The Briefly for January 21, 2020 – The "Go Back to Iowa, Go Back to Ohio" Edition
Today - Low: 21˚ High: 32˚
Clear throughout the day.
A longtime staffer to Assemblyperson Catherine Nolan and Long Island City resident, Edwin Cadiz, has been named the 2020 NAACP “Man of the Year.” (QNS) The origin of the pink gumball machines that popped up around Manhattan and Brooklyn has been revealed. They were installed in promotion of Strokes's drummer Fabrizio Moretti's new project called machinegum. (Bill Pearis for BrooklynVegan) ""Go back to Iowa, you go back to Ohio. New York City belongs to the people that were here and made New York City what it is," is a fine thing for your local loon to scream on a corner, but not for Eric Adams, the current borough president of Brooklyn and mayoral hopeful in 2021. The comments came at an event in Harlem about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s impact, where more than a few speakers spoke about gentrification without weirdly xenophobic comments. He followed it up with "I'm a New Yorker. I protected this city. I have a right to put my voice in how this city should run." (Gloria Pazmino for NY1) Internal emails show that New York City’s special drug prosecutor has a database of police officers with potential honesty problems. Similar databases from the DA's office from each of the five boroughs' offices have been released thanks to Freedom of Information requests. (George Joseph for Gothamist) Video: Inside Staten Island's secret Chinese Scholar's Garden. (ActionKid) The Union Square Coffee Shop neon "COFFEE" sign was replaced with a Chase bank sign. (EV Grieve) Apartment Porn: Go inside this $4 million custom build Williamsburg penthouse loft apartment. (Matt Coneybeare for Viewing NYC) Gospel Missionary Baptist Church was booted from West 149th Street near Riverside Drive after a foreclosure sale, despite more than two decades in the neighborhood, thanks to a foreclosure sale due to unpair condo fees. (Sydney Pereira for Gothamist) 89.5% of jaywalking tickets in 2019 went to blacks and Hispanics and the city's politicians are taking notice of the seemingly racist enforcement by the NYPD. (Gersh Kuntzman for Streetsblog) The home of "The Original Spaghetti Donut" is coming to Smith St in Brooklyn. (Katia Kelly for Pardon Me For Asking) An interview with the New York Knicks' Reggie Bullock about Pride Night at MSG and his LGBTQ activism since the murder of his transgender sister Mia. (Matt Tracy for Gay City News) The city's 30 most dangerous school zones for pedestrians and cyclists. (Emily Davenport for amNewYork Metro) You know what's better than camera enforcement of cars blocking bus lanes? Streets without cars. (Gersh Kuntzman for Streetsblog) Video: Watch the day turn to night behind lower Manhattan in a time lapse. (Matt Coneybeare for Viewing NYC) After two water main breaks in one week caused extensive delays across the MTA, the MTA announced they'll be examining the infrastructure in hopes of avoiding similar situations in the future. They also put blame on the city for slow response times to the broken water mains. (Hannah Rosenfield for I Love the Upper West Side) In praise of the long dessert menu. (Nikita Richardson for Grub Street) The secrets of Pete Burdette, the elder statesman of the city's comedy club barkers who always keeps a rubber chicken in his pocket. (Alex Taub for NY Times) Central Park’s Great Lawn began its existence not as a place to exercise or relax, but as a symbol of crippling poverty during the Great Depression. (Sam Neubauer for I Love the Upper West Side) Nightmare: Your AirPods Pro headphone falls out of your ear and down a sidewalk grate. What do you do? Here's how to get them back. (Sandra E. Garcia for NY Times) The best speakeasy-themed bars in the city. (Amber Sutherland-Namako for Thrillist)