The Briefly for January 22, 2020 – The "Rich New Yorkers Are Not Leaving" Friday Edition

Today - Low: 28˚ High: 41˚

Partly cloudy throughout the day.

This weekend - Low: 22˚ High: 34˚

Mayor de Blasio closed all 15 of the city's vaccination hubs due to a delay in vaccination shipments of the Moderna vaccine from Washington. The city's 15 vaccination hubs will reopen when “supplies pick up.” Appointments for people receiving their second shot will be rescheduled, but it's best to contact the city's vaccine hotline at 877-VAX-4NYC if you don't hear anything soon. (Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech for amNewYork Metro) 23,000 vaccination appoints have already been rescheduled. (David Cruz for Gothamist) It's not just the city, the state is running low on vaccines too. At the current rate of 250k shipped vaccine doses weekly, it will take seven months to vaccinate New Yorkers that are currently eligible. (Matt Troutman for Patch) A Covid-19 home test vending machine will be coming to W 34th St on Tuesday the 26th inside the new Wellness 4 Humanity store. Tests will cost $119. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) Governor Cuomo is asking the federal government for $15 billion in aid or he'll be cored to raise taxes on the state's rich, which he thinks will scare them off. Hey dummy, do both. The rich aren't going anywhere. (Greg David for The City) Rents for the biggest and most expensive apartments in Manhattan rose by double-digit percentages in December. It's time to end the charade that the rich are somehow abandoning New York City. (Jeff Andrews for Curbed) How desperate is the state for money? Lobbying has begun to try to build casinos in Manhattan. (Dana Rubinstein and Jesse McKinley for NY Times) The Port Authority in Manhattan may get a $10 billion overhaul. It would take at least a decade to complete and it would be partially financed by selling the air rights to a commercial tower on top of the terminal and nearby buildings. (Patrick McGeehan and Winnie Hu for NY Times) The Astoria Mutual Aid Network is raising money so their neighbors in public housing don't have to live without heat in the winter. For those looking to help, you can still donate. (Allie Griffin for Queens Post) Interview: Joe Lentol reflects on his over forty years of public service as Assemblymember from the state's 50th district in Greenpoint after being ousted by Emily Gallagher. (Julia Kott for Greenpointers) Rendering: No one will accuse 555 Broadway in Brooklyn of looking boring, but it does look like someone is about to lose a game of Jenga. (Sebastian Morris for New York YIMBY) Mets General Manager Jared Porter was fired for sending lewd and explicit text messages to a female reporter in 2016. (Joe Pantorno for amNewYork Metro) Rough Trade NYC is closing their Williamsburg store in order to relocate. They've also cut ties with Bowery Presents, who will not be a part of the new location. They have not announced a new location yet, but hope to be open by summer. Their website will remain open in the meantime. (Bill Pearis for BrooklynVegan) Jimmy Van Bramer, the thwarter of Amazon's HQ2 plans, announced he will run for Queens borough president. (Christina Santucci for Queens Post) Former southern Brooklyn and Staten Island Congressman Max Rose will serve as a senior advisor on Covid-19 in the Pentagon. While serving in Afghanistan, Rose earned a Purple Heart. (Rose Adams for Brooklyn Paper) Watch Republican Staten Island Congressmember Nicole Malliotakis get pushed around on CNN and called out on her shit after opposing the 2020 election results and calling for unity immediately afterward. (Erin Burnett Out Front on CNN) The Manhattan District Attorney Democratic Primary is in June and current DA Cy Vance has raised $4,000 to date. Call me crazy, but it doesn't seem like he's running again, even if he hasn't made any announcements. (Josefa Velasquez and Rachel Holliday Smith) James Dolan, New York City's worst songwriter, CEO of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp, and owner of the Knicks and Rangers, started a new political expenditure committee “The Coalition to Restore New York.” Dolan will likely support anyone for mayor that won't end MSG's 38-year real estate tax break. (Rosa Goldensohn for The City) 7 forgotten subway entrances. (Nicole Saraniero for Untapped New York) Long Island City's Trump Countdown Clock has finally hit zero. (LICtalk) NYC's most anticipated restaurant openings of spring 2021. (Luke Fortney for Eater) The Bushwick Bar Babes of 2021 calendar is now available. All the charm of Bushwick's best bars with none of the smell. I miss making jokes about Bushwick. (Matt Fink for Bushwick Daily) AOC was not at the Inauguration Day in DC because she was backing the workers' strike at the Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx, where 60% of the city's produce is handled. Workers are striking for a $1/hour raise. (David Cruz for Gothamist) A rundown of what's going on at the Hunts Point Produce Market. (Rachel Sugar for Eater) Success Academy, New York City’s largest charter network, will remain fully virtual for the rest of the school year. (Alex Zimmerman for Chalkbeat) The alleged serial killer in a Brownsville NYCHA complex was arrested on Thursday. His alleged victims were three elderly women all 78 or older. (NY1) The New York state lawsuit that seeks to dissolve the NRA will be allowed forward. The NRA had attempted to move the lawsuit to federal court. You might say that Attorney General Letitia James has the NRA in her sights. *groan* (Brooklyn Eagle) Mayor Bill de Blasio has a new idea for disciplining the NYPD – a promise to fire NYPD cops who use illegal chokeholds. What an innovative idea that the mayor could have had at any moment between the 2014 killing of Eric Garner and today. (Rosa Goldensohn for The City) A new class-action lawsuit accuses the NYPD of violating the rights of New Yorkers through "demoralizing and brutal shows of force, rather than genuine efforts to facilitate protesters’ protected First Amendment activity" and is seeking monetary damages for those who were brutalized and arrested during demonstrations. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) The NYPD will serve disciplinary charges against Officer Wayne Isaacs, who used his service weapon to shoot and kill Delrawn Small, an unarmed Black man, following an apparent driving dispute in Brooklyn in 2016. (Yasmeen Khan for Gothamist) The State Legislature is finally poised to repeal the state’s discriminatory ban on “Walking While Trans” in the coming weeks. (Matt Tracy for Gay City News) Podcast: Congrats to Untapped New York for the launch of their new Secrets of New York podcast. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York) Manhattan pickup artist Samuel Fisher encouraged people to bring guns to DC leading up to the insurrection at the Capitol, saying "they can't arrest us all man." He was arrested on Wednesday. You might say the pickup artist was "picked up" by the FBI. *groan* (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) U.S. Army soldier Cole James Bridges was arrested Tuesday for trying to assist ISIS by plotting to kill fellow soldiers in the Middle East and providing advice on potential terrorist targets in New York, including the 9/11 Memorial, according to the Department of Justice. (Matt Katz for Gothamist) Brendan Hunt, who also went by the handle "X-Ray Ultra," was arrested by the FBI in Queens for allegedly threatening to murder or incite others to murder members of Congress, specifically AOC and Chuck Schumer. He was suspended without pay by the New York State Office of Court Administration where he works full-time. (Jonathan Dienst, Marc Santia and Joe Valiquette for NBC New York) Five picks from Time Out on what to stream if you're missing New York City. I would have put the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the list, but that's just my pick. (Christina Izzo for Time Out) A first look at the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop's Automat. (Tanay Warerkar for Eater) Quickly, take a look at the Bernie meme in various NYC locations before it stops being amusing. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out)