The Briefly for August 30, 2020 – The "There's A Great Hot Dog Stand Nearby" Sunday Edition
Today - Low: 65˚ High: 80˚
Clear throughout the day.
Wondering what the hell was going on with those fireworks over the Hudson on Thursday night right around 11 pm ? Those were a part of MTV's Video Music Awards. (Jen Chung for Gothamist) With the first of the month right around the corner, here's what you should know about rent concessions. (Jordi Lippe-McGraw for StreetEasy) Headlines about New York having the lowest infection rates in six months area great, but they are no reason to relax about following the guidelines. These headlines are literally the reason to stay strict. (Robert Pozarycki for amNewYork Metro) The mayor's plan to reopen the schools is a gamble, and he's gambling with the health of students, teachers, and staff. With the numbers being as low as they are at the moment, it may look safe, but it's still a gamble that doesn't yet have the complete support of the teachers' union. As we get closer and closer to September 10, we face a showdown between the United Federation of Teachers, who may still call for a strike over safety concerns, the mayor's office, the City Council, which plans to call for a delay, and Governor Cuomo, who could still step in and overrule the mayor's decision. (Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist) When colleges in the state have 100 cases in two weeks or the total cases equal 5% of the on-campus population, the entire school will go into remote learning for two weeks. (Noah Singer for Brooklyn Eagle) The Museum of Natural History plans on opening next month, but those plans could be derailed by a dispute with its union over privacy concerns. The museum wants its employees to use an app to track Covid-19 symptoms using an app whose data is not protected by HIPPA. (Julia Jacobs for NY Times) MoMA PS1 will reopen on September 17. (Allie Griffin for Queens Post) A guide to MoMA and the Met. (NY Times) Photos: A first look at the Met's new Roof Garden Commission Lattice Detour by Héctor Zamora. (Noah Sheidlower for Untapped New York) What to expect when heading back to a museum for the first time since March. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) Yeah, the Met is opening, but more importantly, the Hot Dog King is back. These kinds of stories seem inconsequential, people who truly love New York have little bits of knowledge that have been obliterated by the pandemic. These kinds of stories are the ones that defy the narrative that the city is, ahem, "dead." (Corey Kilgannon for NY Times)
"Have you not walked the streets? Have you not seen the people here? Born here, bred here, living and breathing here. They are scrappy, scared, hungry, and tired, but more importantly, they’re pissed. If anything the rebel cry of thousands, millions, fighting to live is what should terrify anyone that dare declare us dead."
- Ariama C. Long, Who The Fuck Are You To Tell Me My City’s Dead for Kings County Politics
The argument that laughs in the face of the modern "Why I left New York" essay. (Talmon Joseph Smith for The Atlantic) The House of Yes' liquor license was suspended. The center of the suspension seems to be centered around the House of Yes not offering food directly, but relying on a "sister" restaurant and seemingly pleading ignorance of how the rules worked in addition to playing loud music. (Rose Adams for Brooklyn Paper) Check out the designs for the Brooklyn park dedicated to LGBTQ advocate Marsha P. Johnson. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft) At the RNC, President Trump made some assertions about crime in New York City. Here are the facts. (Alan Feuer for NY Times) Speaking of the RNC, multiple New Yorkers who are NYCHA residents were featured in a video during the convention without their knowledge. They have come forward to let everyone know they are not Trump supporters and were tricked into appearing the in the video. (Matthew Haag for NY Times) MSG will be used as a polling site in November's election thanks to the deal the NBA players' union made with the league's owners. There hasn't been any word about the Barclays Center yet. (Faraz Toor for NY1) In a move to attempt to stave off clerical problems in a similar fashion to the ones that were ever-present in the June primaries, Governor Cuomo signed and tweaked legislation that will notify voters of issues with their ballots that can be fixed within seven days of being notified. (Noah Singer for Brooklyn Eagle) NYPD officer Henry Vidal was arrested in March for beating his partner inside her Harlem apartment. He was suspended without pay and ordered to stay away from the woman. On Friday he violated that order and reportedly pulled a gun on her and threatened to kill her inside her sister's home. He was arrested and is still suspended without pay. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) The city's new chokehold ban is a month old and already the City Council is bowing to the NYPD and is considering amending it. The NYPD is banned from sitting, kneeling, or standing on someone's chest or back that compresses the diaphragm. The NYPD wants to add the word "recklessly" to the wording, which is a loophole big enough to drive an NYPD SUV straight through. (NY1) This is the NYPD, which has no problem recklessly parking and blocking bus stops. (Jose Martinez for The City) This is the same NYPD that has been occupying streets adjacent to precincts since June and has recently gone as far as setting up "checkpoints" on their needlessly occupied streets. (Nick Garber for Patch) It's hard to imagine our idiot mayor enforcing anything when his motorcade blocked a waterfront bike lane so he could make an announcement about ferries. (Dave Colon for Streetsblog) Trash complaints are up 120% in the city's parks. The city's solution is an advertising campaign urging people to throw out their trash. While I can appreciate the effort, actually maintaining the parks may go further than asking people politely, but with an $84 million budget cut, ads in LinkNYC kiosks might be as good as we can get. (David Cruz for Gothamist) If you want to see President Trump wearing a mask (a facemask, not a leather gimp mask you sickos), the only place you'll be able to see it is in Madame Tussauds in Times Square. (Will Gleason for Time Out) The Punjabi Deli on Houston is open for the first time in four months. The food is legendary, especially for vegans and vegetarians. (Scott Lynch for Gothamist) The city added six more streets for outdoor dining in Boerum Hill, Garment District, Flatiron, Harlem, and Astoria. (Christopher Robbins for Gothamist) 'Tis the season for billionaires to form shady coalitions and astroturfed "advocacy" to fight the idea that the rich should be taxed, if not eaten whole. It almost worked, but their partners are all withdrawing after being outed as possibly bankrolled by a billionaire Republican. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) Thinking about starting a food business? How about shelling out for this space shuttle food truck? It was formerly a DC-3 airliner and has a full-service, commercial kitchen, restroom, and cockpit. You'll have to sell a lot of astronaut ice cream to afford the $149,000 price point. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) Congrats to Mayor de Blasio, who is overseeing a city that is giving thousands of parking tickets to its frontline nurses, despite explicitly giving them parking placards to avoid getting tickets. (Kathleen Culliton for NY1) At the beginning of the year, it seemed like we had three front-runners for 2021's mayoral race with Comptroller Scott Stringer, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. Three men and two of them are white. The Times asks do New York City voters want another white mayor? (Jeffrey C. Mays for NY Times) Where to eat outside after 11pm. (Matt Tervooren for The Infatuation) Thanks to reader Michael for today's featured photo!