The "A Pizza List Created Out of Spite" Edition
The first mayoral debate, the most affordable neighborhoods, the new vaccine mandate, 24/7 dim sum, ghost stories in Bed-Stuy, and more
• The city's best Halloween decorations. (Will Gleason for Time Out)
• A look at some of the contested City Council races with a map to check what district you live in. (Rachel Holliday Smith for The City)
• Brooklyn Paper's Pizza Power List inspired by their disdain of Thrillist’s list of the best pizza places in Brooklyn. Some good picks on this spite list, including some hidden gems and one spot that shouldn’t be on the list. You’ll have to guess which one. (Ben Verde for Brooklyn Paper)
• The City's "Meet Your Mayor" tool is back to help you decide between Adams and Sliwa. (The City)
• Watch: The first full mayoral debate. (NBC New York)
• Five takeaways from the mayoral debate: Disagreeing over the vaccine mandate, Eric Adams's apartment and background, the future of NYC schools, Rikers, and more. (Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Dana Rubenstein for NY Times)
"The Guardian Angels' founder and leader, Curtis Sliwa, has admitted that six of his group's early crime-fighting exploits were actually faked and former and present associates contend that even more of the group's activities were publicity stunts." -Sliwa Admits Faking Crimes For Publicity (David Gonzalez, NY Times, November 1992)
"Thirty years ago while being a spokesperson for the Guardians Association, it was inappropriate what we did, and so a clear apology: I was wrong and when I’m wrong, I’m wrong and I don’t have a problem acknowledging that I was wrong. I was wrong.” -Eric Adams
• The city will require all municipal workers, including the NYPD and FDNY, to get at least one vaccine dose by October 29th with no opt-out with testing after that date. The unvaccinated will be on unpaid leave until they show proof of vaccination. The vaccination rate for firefighters is 59%. (Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist)
• The vaccine mandate also covers 125,000 city-contracted nonprofit workers. (Reuven Blau for The City)
• Congrats to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the only city agency that is 100% vaccinated. (Caroline Spivack for Curbed)
A trio of less-than-flattering stories about the NYPD:
Have you seen the video of two police officers shoving someone out of a subway station for asking them to wear masks on the subway? (Troy Closson for NY Times)
A lawsuit against the NYPD alleges the police used Instagram to stalk a Black Lives Matter protestor on top of excessive force and false arrest. (Kathleen Culliton for Patch)
Sixty percent of rapes went unsolved by the NYPD in 2020. The stories are horrifying. (Gwynne Hogan for Gothamist)
• Congrats to Mayor de Blasio, who recently polled with a lower favorability than both Andrew Cuomo and Donald Trump. Turns out de Blasio was able to unite the city by the end of his term. (Matt Troutman for Patch)
• A look at the new colorful chaos look of the Prospect Park bandshell painted by Emily Oliveira titled "We Are At a Moment That Will Be Remembered as the Beginning of the Great Change, For Who Can Say When a Wall Is Ready To Come Down.” The mural will be on view through May of 2022. (Vittoria Benzine for Brooklyn Magazine)
• This is why we can't have nice things: The Brooklyn Bridge bike path is already gross. (Gersh Kuntzman for Streetsblog)
• Papaya Dog on First and 14th is closed. It opened in that spot in 2005. (EV Grieve)
• Sometimes you need to see photos of a rainbow over NYC. (Laura Goggin Photography)
• New York City's burgers seem to be getter smaller, here's an argument that it's a good thing. (Luke Fortney for Eater)
• A Britney Spears musical is headed to Broadway because everything is a Broadway musical. The story revolves around a book club for princesses. (Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner for Time Out)
• If you know, you know. In celebration of the green bench in Tompkins Square Park. (Willy Blackmore for Curbed)
• The three most affordable neighborhoods in each borough (except Staten Island). (Emily Myers for Brick Underground)
• Real Estate Lust: A $4.5 million pre-war condo from the real-life Arconia building from Only Murders in the Building with 2,221 square feet, three beds, the main with a walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom, and the building's fitness center, private dining room, lounge, and playroom. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft)
• The SoHo/NoHo rezoning took another step forward this week with the Planning Commission voting unanimously in favor of the proposal. (Gwynne Hogan for Gothamist)
• Neighborhoods where rents are still below pre-pandemic levels. (Emily McDonald for StreetEasy)
• A new bronze sculpture of photographer Diane Arbus is Central Park's second-ever statue of a woman. You can visit Diane at the Doris C. Freedman Plaza on the corner of Fifth and 60th. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out)
• A 24/7 dim sum spot is coming to Times Square. When we say “the city that never sleeps,” this is the kind of thing we are talking about. (Emma Orlow for Eater)
• The ghost stories of Bed-Stuy. (The Bowery Boys)
• From one asshole to another. The people who bought the singular copy of the Wu-Tang Clan's "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" from Martin Shkreli is a company peddling crypto and NFTs. (Ben Sisario for NY Times)
• 6 things you really need to know about your NYC radiators. (Georgie Kral and Emily Myers for Brick Underground)
• Where to eat in Bay Ridge. (Robert Sietsema for Eater)
Featured Pet: Junior Mint!
Oh my goodness, look at Junior Mint. As lucky as they are adorable, they were found under the bonnet of an automobile only four months old. Share your pet photos with everyone by emailing them to thebriefly@gmail.com.
Thank you to the generous reader who contributed to The Briefly since the last edition.
