The Briefly for April 30, 2019 – The "Luxury Living in a Toxic Waste Flood Zone" Edition
Borough President Melinda Katz put forward a plan to address Queens' gun violence, including a 24/7 gun buyback program and new education programs. We're two weeks from the primary for the Queens District Attorney and Katz is a candidate. (QNS)
The allergy forecast continues to be at "high" or "very High" without a sign of "moderate" in sight. Stay indoors. (Patch)
The 6 oldest buildings in the Bronx. (Untapped Cities)
30-story buildings on toxic waste sites that are in flood zones. Welcome to the Gowanus rezoning. (Curbed)
Another hidden tax. Restaurants have begun charging customers fees for paying with a credit card. (MarketWatch)
Photos from Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom festival at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. (Gothamist)
Watch a time-lapse of the Goethals Bridge construction. (EarthCam)
Sounds like no one like Rhode Island style "pizza." (Eater)
Welcome to the neighborhoods in the city with seven playgrounds for every 10,000 kids, the playground deserts. (Patch)
10 stories of a 33 story office building in Rockefeller Center will be converted from offices to Airbnbs. This is one of a few office/hotel hybrids coming to the city. (Curbed)
Take a historic tour of the 2,200 buildings of Greenwich Village, 50 years after it was given landmark designation. (6sqft)
Seems like The Palm is the new Spotted Pig. The chain is accused multiple times over of nurturing an atmosphere of sexual harassment. The restaurant's attorney denies the claims. (Eater)
The story of how McGuinness Blvd became McGuinness Blvd, from its start as the cobblestone Oakland Street. (Greenpointers)
AOC had her first town hall, fielding questions about the Green New Deal and Amazon HQ2. (QNS)
Legal Aid is suing the city in an attempt to get the NYPD to actually follow the law and stop penalizing workers who use electric bikes for deliveries. (Gothamist)
The big boards at Grand Central Terminal are going all digital and it's hard not to see that as a loss, no matter how convenient the upgrade may be. (Gothamist)
Uber and Lyft's explosive growth in the city has stopped on a dime, as neither are hiring new drivers. The city's pay regulations appear to be having the intended effect. Since the $17.22 minimum wage for drivers went into effect, drivers have earned $56 million more than they would have otherwise. (Politico)
The B39 bus gets the New York Times profile treatment. (New York Times)
Six of the season's best neighborhood food festivals. (6sqft)
Everything new you need to know about camping on Governors Island. (Time Out)
"IT WAS PROFISIZED [sic] IN THE LATE 20th CENTURY. AN Angel OF DEATH SHALL WASTE THIS PLACE. NOW I ASK YOU DO YOU BELIEVE IT TO BE TRUE?....THE DOCTOR." No one asked for this on their mozzarella cheese packaging. (Gothamist)
"By entering these premises you agree not to run for President of the United States in 2020 or in any future presidential race," says the signs at the YMCA that Mayor de Blasio visits to work out. Not all heroes wear capes. (Patch)
Early voting is likely coming to NYC. The mayor proposed 100 early voting sites for the 2019 general election, the 2020 presidential primary, and the 2020 June primary. (amNY)
The Right to Know Act went into effect in October, which mandated that NYPD officers give business cards to people they stop and ask permission to perform stop and frisk searches. According to the Justice Committee, they haven't been doing either. (Patch)
The MTA's express buses are no longer accept cash, but without the OMNY system and without MetroCard machines at express bus stops, some New Yorkers are feeling their commutes threatened. While less than 1% of people use cash, that 1% likely depend on it for their ability to pay the $6.75 fare. (Gothamist)
The five best burritos in New York this week. (Thrillist)
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