The Briefly for January 23, 2020 – The "Hipsters Have Left the Neighborhood" Edition

Today - Low: 33˚ High: 45˚

Mostly cloudy throughout the day.

Madison Square Garden has gone 37 years without paying a single cent of property taxes, not paying the city over half a billion dollars of taxes in that time. James Dolan, awful musician and owner of MSG, is a major contributor to Governor Cuomo which makes it unlikely that the governor would change the deal. (Neil deMause for Gothamist) Why do I mention he's an awful musician? Listen to this garbage he wrong about being friends with Harvey Weinstein. (JD & The Straight Shot) A new exhibit in Chelsea Market looks at life inside the Hotel Chelsea's apartments, featuring work from Colin Miller's "Hotel Chelsea: Living in the Last Bohemian Haven." (Gabe Herman for amNewYork Metro) Taco Chulo in Williamsburg is closing on March 1, blaming the closing on "the hipsters leaving and going to Bushwick." (Tanay Warekar for Eater) Is Fairway closing all of its stores? Depends who you listen to. (Chris Crowley for Grub Hub) Vegans, despite what you've heard, are people too and sometimes they want a good junk food burger. (Ryan Sutton for Eater) Another look at the subway cars of the future, which will start to be brought unto service later this year. (Mark Hallum for amNewYork Metro) About 75% of you answered that you think you'll never own a home in the city, for those of you who think you might, here are 8 great city starter homes. (Amy Plitt for Curbed) Mayor de Blasio's new strategy to help the homeless, giving them the option between going to a homeless shelter and be given a summons or engaging with outreach providers, isn't working. 60% of homeless New Yorkers chose to get a summons instead of accepting services. Instead of helping the homeless, we're punishing them. (Mirela Iverac for Gothamist) A dead homeless man was found on the D train following a report of an unconscious man on the train and instead found a dead man covered in maggots. The police do not suspect foul play. (Anna Quinn for Patch) RIP John “Butch” Purcell, the "Mayor of Stuy Town." (Gabe Herman for amNewYork Metro) Brooklyn’s 8 best bars with fireplaces. (Scott Enman for Brooklyn Eagle) What should happen to Jeffrey Epstein's "cursed mansion" on the Upper East Side: The Frick should buy it. (Alexandra Alexa for 6sqft) The Gowanus Souvenir Shop, which has been a real thing for quite a while now, is closing at the end of the month. (Katia Kelly for Pardon Me For Asking) Electric bike and scooters could become legal in New York on April 1, if Governor Cuomo's budget passes as expected. (Christopher Robbins for Gothamist) The governor intends to assemble a task force to assess the conditions of employment in the gig economy and present findings with the intention of voting on legislation by June 1. Cuomo's previously compared the gig economy to sweatshops. (Anna Gronewold for Politico) DeliverZero is food delivery with a twist. If you don't return the packaging the food was delivered to be recycled, you'll be charged extra. It's currently available in 8 restaurants. (Nicole Davis for Brooklyn Based) Here are the finalists in the 2020 City of Dreams Pavilion Design Competition for Lighthouse Park on Roosevelt Island. (Michelle Cohen for 6sqft) NYC & Company wants you to get out of your apartment for the NYC Winter Outing, which started on Monday, runs for three weeks, and combines NYC Broadway Week, NYC Restaurant Week and NYC Must-See Week. (Emily Davenport for amNewYork Metro) The Bronx Zoo's Name A Roach program is back for Valentine's Day. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) Five Democrats Socialist primary challenges are using the worry about the state's pre-trial criminal justice reforms to stake out a position to the left of Democrats who have been considering a repeal to push additional ideas like restricting the use of solitary confinement, legalizing marijuana, and decriminalizing sex work. (Alex Williamson or Brooklyn Eagle) The Mini Brooklyn Flea Record Fair was announced for February 8 & 9 at the Winter BK Flea. (Bill Pearis for BrooklynVegan) You never know where Justin Bieber will show up, looking for gluten-free pizza. (Jenna Bagcal for QNS) It's Pod Save Astoria week at We Heart Astoria, focusing on a different podcast originating from Astoria every day. Today's podcast is “We’ll Be Right Back” with Astoria locals Kevin Ross and Brian Dean. (Claire Leaden for We Heart Astoria) The Triboro Line, which would connect Bay Ridge to Astoria to the Bronx, is one tiny step closer to becoming a reality. It has miles to go, but each step forward is still progress. (Ed García Conde for Welcome2TheBronx) Transit Workers Union Local 100 are also in support of the project. (Mark Hallum for amNewYork Metro) Video: This video game parody of Hudson Yards was both very funny and also the most perplexing thing I've seen in a long time. (Ethan Gach for Kotaku) Video: Say hello to a belter kingfisher, which is a bird, on Randalls Island. (D. Bruce Yolton for Urban Hawks) The best soups and stews you can get in the city. (Scott Lynch for Gothamist)