The "A History with Alligators" Edition
The "A History with Alligators" Edition
The mayor blinks when it comes to remote work, the Dolly Parton Look-Alike Contest is back this weekend, 99 cent pizza isn't dead (maybe), ten major art heists, and more
Thank you to reader Karelm for supporting The Briefly on Ko-Fi since the last edition.
• New York City has centuries of history with alligators, even if their native habitat only goes as far north as North Carolina. (Jessica Gould for Gothamist)
• New Yorkers are staring in their homes longer post-pandemic compared to pre-. Is this related to the pandemic, or do people feel stuck with the homes they've purchased because everything is unaffordable? (Matt Troutman for Patch)
• Someone, please explain why all these whales are washing up dead on our shores. (Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky for Gothamist)
• Mayor Eric Adams and the city’s largest municipal workers’ union struck a tentative five-year contract agreement that stands to set a pattern for renewing a slew of expired agreements with other unions, including a 16.21% wage increase by 2026, a trial run for remote work, and flexible hours. (Claudia Irizarry Aponte for The City)
• Some weird parallels are beginning to form between the Cuomo/de Blasio relationship and the Hochul/Adams one. Mayor Adams appointed himself to an MTA board with authority over the agency's $55 billion capital plan, a board Cuomo almost dared de Blasio to join (de Blasio wouldn't). Currently, the mayor and governor are at odds over the city contributing an additional half billion dollars to the MTA's budget. (Stephen Nessen and Jon Campbell for Gothamist)
• Farewell: Lenny's Pizzeria in Bensonhurst, the pizzeria from Saturday Night Fever. The family that owns it says they were "ready" to close. You missed your chance if you never got a double-decker since from Lenny's. (Brooklyn Magazine)
• 99 cent pizza isn't dead. There's new signage for 99-cent pizza on 14th near 1st. Is it a lie, or have we beaten back the scourge of $1.50 slice inflation? (EV Grieve)
• What the hell is a Chicago dog, and how did it become NYC's latest food trend? (Luke Fortney for Eater)
• Apartment Porn: A $4.4 million co-op on the UWS with 17-foot ceilings, stained glass, two beds, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves (complete with a rolling ladder), and more. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft)
86% of readers will not be haunted by “Sorry we do not supply tape at the.”
• The city's emergency Covid-19 equipment is being sold for a fraction of a penny on the dollar because we'll never have another respiratory illness-based emergency ever again. (Greg B. Smith for The City)
• More than a quarter of people locked up in city jails are not getting to court on time for their hearings and trials, the highest rate of failure since records became publicly available in 1999. (Matt Katz for Gothamist)
• Magdelene, a Lebanese bar and restaurant on Lorimer, is in danger of closing due to a legal fight with the landlord over the lease. There's a GoFundMe page, or you could go and spend money on food and drinks to help out. (Jennifer Rosini-Gentile for Greenpointers)
• The Dolly Parton Look-Alike Contest returns to Mable’s Smokehouse in Williamsburg this Friday. (Kerry Shaw for Gothamist)
• After a three-year pandemic hiatus, in-person tours of New York City’s abandoned City Hall subway station are returning through the New York Transit Museum this spring. (Aaron Ginsburg for 6sqft)
• Eater visits Lagos, a Times Square sports bar with Nigerian food. (Robert Sietsema for Eater)
• Ten major art heists at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Nicole Saraniero for Untapped New York)
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Featured Pet: Charlie!
Thanks to reader Megan for sending in this photo of Charlie the cat, hard at work on his laptop. Send your pet pics to thebriefly@gmail.com
