The Briefly for August 5, 2019 – The "Subway Supervillain Has Returned" Edition
This week's late-night subway disruption lottery winners are the 2, 3, A, #, N and R trains. (Subway Weekender)
Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr. is reviving an investigation into hush-money payments made to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal from the Trump Organization. The investigation will be looking into if the Trump Organization falsified business records. (NY Times)
The city's subway supervillain was back at it and was arrested for the seventeenth time for a subway-related offense. Isaiah Thompson is the man who was pulling emergency brakes on multiple subways, causing hundreds of delays. His latest arrest was for subway surfing. (NY Times)
The ten oldest parks in the city. (Untapped Cities)
The 42nd Street Shuttle will be "modernized," which means some temporary delays and reduction of service. How modern? That's questionable, but at the very least the trains and platforms will be ADA compliant, widened, and the cars themselves extended from four trains to six. (Second Ave Sagas)
The legal fight over the mega-development in the Lower East Side will continue on, but what started it? A 2016 decision by the de Blasio administration to classify residential buildings over eight stories "minor modifications" to the existing developments and could bypass the land review process kicked it off. The towers planned are 1,004-feet tall, 798-feet tall, 728-feet tall, and 724-feet tall, which all seems a bit more than minor modifications. (Bowery Boogie)
Daniel Pantaleo should be fired. That's the decision that a police administrative judge came to in a Civilian Complaint Review Board case. Will he be? That's a decision for James O'Neill, the NYPD commissioner, who can decide "no," despite the judge's decision. (NY Times)
Eric Garner's family promised large protests if Pantaleo isn't fired. (amNY)
What's the history of the closet-sized "POLICE" building on Lee Avenue in Williamsburg? (Untapped Cities)
The total number of jobs in the city has gone up, but the total number of hours per week is down, essentially neutralizing the job gain when it comes to wages. The city's lower than the average number of hours per week compared to the nation is an indicator of a substantial income gap that continues to widen. (amNY)
Mayor de Blasio put a freeze on new licenses for Uber, Lyft and the like in a hope to reduce the number of cars on the streets and therefore reduce traffic and pollution. He also said, “We are not here to serve the corporate titans, we are here to serve the people.” Unfortunately, the aftermath of this is that cars that have licenses are rented out, creating corporate titans on a smaller scale and further reducing the wages he was hoping to save. (Kings County Politics)
Where to get fun, non-alcoholic drinks in Astoria. (We Heart Astoria)
This week's list of restaurants closed by the Department of Health has no 100-point violations, but it does include the Greenwich Social food hall. (Patch)
The Algonquin Hotel Cat Fashion Show featured outfits from Ada Nieves, and of course, there are photos. (Untapped Cities)
Why is it that when you send a piece of mail to someone in Brooklyn, but when you send it to Queens it's sent to a specific neighborhood? There are myths about the reason and the post office can't be fully be blamed either. It's a bit of a mystery. (Gothamist)
An odd opinion piece from Polly Trottenberg, commissioner of the Department of Transportation, which seems to be focused on the difficulty the DOT's job is when they keep getting sued by NIMBYs. (Streetsblog)
The country's only floating pool is in the Bronx. fwiw, it's floating on the East River, not in mid-air. (6sqft)
Mayor de Blasio is accused of using a state election fund to help his cash-strapped presidential campaign, which is a violation of federal finance laws. Law-breaking fundraising is nothing new to de Blasio. (Patch & NY Times)
Video: The Tiffany clock in Grand Central is worth $20 million, here's why. (Viewing NYC)
R. Kelly pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges. (amNY)
He was denied bail, is being held in Brooklyn, and his lawyer claims that he is the real victim. (NY Times)
What are the most expensive homes for sale in each borough? Come on, you know you're curious. (Patch)
Despite what this etiquette post from Gothamist says, I disagree and say it's perfectly fine to read text messages from someone else's screen on the subway. (Gothamist)
Last summer the water fountains on Roosevelt Island were shut off because the water they were serving up was contaminated. There is no indication that they will be functional in 2019. Pack a water bottle. (Roosevelt Islander Online)
Highlighted by the recent killing of Em Samolewicz, how did large trucks become Vision Zero's worst offenders? (Gothamist)
“We need new laws that cause much more consequence if a motorist is negligent and they kill someone, even if it wasn’t their intention.” -Mayor de Blasio, responding to a question about on WNYC's "Ask the Mayor" (Gothamist)
It is time to stop blaming cyclists for the problems on the city's roads. (NY Times)
There are many reasons not to swim in the lake in Prospect Park, from the signs instructing you not to swim in the lake to the blue-green algae bacteria blooms that produce deadly toxins. Someone decided to give it a try anyway and he was dragged out of the lake by the NYPD and taken for psychiatric evaluation. (Brooklyn Paper)
The NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau asks if you see additional police to "not be alarmed" as they engage in security theater after this weekend's mass shootings in Texas and Ohio. (amNY)
Gays Against Guns took to Times Square over the weekend to push for more gun control laws. (amNY)
The five best lobster rolls in the city. (Thrillist)