The Briefly for February 11, 2020 – The "Brokers' Fees Are Unbanned" Edition
Today - Low: 35˚ High: 48˚
Light rain in the morning and afternoon.
Congrats to the Barclays Center subway stop, which has the city's worst privately owned subway elevator functioning for only 74.2% of 2019, out of service for a total of three months of the year. (Jose Martinez for The City) Video: Go behind the scenes and back in time with this Metropolitan Museum of Art behind the scenes tour from 1928. (Matt Coneybeare for Viewing NYC) Remember when brokers' fees were banned? Brokers' fees have been unbanned, temporarily at least. The Real Estate Board of New York sued the state and the judge put a temporary restraining order on the rule. Snip snap. (Matthew Haag for NY Times) Hulu is taking over Rough Trade this weekend in an installation to promote the new Hulu version of High Fidelity. (Grant Lancaster for amNewyork Metro) New York is the ninth most dangerous state for online dating, which takes into account internet crime rates and STI transmission rates. The safest site for online dating is Maine and the most dangerous is Alaska, which has the country's highest man to woman ratio. (Kathleen Culliton for Patch) The best bars on the Upper West Side. (Hannah Rosenfield for I Love the Upper West Side) Aldea, which arrives a Michelin star, is closing on February 22. Chef George Mendes cites plans to “take a break, recharge creatively, and refocus,” with no other reason given for the closure. (Serena Dai for Eater) Pizza Rat won Gothamist's poll for the new subway mascot, but let's not forget the subway's previous mascot, Cardvaark, who looks like everyone's least coolest cousin wearing a homemade Halloween outfit, who was supposed to help us all transition from tokens to MetroCards. Fun fact, the same person who brought us Cardvaark also brought us Poetry in Motion. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist) Okay, so you're moving from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Here are 19 answers to common questions. (Mariela Quintana for StreetEasy) The NYPD is reporting 2019 saw the first rise in the number of Stop and Frisks since 2013, up 22% from 2018. An NYPD spokesperson, who must think that we're all stupid, said that it's "unlikely to be a true increase in stops but rather more accurate and complete reporting." (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) With a history of racist and victim-blaming comments, does the Sergeants Benevolent Association's Ed Mullins really speak for the actual NYPD? (Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Jeffery C. Mays for NY Times) Take a deep breath in and release that tension in your body. The Yankees have reported for spring training, which means actual spring is coming. (Joe Pantorno for amNewYork Metro) Everything you need to know about NYC's citywide ferry. (Tanay Warerkar for Curbed) What you need to know about the state's plastic bag ban, which kicks into gear in less than three weeks. (Adam Nichols for Patch) Manhattan's community boards are older than the borough’s population, homeowners hold a disproportionately high number of seats and Hispanic people are underrepresented. Not a great representation. (Rachel Holliday Smith and Ann Choi for The City) Oreo is building a giant inflatable slide in Herald Square that will open February 21st, so when you're in Herald Square and your friends see the slide and ask what it is, you can look effortlessly cool by telling them "Oreo put it up." (Emma Orlow for Time Out) If you've always wanted to sleep in the Red Hook IKEA, here's your chance. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft) After an ICE agent shot Eric Diaz in the face, it's time to ask if New York City really a sanctuary city? (Peter Rugh for The Indypendent) The Reckless Driver Accountability Act will require drivers who rack up five red light tickets or 15 school speed zone violations within a one year period to take a safe driving course or they'll lose their car until they do. The bill is expected to pass City Council this week. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) Photos: Cupid's Undie Run, kind of like a street version of the No Pants Subway Ride but for charity, hit the streets last weekend. (Collier Sutter for Time Out) Video: 'Commute' by Scott Lazer is a beautiful film, shot on 16mm, even if it's focused on Penn Station in rush hour. (Matt Coneybeare for Viewing NYC) 1 Dot = 1 Person. Explore how racially divided the city is using 2010 census data. (Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service) Feds to the Hudson River rail tunnel: Drop Dead. (Ryan Hutchins for Politico) Another day, another water main break. This time the water main on South Street near Pike Slio broke, flooding the area. (Bowery Boogie) R40, La Rotisserie du Coin, La Mian Lounge join the hottest restaurants in Queens. Featured photo sent in from reader @mfireup