The Briefly for February 14-15, 2021 – The "It's Not Good News for Governor Cuomo" Valentine's Edition

Today - Low: 30˚ High: 36˚

Overcast throughout the day.

• What's open and what's closed on Presidents' Day. (Matt Troutman for Patch)

• Governor Cuomo is facing allegations of a coverup of the Covid-19 death toll in nursing homes. Melissa DeRosa, a top aide, admitted that the state withheld data because they feared an investigation by the Trump Justice Department. In an unrelated accusation, Attorney General Letitia James accused the governor of undercounting Covid-19 deaths connected to nursing homes. As a result, the state legislature is considering ending the emergency powers given to Governor Cuomo earlier in the pandemic. (Jesse McKinley and Luis Ferré-Sadurní for NY Times)

• In other Governor Cuomo-connected bad news, Cuomo is trying to distance himself from a state-run nursing home that was gave more than 60 residents a combination of antibiotics and hydroxchloroquine last spring. (Dean Russell for The City)

• Over 100 candidates and supporters are suing Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio over the signature collecting requirement ahead of the June primaries, arguing that the practice is unconstitutional because it poses a direct threat to public health. (Brigid Bergin for Gothamist)

• The barricades in front of Trump Tower have come down. (Christopher Robbins for Gothamist)

• Did You Know: There are two landmarked trees in NYC. Weeping Beech & Magnolia Grandiflora. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York)

• The city's Open Culture program that will begin issuing permits for socially distanced street performers on 100 specified streets. The city will also help venues, workers, and organizations who are applying for federal relief through Save Our Stages grants. The state has its own live performances in public places program called NY PopsUp, which seems to be competing with the city's Open Culture program. NY PopsUp starts February 20, 10 days before the city's program starts. (Bill Pearis for BrooklynVegan)

• Starting tonight outdoor dining is being allowed until 11pm. (Tanay Warerkar for Eater)

• As restaurants are partially open for indoor dining and the Barclays Center will host its first basketball game with a crowd in nearly a year, there is no word on if or when Coney Island will be able to reopen. (Brooklyn Eagle)

• After four stabbings along the A line within 24 hours, the NYPD is sending 500 officers into the subway system. The stabbings, two of which were fatal, happened at the Fort-Washington-181st St, the Mott Ave and Beach 22nd Street, and the West 207th St and Broadway stations. (David Cruz for Gothamist)

• Detectives are questioning a person of interest in connection with the stabbings. (Robert Pozarycki for QNS)

• Advocates for homeless New Yorkers sued the MTA over a series of Covid-19 rules that the suit says unfairly target people who shelter in the city’s subways. (Andy Newman for NY Times)

• 1.7 million counterfeit N95 masks were seized from a Queens warehouse. The masks were fake 3M masks. If you have 3M masks, you can check that they are genuine using barcodes and lot numbers on their website. All N95 masks include approval numbers that can be checked on the CDC's website. (Ron Lee for NY1)

• A crane on top of a 31-story building in Greenpoint partially collapsed on Thursday afternoon. There were no reports of injuries or anything hitting the ground. Developers are blaming the collapse on a malfunction. The crane's girlfriend said it happens to a lot of cranes. Oof, sorry, that was an awful joke. (Kevin Duggan for Brooklyn Paper)

• In praise of Red Hook's The Record Shop. (Gene Bray for Red Hook Star-Revue)

• This is a weird one. Amazon is suing Attorney General Letitia James in order to prevent her office from bringing charges against Amazon after investigating Amazon's workplace safety, claiming she does not have the right to investigate workplace safety during the Covid-19 pandemic. Does that seem like a pre-admission of guilt to anyone? (Karen Weise for NY Times)

• How to celebrate Mardi Gras in NYC (it's on Tuesday). (Dana Schulz for 6sqft)

• Top ten secrets of the Morris-Jumel Mansion, one of Manhattan's oldest buildings. (Untapped New York)

• The Frick Collection has announced that it will open its temporary home at 945 Madison Ave on March 18. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out)

• What is a City Comptroller and why should you care? (Gwynne Hogan for Gothamist)

• Interview: Carlos Menchaca discusses his run for mayor. (Ben Max for Gotham Gazette)

• “We Are: The Brooklyn Saints” tells the story of a boys' youth football team in East New York and is available on Netflix now. (Brian Braiker for Brooklyn Magazine)

• The best new bakeries in NYC. (Nikko Duren for The Infatuation)

Thanks to reader Francesca for today's featured photo!