The Briefly for February 18, 2020 – The "Decapitating a Luxury Condo" Edition
Today - Low: 38˚ High: 49˚
Light rain starting in the afternoon.
In appreciation of mosaic subway station signs. (Ephemeral New York) Photos: A tour of NYC's oldest library, once used by George Washington. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York) Off with its head, literally. The Department of Buildings is being ordered to revoke the permits for an indeterminate amount of floors from a luxury condo on the Upper West Side. Amazingly, the developer will have to demolish potentially 20 floors of the 55-story building. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) The NYPD has always insisted that it's facial recognition database is only checked against mugshots, but there is some evidence that points to photos from social media being used to assist in creating matches for suspects. This wouldn't be the first time the NYPD lied about their facial recognition database. (Mike Hayes for HuffPost) Prosecutors in Staten Island are building an internal list of NYPD officers who they will not allow to testify in court because they can't be trusted to testify honestly. Seems like if they an't be trusted to tell the truth in court, there might be issues trusting them to honestly uphold the law? (George Joseph for Gothamist) It started with a white picket fence and quickly escalated to racial discrimination in Flushing. (Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist) It took 125 years, but the lions outside the NYPL are finally reading thanks to some very large books. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York) Newkirk Plaza is America's oldest outdoor shopping plaza, and it seems no one wants to be responsible for it. The city and MTA have discussed who is responsible for management, funding and safety without a conclusion, mirroring most disagreements between the state and city. If neither step up, maybe the growing rat population will start cleaning the place up. (Katie Herchenroeder for Bklyner) New ethics violations charges have been filed against Andy King, who finished the punishment for his last ethics violation charges less than three months ago. This time around it's disorderly induct and conflict-of-interest violations by using public funds for personal benefit. This happened while a court-appointed monitor was watching over King's actions. The city council voted to not expel King 34-12 back in October. Maybe they'll change their tune this time. (Emma G. Fitzsimmons for NY Times) If you've ever been walking through the city late at night, you've watched private garbage trucks blow through red lights without slowing down or drive the wrong way on one way streets. Between 2016 and 1018 privately owned garbage trucks were involved in 73 series accidents. A new law is looking to control the private garbage industry over the next three years, which picks up half of the city's garbage. (Anne Barnard for NY Times) After half a century, a legendary pool hall in Bay Ridge, Hall of Fame Billiards, is closing. (Kimon de Green for Bedford + Bowery) Here are the four people running for City Councilmember Rafael Espinal's seat after he abruptly quit his job representing Cypress Hills, Bushwick, East New York, and Brownsville. (Sydney Pereira for Gothamist) The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum continues to unravel after the forced resignation of director Caroline Baumann, with five trustees resigning in protest. (Robin Pogrebin for NY Times) LGBTQ groups have once again been rejected from participating in the Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 1. (Matt Tracy for Gay City News) What's the difference between co-ops and condos and what the heck is a condop? (Localize.City) Reminder: If you see a hawk, don't go close to it. It's likely hunting and you're ruining its potential meal. (Laura Goggin) A ban on brokers fees will benefit tenants in the long run to the tune of $7,000 on average in the first year, and that includes a rent hike. (Beth Dedman for amNewYork Metro) The best happy hours in 31 neighborhoods. (Rachel Pelz for Thrillist)