The Briefly for February 2-4, 2021 – The "Who Needs Health Experts?" Tuesday Edition

Today - Low: 27˚ High: 33˚

Snow (1–2 in.) until evening.

PlowNYC is an interactive map to find out when the last time your street was plowed. (cityofnewyork.us) The special election for Queens Council District 24 is still happening today, despite the storm. Early voting has been open since January 23. Four of the eight candidates have requested a delay, but the mayor's office said the election will push forward. (Christine Chung for The City) Find your City Council district using your address with this map. How does ranked choice voting work in NYC? (Rachel Holliday Smith for The City) Yankee Stadium will become a mass vaccination site for Bronx residents only. Ten zip codes near the stadium are at a 10.32% positivity rate. (Ed García Conde for Welcome2TheBronx) Interview: Gothamist asked Dr. Adam Berman, a toxicologist and chairman of emergency medicine at Northwell Health’s Long Island Jewish Hospital, should you avoid pain relievers before or after taking the Covid-19 vaccine? The simple answer is that if you can avoid doing them, avoid them, but there's not enough evidence against it. (Fred Mogul for Gothamist)

"As the vaccine effort ramps up, Cuomo and the MTA have a very easy way to gracefully usher in the return of passengers to the subways on a 24/7 by tying it to access to vaccination hubs."

-Benjamin Kabak, How the vaccine creates a politically expedient way to end the overnight subway closures, for Second Ave. Sagas

Governor Cuomo said in a press conference that he doesn't really trust health experts. Maybe that's why nine of his top health officials quit their jobs in the last year. This guy literally released a book about leadership lessons. (J. David Goodman, Joseph Goldstein, and Jesse McKinley for NY Times) Restaurant workers, deemed to be "essential" by Governor Cuomo, are not essential enough to be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine as indoor dining resumes on February 14. Governor Cuomo was forced to defend his decision, saying it was based on "data and expert advice." Which experts? (Tanay Warerkar for Eater) Mayor de Blasio announced the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP) in 2014 to reduce crime in 15 high-crime housing developments. In those 15 developments, the number of major crimes in those developments was up in 2020. (Greg B. Smith for The City) “Death by Speculation, Starring Limpdick Landlord.” The sign of the year goes to the shuttered Center Cinemas in Sunnyside. (Christian Murray for Sunnyside Post) New York spent $18.2 billion in 2019 on police, jails, prisons, prosecutors, parole, and probation while only spending about $6.2 billion on mental health services, public health, youth programs and services, recreation, and elder services according to a new report from the Center for Community Alternatives. (Samar Khurshid for Gotham Gazette) The mayoral candidates had their first debate. Focus seemed to be on the Yang campaign's use of NDAs for campaign staffers, Eric Adams' comments that some New Yorkers should "go back to Iowa," and Raymond McGuire's work with CitiBank after the financial collapse. (Dana Rubinstein for NY Times) One topic that's bubbling up again amongst the candidates is city control over the subways, which is sound like a conceptually good idea until the city has to take on the subway's debt. (Stephen Nessen for Gothamist) Interview: Zach Iscol discusses his mayoral campaign. (Ben Max for Gotham Gazette) Another week, another story about NYC Sheriffs breaking up a party in an illegal club, this time in Jackson Heights. This pandemic is never going to end with jackasses like this. (Allie Griffin for Jackson Heights Post) The city promised to build a new 3-acre park in Greenpoint in 2005 in exchange for allowing new luxury condos to be built in the neighborhood. Sixteen years later Greenpoint is still waiting for its park. (Kevin Duggan for Brooklyn Paper) The Barclays Center is looking to diversify its vendors, looking for Brooklyn-based suppliers that are a minimum 51% owned, operated, and managed by minorities, women, disabled, and/or military veterans. (Jake Samieske for Brooklyn Magazine) Super Bowl spreads from NYC restaurants. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft) Fifteen favorite tofu dishes in city restaurants. (Robert Sietsema for Eater) Thanks to reader Jenn for today's featured photo!