The Briefly for January 8, 2021 – The "Call the Terrorists Terrorists" Friday Edition

Today - Low: 27˚ High: 40˚

Partly cloudy throughout the day.

This weekend - Low: 27˚ High: 39˚

Between empty offices and Covid-19 restrictions, Financial District restaurants are struggling. (Tanay Warerkar for Eater) Who would advocate for an NYPD tow pound instead of a residential building? The lunatics in lower Manhattan. (Sydney Pereira for Gothamist) Pro-Trump Terrorist Louis Shenker, 22, of Amherst, Massachusetts was charged with placing a false bomb and making a terroristic threat for a bomb hoax at the Queens Place Mall on Monday. The Gothamist headline claims he was a "Pro-Trump Activist," but that's bullshit. Gothamist, you should be better than that. He's literally being charged for making terroristic threats and has known ties to white nationalists. Louis Shenker is a terrorist and shame on the editors of Gothamist for not acknowledging reality. (Sophia Chang for Gothamist) More than 30 percent of New York City’s health care workers remain “hesitant” to get a coronavirus vaccine. (Matt Troutman for Patch) The city's schools shortened their quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days after a possible exposure to Covid-19, following a CDC recommendation. (Alex Zimmerman for Chalkbeat) The state has a new "Am I Eligible" website that will notify you when you are eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine. (Collier Sutter for Time Out) Beetle House, a Tim Burton-themed restaurant, is open for outdoor dining in the East Village. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) Bombora House, an interactive stained glass house installation from Tom Fruin, can be seen at the corner of 13th and Ninth Ave. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft) Old John’s Luncheonette on the Upper West Side, which closed in October, is reopening next month under new ownership. (Erika Adams for Eater) Another judge ruled in favor of the homeless New Yorkers that were relocated to the Lucerne Hotel. The case is still working its way through the courts, but they won't be forced to leave for a few more months. (Courtney Gross for NY1) The city is moving the homeless New Yorkers in the DoubleTree Hotel on West 36th Street to another hotel on 40th St after a request by the Community Board, claiming density as the main issue. (Courtney Gross for NY1) 10 new delivery-only restaurants born out of the pandemic. (Nikko Duren for The Infatuation) Pixar's Soul takes place in NYC, eight ways 'Soul' gets NYC right. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) There are 100 free car parking spaces for every bicycle spot in NYC, according to a new study from Transportation Alternatives, which asks the city to make the city more bike-friendly by installing 1,500 new bike parking spaces, among other changes. (Matt Troutman for Patch) Actions have consequences, but inaction also has consequences. 66-year-old Eleanor Dowe left her 19th-floor apartment on her way to a dialysis appointment and used the stairs because the elevators were out and slipped and struck her head, causing a severe brain injury. She had made 15 calls about broken elevators to NYCHA since August. Now she's in a coma. (Greg B. Smith for The City) The NYPD sent around a memo reminding its members that illegal parking is illegal. Mayor de Blasio cut two units from the city's budget that were dedicated to enforcing placard abuse. (Gersh Kuntzman for Streetsblog) The former tenants of a Dean Street building are looking to be included in the city’s lawsuit against their former eco-yogi slumlords. (Ben Verde for Brooklyn Paper) A Trader Joe’s is coming to Harlem. (Christina Izzo for Time Out)

"Moynihan is not perfect, and I know better than anyone else that this train hall is technically not Pennsylvania Station. But for the moment it’s close enough."

-Justin Rivers, Moynihan Train Hall is Not Perfect, But It’s Close Enough for Untapped New York

An NYPD officer was seen on video appearing to kneel on a Black man's neck during an arrest in Queens last week. You've gotta be kidding me with this. The city's chokehold ban makes kneeling on a person's back or neck a misdemeanor. The man arrested is said to have suffered knee and neck injuries while being arrested. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) Say hello to the latest list of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city, with NoHo taking the top spot with a median sales price of $3,250,000. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) Governor Cuomo says this is the year for legal weed in New York. But also 2020 was the year for legal weed in New York. But also 2019 was the year for legal weed in New York. What's different this time? New York needs money. (Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Jesse McKinley for NY Times) In another attempt to make some cash, Governor Cuomo has also stated his support for legalizing online sports betting in New York. (Joe Pantorno for amNewYork Metro) Farewell to Halloween Adventure in the East Village, the city's only Halloween Store open in January. After 39 years, the store will be closing soon. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) Only 52 people were arrested in connection with the attack on the Capitol, compare that to the more than 40 people arrested on the first night of NYC protests after the death of George Floyd. (Rachel Holliday Smith and Eileen Grench for The City) Queens' first IKEA is set to open later this month in Rego Center on Queens Blvd. (Allie Griffin for Sunnyside Post) Have you ever wanted to see what $2 million in heroin and fentanyl looks like? A packaging mill in the Bronx was busted by the DEA and five people are facing criminal charges. (Matt Troutman for Patch) If you missed Mean Girls on Broadway before the pandemic, you really missed it. Mean Girls will not reopen when Broadway returns, whenever that might be. (Adam Feldman for Time Out) [plant-baked] opens today on 7th St, a plant-based bakery. They're already open and will close when they run out of baked goods to sell. (EV Grieve) 2020's saddest restaurant closures. (Eater)