The Briefly for August 2, 2019 – The "Delayed Subways Are Literally Killing You" Weekend Edition
Welcome to August, when everyone seems to leave the city.
Lots of reduced service this week on the subways, check before you go. (Subway Weekender)
Four residential towers slated for Two Bridges, the area between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges on the Manhattan side, was put on ice by a judge who declared the city did not have the right to bypass the usual zoning and approval process. (amNY)
There's a piece of Broadway's history sitting outside of 52 East 80th Street. Outside the brownstone, you'll find a large limestone head of a Greco-Roman goddess. That head was a part of the original Zigfield Theater. (Untapped Cities)
Are subway delays deadly? In the long run, yes. The Social Science Research Council found a correlation between higher commute times and obesity and are linked to diabetes and heart conditions. (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
You can take the mayor out of the city, but you can't take the controversy away from the mayor. During this week's debates, de Blasio was plagued with questions and protests over some of his greatest hits. (amNY)
Who is on the MTA board, which has the authority to raise prices and make service changes? If you guessed a bunch of rich, older, white suburbanites, you'd be right. The median household income for a board member is 5x MTA riders and only 26% live in the city. (6sqft)
Three men were arrested for trafficking 100,000 pounds of weed from California to Queens between 2015 and last December. (QNS)
Video: Meet Danny and Elizabeth Rossi, a father/daughter dup of disabled veterans who run hot dog carts outside the Met. Their interview highlights their infectious personalities but also the surprising black market hot dog cart business. (Viewing NYC)
The proper way to end a subway argument about etiquette is yelling, followed by one person leaving the subway car to go to the next car at the first opportunity, not stabbing two people who are asking you to move your bags. (Gothamist)
A side effect of the eventual East River Park renovation is that the blacktop area frequented by street hockey players and skaters would be turfed over to make way for the displaced East River Park's baseball fields. The city is trying to figure out where it would move the displaced skaters and street hockey players. (Gothamist)
The MTA plans to make the 14th St station on 6th and 7th Aves fully accessible with new elevators by 2022. (6sqft)
The NYPD has quietly added photos of children and teens to their facial recognition systems, further graying an already very gray area of where artificial intelligence and policing meet. (NY Times)
The monster under the streets of Bushwick is hungry, that's the only logical explanation for the giant sinkhole that opened up and nearly ate a car whole. (Brooklyn Paper)
The city says its lead paint problem is under control, meanwhile, over 900 classrooms for children under 6 had deteriorated, chipped, or peeling lead paint. That's one in five classrooms. (Gothamist)
This fall the Brooklyn Bridge will go under a $328 million renovation project to work on the facades and repoint the towers. (Downtown Express)
Jesus Cepeda was killed in midtown when a driver hit him with his SUV while double parking in reverse. No arrests were made. (Gothamist)
Researchers studying trees at Green-Wood Cemetery found a nonnative beetle previously unknown to science. (NY Times)
A series of projects meant to beautify and make Downtown Brooklyn safer for pedestrians was announced by the governor on Thursdays to bring pedestrian crossings, a renovation for the Walt Whitman Library, upgrades in Commodore Barry Park, and more. (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
This is one story of hundreds from migrant children separated from their parents at the border, who end up in New York City. (Gothamist)
Borough President Eric Adams called out the city's third-party transfer program as racist and taking homes away from black and brown homeowners is intentional. (Bklyner)
The GOAT Riverside Park goat? After an online poll, Massey, a father of four was declared victorious. After a brief vacation, the goats are back to manicure the park. (Gothamist)
The top 10 hidden beaches in NYC. (Untapped Cities)
A day on City Island, which sounds like a little slice of a small New England beach town in the city. (NY Times)
Spend a day in Little Odessa, a neighborhood in complement to Brighton Beach. (amNY)
A look at the fascinating history of Coney Island's Sea Gate community. (6sqft)
Eat your way through Coney Island. (amNY)
Today's featured image was sent in by reader @munnybuns