The Briefly for January 29, 2020 – The "Peanut Butter Subway Bandit, I Hate You" Edition
Today - Low: 26˚ High: 41˚
Clear throughout the day.
An interview with New York's first ever Director of Cannabis Programs, Norman Birenbaum. (Fred Mogul for Gothamist) In 2020 government agencies are competing for your attention on Twitter, and you know what that means: memes. How do you do fellow kids? (Luke Winkie for NY Times) The amazing rescue of Daiki, a Shiba Inu who got loose on the FDR. (Jen Chung for Gothamist) Do the N95 respirator masks people are wearing around the city work against the Coronavirus? The CDC says they're unnecessary and they're backordered almost everywhere, but they are the respirators that are recommended for medical workers who are exposed to the virus. (Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist) There are many reasons to avoid taking the subways, but Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot says there's no reason to avoid them due to Coronavirus fears. (Kathleen Culliton for Patch) Nightmare: A reason to avoid the subways. Whoever smeared peanut butter all over a subway pole this morning on the A train, I hate you. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist) Seven reasons recycling isn't working in New York City. (Anne Barnard for NY Times) Captain America is from the Lower East Side, or maybe he's from Brooklyn? It depends if you read the comics or watch the movies. The people behind the Captain America statue in Brooklyn believe Steve Rogers is "just a kid from Brooklyn." (Anne Ewbank for Atlas Obscura) New York City’s best hotels for design lovers. (Zoe Rosenberg for Curbed) Central Park belongs to the coyotes now. Keep your distance. (Mike Mishkin for I Love the Upper West Side) Photos: Celebrating the Lunar New Year in Sunset Park. (Paul Frangipane for The Brooklyn Home Reporter) 15 restaurants to help get you through the winter. (Matt Tervooren for The Infatuation) A new public schools initiative reduced absenteeism improved graduation rates by bringing social services to campuses across New York City, according to a new study from the Rand Corporation. (Kathleen Culliton for Patch) Tributes to artist Jason Polan have been posted since his death, highlighting Polan's love of humanity, his founding of the Taco Bell Drawing Club, and warm heart. (Luke Fortney for Eater) A tribute to the street art of the East Village. (Dawson Knick for GVSHP) Light-up seesaws were installed in Midtown three weeks ago. This week, The New York Times is on it. (Aaron Readle for NY Times) Whoops. Chipotle was fined $1.3 million for 13,253 child-labor violations across dozens of locations in the state. (Nikita Richardson for Grub Street) The new City Winery location on Pier 57 is set to open later this year and the first show have been announced with Colin Hay, Sinead O'Connor, Vaness Carlton, Har Mar Superstar, and The Maintain Goats. (Amanda Hatfield for BrooklynVegan) A search for the best pork bun in Flushing's Chinatown. (Mary Lane for New York Cliché) The city has chosen an NYC Ferry location for Staten Island, next door to the Staten Island Ferry that connects to lower Manhattan. The launch date for the ferry to connect to Midtown West should be announced by the summer. (NY1) Amazon is expending its 855,000 square foot distribution center in West Shore, Staten Island, signing a lease on an adjacent 450,000 square foot warehouse. The new warehouse should be up and running by the summer. (Eddie Small for The Real Deal) A searchable database of the thousands of Catholic clergy who have been "credibly accused" of sexual abuse across the country was published Tuesday and includes hundreds of members of the dioceses and religious orders in the New York City area. (Sophia Chang for Gothamist) There are three types of driver's licenses. Standard, READ ID, and enhanced. Things are going start getting confusing on October 1, when you can't board a flight with a standard license. Here's what you need to know about the difference between the three types and how to get a REAL ID or an enhanced license. (Lauren Paley for StreetEasy) Op-ed: New Yorkers didn't flinch when the NYPD was revealed to have a DNA database of juveniles or were performing dangerous body scans on pregnant women, but the controversy surrounding facial recognition company Clearview was enough for people to take notice. Albert Fox Cahn and Lindsay Greyerbiehl make the case why more NYPD oversight is necessary. (Albert Fox Cahn and Lindsay Greyerbiehl from Surveillance Technology Oversight Project for The Independent) It took Mayor de Blasio five years to let his feelings be known about Daniel Pantleo, whose choke hold lead to the death of Eric Garner, but NYPD officer Michael Valva, who is accused of beating his autistic son and leaving him to freeze to death in his car, he's already commented that "this is someone who should burn in hell." (Kathleen Culliton for Patch) The NYPD's Joseph Stokes and Jose Aracena are accused of stealing cash during an "integrity test" held by the department. (Emily Davenport for amNewyork Metro) Photos: Meet the dogs and cats of the American Kennel Club's Meet the Breeds event. (Keilin Huang for Untapped New York) Cafe Reggio has the city's oldest espresso machine. It's so old (how old is it?) that it originally ran on coal. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York) The Department of Transportation announced the location of 10 miles of new protected bike lanes in Brooklyn, where 17 of last year's 29 cyclists were killed by drivers last year. (Gersh Kuntzman for Streetsblog) 13 simple ways to make your apartment more green. (Lidia Ryan for 6sqft) The 22 beset West Village restaurants to try. (Robert Sietsema for Eater)