The Briefly for January 17-18, 2021 – The "Micheal Scott in Times Square at Sbarro" Sunday Edition
Today - Low: 35˚ High: 43˚
Partly cloudy throughout the day.
What's open and closed on Martin Luther King Day on Monday, January 18. (Matt Troutman for PAtch) A list of NYC's tributes to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft) BAM is presenting The 35th Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which is free and virtual on Monday at 11 am. (BAM) How to get the Coronavirus vaccine in NYC. (Ron Lieber) Map: How New York state is doing with its vaccine rollout. (Hint: New York City has the lowest percentage of first doses administered. (Jen Chung and Jake Dobkin for Gothamist) On Thursday afternoon a message was going online around that there would be vaccines administered on a first-come, first-served basis at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. This was called a hoax by some but there was truth to the message. Very quickly, the vaccination site was overwhelmed with people. Vaccination sites have the ability to administer "extra" vaccines at the end of the day if they are going to expire but the city isn't looking for a Black Friday scenario every day at every vaccination site. I'd expect this policy to change as a result of these lines. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) It seems impossible that there are "extra" doses of the vaccine lying around when tens of thousands of vaccination appointments are being canceled in New York due to the limited supply of the vaccine provided by the federal government. The state's supply was cut from 300,000 per week to 250,000 per week with 100,000 being allocated to the city. (Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Otterman for NY Times) There are over 30 people running for mayor in 2021. Here's a quick rundown of them all. (Matt Troutman for Patch) Of the 38 candidates, Eric Adams and Scott Stringer have received the most cash support. (Jeffrey C. Mays for NY Times) It is decided that Andrew Yang will be this mayoral cycle's punching bag. He's not helping himself when the first question asked of him is "don't you live in the Hudson Valley?" and the second question is now "don't you know what a bodega is?" While it's still early in his campaign, he's making a few unforced communication errors that are not endearing him to the city as "one of our own." (Erika Adams for Eater) Real Estate Lust: This penthouse has so much outdoor space the first photo doesn't even look real. $12.5 million, 3,500 square feet of outdoor space, and a dining room that can seat 30. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft) Satire: "My work seeks to interrogate the parameters by which we define and demarcate physical space, exploring the fertile liminal zone between the falsely binary notions of “indoors” and “outdoors” we too often take for granted." -I Am The Designer Of This Restaurant's Outdoor Seating Space, And This Is My Artist's Statement (Simon Henriques for McSweeney's) Takeout in Greenpoint for under $10. (Katie White for Greenpointers) On Tuesday night, the Empire State Building will beat like a heart, bathed in red light, as a part of Joe Biden's Covid-19 memorial from 5:30 pm to 2 am. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) 160 secrets about New York City, enough to impress some of your friends but bore the rest. For instance: Einstein's eyeballs are stored in a safety deposit box in the city. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York) A look at ranked-choice voting ahead of the first election to use it in NYC, the February 2 City Council District 24 election. (Pia Koh for Queens County Politics) Governor Cuomo is floating the idea of using rapid Covid testing to determine entry into live events. (Anna Ben Yehuda for Time Out) Four restaurants that recently started selling groceries. (Hannah Albertine for The Infatuation) A running list of restaurants that are temporarily closing this winter. (Luke Fortney for Eater) Governor Cuomo unveiled a $306 billion infrastructure plan that would replace the Port Authority Bus Terminal with a new state-of-the-art facility, reconstruct Penn Station and add at least eight new tracks along with 14 new buildings with retail space and up to 1,400 affordable apartments, a new waterfront park at Pier 76, and a $1.5 billion expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Center. (Maya Kaufman for Patch) Atlas Obscura usually highlights mysteries or fascinations. There is no fascinating mystery quite like the Gowanus Canal. (Jessica Leigh Hester for Atlas Obscura) The Times highlights the life and tireless work of Michael Evans, the project manager of the Moynihan Hall transformation. Evans took his own life seemingly due to the stress of the project only ten months before its completion. (Christina Goldbaum for NY Times) The City jumps into NY AG Letitia James's lawsuit against the city and NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan's role as the architect of the aggressive and violent response to the city's protests over the summer and his history of over-policing peaceful protests, directing cops to make unlawful arrests and allowing the use of excessive force going back 16 years. (Greg B. Smith for The City) The visuals of the MTA bus that fell off an overpass are amazing, especially considering no one died and only eight were injured. The bus was going 17-26 mph when it should have been going 3-4 mph. (Jen Chung and Stephen Nessen for Gothamist) More photos from the MTA of the bus incident and the media briefing. (Photographer Marc A. Hermann for MTA on Flickr) For a laugh, the best pizza places in New Jersey. (Matt Tervooren for The Infatuation) Filming locations for Martin Scorsese & Fran Lebowitz's “Pretend It’s a City.” I'm extremely jealous they got to walk in the Queens Museum's Panorama of the City of New York. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York) Deanne Criswell, city's Emergency Management Commissioner, is Joe Biden's pick for the next head of FEMA. (NY1) Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets point guard and complete asshole, was fined $50,000 for breaking the NBA's Covid-19 protocols. (Jen Chung for Gothamist) The argument for Mets owner Steven Cohen to bring Coney Island's original hot dog, Feltman’s, to Citi Field. (The Coney Island Blog) The New York City Campaign Finance Board fined current City Councilmember Mathieu Eugene $10,717 for nine violations of campaign finance law, including failure to report transactions and making impermissible post-election expenditures. (Billy Richling for Bklyner) Here's wishing Congressmember, Adriano Espaillat, who represents parts of the Bronx and Manhattan, a speedy recovery after testing positive for Covid-19, likely contracting the virus during the attack on the Capitol and sheltering in place with Republicans who refused to wear masks. (Norwood News) For the spooky set, part four of the GVSHP's Cemeteries of the East Village. (Sam Moskowitz for GVSHP) Where to eat when staying warm is a top priority. Restaurants with outdoor heating lamps. (Hannah Albertine and Nikko Duren for The Infatuation) Today's featured photo is by Marc A. Hermann, courtesy of the MTA