The Briefly for April 17, 2020 – The "Every Hour is Happy Hour When Time is Meaningless" Edition
Today - Low: 47˚ High: 51˚
Light rain in the evening and overnight.
This weekend - Low: 41˚ High: 63˚
4K VIdeo: Walking through Times Square. (ActionKid) In honor of his late grandmother, Michael Che will be paying May's rent for the 160 apartments in the NYCHA building where she lived. (Ron Dicker for HuffPost) Rent in the city dropped 6% since the start since March 22. (Localize.City) Tenant groups are set for a rent strike on May 1. (Georgia Kromrei for The Real Deal) Sick of sourdough? Here are seven bread options for you to try. (Sam O'Brien for Atlas Obscura) The allure and anxiety of drinking along in quarantine. (Alice Feriring for Grub Street) What time is it okay to start drinking alcohol? It's hard to tell because time has no meaning anymore. (Shayla Love for VICE) Slowly, the city's government is finding a way to move forward. The City Council and the Landmarks Preservation Commission will start meeting digitally next week. (Caroline Spivack for Curbed) Taxi drivers were struggling before the pandemic. With COVID-19, they face even more difficulties. (Estefania Hernandez for NY1) Are you willing to go to a live sport without a vaccine? 61% of sports fans and 71% of people overall are unwilling to go until there's a vaccine. (Norman Oder for Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report) Keith McNally's Lucky Strike on Grand Street is closed for good. Is it the first domino to fall when it comes to independent restaurants? (Alan Sytsma for Grub Street) From former Roberta’s and Speedy Romeo chef Robert Guimond comes Public Display of Affection, a wood-fired pizza spot in Park Slope on Union Street. (Luke Fortney for Eater) Mayor de Blasio released a revised "wartime" budget on Thursday, with a $6 billion reduction. "A budget is a statement of values," according to the mayor. (Kathleen Culliton for Patch) "A budget is a statement of values," according to the mayor when speaking about his budget. Last year he said, "Placard abuse erodes faith in government and has no place in our city." This year he's eliminating the Placard Abuse Enforcement Team. Activist Charles Komanoff has a different idea: Disband the Collision Investigation Squad instead. (Charles Komanoff for Streetsblog) Workers at two luxury Manhattan residential buildings, The Chamberlain and 432 West 52nd Street, walked out on the job, claiming poor work conditions and harassment. (Sylvia Varnham O’Regan for The Real Deal) It's easy to think that artists should use this time to create something new, but the reality of the moment can be much heavier than imaginable. This is Rori Nogee's story of going from having six jobs and a show ready to open on Restaurant Row to a 100% loss of income and opportunities. (Rori Nogee for New York Cliche) A look at what might be New York City's last open bookstore. (Hoa P Nguyen for Bedford + Bowery) I first saw it from a friend's story on Instagram, the boarded-up stores in Manhattan. It's a pandemic, not The Purge. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist) Pizza bagels? Pizza rolls? Please. Forget it, now pizza cupcakes are ready for delivery. (Bao Ong for Time Out) Tired of the same old views? Check out the livestreams of the Bronx Zoo and the New York Aquarium. (Jen Chung for Gothamist) "It should be stated bluntly that traveling on the New York subway system is now one of the more frightful experiences Western civilization has to offer on a regular basis. The experience is not only intolerable. It is also a daily advertisement for the brutish sensibilities and shallow brainpans of the people who now control the city." "Why We Hate the Subways," despite being timely, was written in 1977. (Alexander Cockburn for Village Voice) Thank goodness for people like the non-profit Greenpoint Cats, who have been doing their best to look after bodega cats left behind or abandoned as bodegas close. (Aaron Simon for Greenpointers) 10 great sandwiches still available in NYC. (Robert Sietsema for Eater) Police are investigating the death of a man who was found floating in the East River near Roosevelt Island. (Emily Davenpont for QNS) New York remains on PAUSE until at least May 15. (Kathleen Culliton for PAtch) Reports of domestic violence have dropped dramatically across the city, and that's not a good thing. (Ashley Southall for NY Times) Watch New Yorkers sing "New York, New York" out their windows after Thursday's 7 pm clap, a project of the Peace of Heart Choir. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York) In what started as a cheap way to live, an $800-a-month illegal bedroom in Bushwick with no windows now sounds more like a cruel experiment. (Trey Taylor for Curbed) Do you miss Shake Shack? Here's the recipe for the ShackBurger and ShackSauce. (Bao Ong for Time Out) The best brunch options in NYC available for delivery. (Emma Orlow for Time Out)