The Briefly for February 19, 2020 – The "Rat, Roach, and Mouse Census of 2020" Edition

Today - Low: 29˚ High: 46˚

Clear throughout the day.

Another reminder to start bringing your tote bags around, because the plastic bag ban is coming. (Alyssa Paolicelli for NY1) The story of The Hard Swallow, the East Village's most resilient dive bar and its owners Sasha and Lee Lloyd. (Drew Schwartz for Vice) A coalition of North Brooklyn residents and environmental groups are fighting to stop National Grid’s plan to extend a natural gas pipeline through Bushwick, Williamsburg and Greenpoint. (Sydney Pereira for Gothamist) A census of rats, roaches, mice, and vermin. After a special "rat academy," the NYCHA is ready to count its pests. (Greg B. Smith for The City) The NYPL has released a list of its favorite 125 books of all time. They aren't ranked, so you don't get to brag that your favorite Harry Potter book is #1. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) Luna Park and its Italian owner company Zamperla have been trying to kick Lola Star Souvenir Boutique off the boardwalk for a decade and they finally got what they wanted after raising the rent on the gift shop 500% and "negotiating" down to 400%. Zamperla doesn't care about Coney Island the neighborhood, they only care about owning Coney Island and this is proof. (Rose Adams) High Fidelity's filming locations, listed. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York) Do you operate an historic boat? Brooklyn Bridge Park would like to know if you want to show it off. (Davin Gannon for 6sqft) Trader Joe's is looking to expand on the Upper East Side in the former location of the Food Emporium under the Queensboro Bridge. (6sqft) 14 cozy bars to stay warm at all winter. (Lidia Ryan) Congratulations to Manhattan for having the highest rents in the entire country for the month of January at $4,210. The national average is $1,463. (Emily Davenport for amNewYork Metro) Apartment Porn: Inside the newly listed $8 million and $18 million apartments of the landmarked Steinway Building. (Alexandra Alexa for 6sqft) President Trump pardoned former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who was imprisoned from 2010 to 2013 on tax fraud and corruption charges. He accepted a quarter million dollars from a company tied to organized crime to renovate his apartment and lied to the Department of Homeland Security. (Kathleen Culliton for Patch) The MTA is boasting the best on-time performance since 2013 for January. Hidden in this article is the fun fact that congestion pricing will require federal approval, so that's another fight we can all look forward to. (Mark Hallum for amNewYork Metro) What's it take to be a "real" New Yorker? (Jessica Leibowitz and Jen Carlson for Gothamist) FedEx and UPS receive over a thousand parking violations a day, but they'll never pay the full price of the tickets they receive because they pay in bulk and at a steep discount, thanks to the Stipulated Fines and Commercial Abatement program. Offering an immediate discount on parking fines allows delivery companies to flout parking laws or clog the city's street by parking illegally. The city's attempted to update its double parking laws for trucks, but if these companies won't pay for their violations what does it matter? City Councilmember Costa Consantinides put forward a bill to abolish the abatement program, but it's stalled in committee. (Sophia Chang for Gothamist) This is the headline: "Sexy Time for Tompkins Square Hawks" (Laura Goggin) The New York City Planning Commission is looking into developing a 2.4 million-square-foot urban living complex close to the East New York, Brooklyn waterfront that includes 13 new buildings ranging in height from 2 stories to 17. (Gowanus Lounge) The best Italian restaurants in the West Village. (Bryan Kim & Matt Tervooren for The Infatuation)