The Briefly for July 23, 2019 – The "Maybe Hackers Can Run the Subways Better" Edition
The Department of Sanitation's trash museum is only available to be seen once a month when Nelson Molina, the man behind the collection, gives tours, but a few hundred items of the collection is on display at the East Harlem Gallery as part of the "What is Here is Open" exhibition. (Curbed)
The MTA's proposed express F service is, surprise surprise, opposed by the neighborhoods that don't have express stops. (Brooklyn Paper)
Transit President Andy Byford hasn't said what caused Friday's monumental screw up with the subways, but he has said that it was not the result of outside tampering. At this point, maybe Russia can run our transit system better than the people in charge. (amNY)
Another day, another commuting nightmare. Monday night's 2, 3, 4, and 5 trains were mostly out of service in Brooklyn fur to faulty signals. Combine that with a storm that provided limited transportation alternatives and it's just another day on the subways. (Gothamist)
The closest In-N-Out Burger to NYC might be in Texas, so how did a pristine Double-Double end up on the street in Jamaica, Queens? (QNS)
The Department of Education says that they “successfully completed remediation work” or removing lead from the drinking water at many Bushwick schools, but three schools are showing higher levels of lead in the drinking water after the work was complete. (Bushwick Daily)
How far would you go to protect your view? The residents of a building in Chelsea bought the air rights to a neighboring property for $11 million so their views of the Empire State Building remained disturbed. (Curbed)
Photos from Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake. (Untapped Cities)
A new city council bill with 22 co-sponsors will fine businesses $1,000 for not accepting cash or charging cash-paying customers more, with a few exceptions, if it is approved. (amNY)
“I am the left.” The governor has never been shy about talking shit when it comes to his fellow Democrats. (NY Times)
Despite their performance as of late, including the sky-lighting incident in Astoria and the pipe-explosion in Flatiron, ConEd wants to raise its rates for electricity. What do they think they are, the MTA? (The Indypendent)
50,000 New Yorkers were without power on Sunday and as of Monday morning, there were still 19,000 that were left in the dark. A portion of the blackout was intentionally caused by ConEd in a supposed attempt to prevent wider outages. (Curbed)
The mayor is calling for an investigation to whether the city needs a new entity to provide electricity. The governor has already made direct threats towards replacing ConEd. (Politico)
Why did ConEd choose the neighborhoods that it did in Southeast Brooklyn to intentionally blackout? What was it about Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, Flatlands, and Canarsie made them different than Park Slope, Sunset Park, Clinton Hill, Carroll Gardens, or Dumbo to have their power intentionally shut off? (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
If you lost power, you can fill out a form on ConEd's website to get some money back. (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
In pursuit of the perfect sundae. (Grub Street)
10 suggestions to fix the lighting in your dim apartment. (Street Easy)
Declawing cats is officially illegal in New York state. Technically "declawing" is an amputation surgery which removes the first bone of the cat's toe and also takes with it tendons and muscles. Unnecessary declawing carries with it a fine. (Gothamist)
Remember the 7 train's falling debris problem? Never ones to be accused of anything that has the appearance of being timely, the MTA is finally testing new netting to prevent future impalings of anything that dares travel below a 7 train. (amNY)
Ever wonder what a manhole explosion looks like? Here's a video. (Greenpointers)
The attorney general's office is invoking the "Son of Sam Law" to prevent the Soho Grifter Anna Sorokin's profit off the sale of her life rights to Netflix. The Son of Sam Law prevents offenders from profiting off their crimes. (Gothamist)
If you had to do your job using faulty video conferencing systems, you'd be frustrated. If your job was a court interpreter at immigration hearings, it's orders of magnitude larger than simple frustration. (Gothamist)
Two lawsuits have accused the governor of trying to diminish their power by changing the state's fusion voting system. (NY Times)
15 secrets of The Frick Collection. (Untapped Cities)
The first report from the federal monitor in charge of overseeing the city's lead problems in NYCHA developments isn't very encouraging. (amNY)
The state is considering banning the sale of your phone's location without your express permission. The bill will be introduced on Tuesday. (NY Times)
"Where should we eat?" says your friend/family member/rando on the street who is visiting New York for the first time. Suddenly you freeze because your collection of restaurants that you visit regularly don't seem adequate for someone visiting for the weekend and may never return. The first timer's guide to eating in NYC. (The Infatuation)
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