
Clear throughout the day.

The latest seven-day positivity rate: 2.86%
75.98% of city residents have received two shots, 85.11% of city residents have received one or more shots. Source: NYC Department of Health.

Thanks to reader George for sending in this shot from Forest Hills! Send your NYC photos to thebriefly@gmail.com

• "I am calling on Con Ed to review their billing practices" -Governor Hochul. It's like asking the mouse in your apartment to review its practice of pooping on the counters. (Max Rivlin-Nadler for Gothamist)

• Manhole fires more than doubled in the last two years. Manhole cover explosions were up more than double as well. Melting snow plus road salt plus underground electrical equipment is an excellent combination for combustion. (Gabriel Sandoval for The City)

• Liquor stores are fighting the legalization of to-go cocktails. (Jon Campbell for Gothamist)

• If you're searching for a place to buy sexually explicit baked goods, Kinky's Dessert Bar will fill that hole in your life. (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)

• Only 1,430 of the city's 370,000 workers were fired for refusing to get vaccinated. All of those workers except two new hires were already on unpaid leave. Right up until the deadline, the number was at 4,000, making the mandates appear to work. (Emma G. Fitzsimmons for NY Times)

• A story from New York Magazine from David Zweig is (perhaps willfully) ignoring the science of how helpful masking is in schools. The biggest takeaway from this should be that when you read that a study was "inconclusive," it means there was no evidence of a difference, not evidence of no difference. (Nsikan Akpan for Gothamist)

• The Times interviewed Anna Sorokin, currently in ICE detention while fighting deportation to Germany. (Emily Palmer for NY Times)

• It's weird that Mayor Adams seems to be making a big deal about public safety and crime but still hasn't named a head of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. (Reuven Blau for The City)

• Large carts have been banned from subways after the death of a subway worker in 2020, but the MTA can't seem to get the NYPD to enforce the ban. If the NYPD won't enforce the mask mandate or the shopping cart ban on the subways, what the hell are they doing down there? (Jose Martinez for The City)

• The city's 90,000 for-hire vehicle drivers will see a 5.3% wage increase next month, increasing to $1.161 per mile and $0.529 per minute. (Jen Chung and Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist)

• Almost half of New Yorkers eligible for Fair Fares, which offers MetroCards at a 50% discount to low-income riders, have not applied for the initiative, and almost one-in-seven didn’t know how to do so, according to a new report from the non-profit Community Service Society. (Kevin Duggan for amNY Metro)

• The Plaza is now offering The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselafternoon tea service, inspired by classics from the 1950s and 1960s. It's available through March 13 (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)

• Real Estate Lust: A $4.65 million classic seven on the Upper West Side with a wood-burning fireplace, meticulous design, walk-in closet, is pet-friendly, with building amenities of a rooftop terrace, bike storage, playroom, laundry room, central garden, and more. (Michelle Cohen for 6sqft)

• Robert DeNiro's Wildflower Studios, a $600 million film production facility in Astoria, got final approval to start construction. It's expected to be completed in 2023. (Bill Parry for QNS)

• The $100 vaccine incentive is back for first-timers and boosters at city-run or SOMOS vaccination sites through the end of the month. (Brigid Bergin for Gothamist)

• Photos: The Soul-themed exhibit at Harlem's National Jazz Museum. (Emily Davenport for amNY Metro)

• Ten secrets of Astoria. (Gabriel Neves for Untapped New York)

• Where to get pasta and a glass of wine by yourself. (Hannah Albertine for The Infatuation)

Thank you so much to the reader who contributed to The Briefly using this Ko-Fi link since the last edition. Your continued support means the world to me.

Featured Pet: Max!

Thanks to reader Robin for this photo of Max! Send in your pet photos to thebriefly@gmail.com to be featured.