The Briefly for December 29 - 30, 2020 – The "Penn Station, A Little Less Terrible" Tuesday Edition

Today - Low: 28˚ High: 39˚

Partly cloudy throughout the day.

Photos: Up close with the New Year's Eve ball. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) With the stimulus bill passing, here's what you need to know about the additional weekly $300 for unemployed workers. (Lauren Costantino for The City) Buildings in the city are being graded like restaurants, the building I live in got a C, but almost half of the city's buildings were given Ds and Fs. There's no punishment for bad grades until 2024. (Lydia McMullen-Laird for Gothamist) Video: The entire length of Broadway on an E-Scooter. (ActionKid) Apartment Lust: This one-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village is nice but its best feature is its pricetag under one million dollars. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft) It's a great week to look for a dog or cat to add to your life. Patch highlights some dogs and cats available, including Petunia, the super affectionate lap cat. (Patch) The new Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station is set to open on January 1. Penn Station will still be a terrible nightmare, but with one nice area, available by a tunnel. (Sydney Pereira for Gothamist) Half of the MTA's budget comes from fares and tolls and the state is waking up to the idea that maybe that's not a great idea, which is why we're getting ideas like taxing packages or raising gas taxes from the state. (Jose Martinez for The City) If you've wondered how some of the city's restaurants' outdoor structures are possibly legal, you have the SLA's unclear regulations and the city's lack of enforcement to thank. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist) Video: Say hello to the city's asshole of the week, an unidentified woman who falsely accused a Black teenager of stealing her iPhone in the lobby of the Arlo Hotel. Her phone was found in an Uber later. (Ashley Reese for Jezebel) There's a new Pastrami Queen location on the Upper West Side. (Scott Lynch for Gothamist) A look into what arts groups are doing to keep itself afloat through gala season. (Robin Pogrebin for NY Times) The post-Christmas Covid-19 spike is here. (Matt Troutman for Patch) Healthcare providers who violate the law by distributing the coronavirus vaccine could lose their license, be fined up to $1 million, and face possible prison time, under a new executive order from Governor Cuomo. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft) Interview: The staff of Arlene's Grocery on the struggles to exist through the pandemic. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist) RIP Betty Campbell-Adams, founder of founded Lloyd’s Carrot Cake in the Bronx. (Alex Vadukul for NY Times) Wanna make yourself hungry for bucatini? (It's the pasta that looks like spaghetti, but it's hollow). Read about the bizarre bucatini shortage of 2020. (Rachel Handler for Grub Street) Given up on dinner? Here are 10 frozen options from NYC restaurants to upgrade your lazy dinners. (Christina Izzo for Time Out) Thanks to reader Francesca for today's featured photo!