The Briefly for July 29, 2020 – The "11% of NYPD Officers Have a Record of Misconduct" Edition
Today - Low: 77˚ High: 89˚
Clear throughout the day.
Governor Cuomo is expanding his oversight on the city and its finances via three nominations to the seven-member Financial Control Board, which has oversight over the city's budget. He's nominated allies to the board and stated he's looking to scrutinize the city's fiscal outlook. Other board members are State Comptroller Tom Napoli, Mayor de Blasio, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, and Governor Cuomo. (Zack Fink for NY1) While Governor Cuomo is fighting to hold more control over the city, the State Legislature is fighting to take control away from Governor Cuomo, seeking to limit his power over the state's budget. The Budget Equality Act, which hasn't been voted on yet, would allow the legislature to add to the budget in addition to its powers right now, which only allow a reduction in spending. A change would require an amendment to the state's constitution, so this will become a multi-year fight. (Ben Brachfeld for Gothamist) Apartment Porn: It has a 1,000 bottle wine room, a 1,200 square-foot terrace, an outdoor kitchen, and 6,400 square feet of space. All yours in Tribeca for the low, low price of $17.5 million. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft) After two recent deaths, Revel has indefinitely suspended its service and review its safety measures in the city. The mayor called this "an unacceptable state of affairs." Just imagine what he could actually get accomplished if the mayor stepped in when a system within the city is obviously broken and causing pain and suffering on a wide-spread basis. It should be noted that Revel has operated since 2018 and these two are the first reported deaths. (Matt Troutman for Patch) 1 out of ever 9 NYPD officers has a confirmed record of misconduct.3,796 out of 36,000 have at least one substantiated complaint against them. Most have received no penalty at all. (Christopher Robbins, George Joseph, Jake Offenhartz, Zach Gottehrer-Cohen, and Jake Dobkin for Gothamist) Unsatisfied that Portland get all the country's attention for people being grabbed off the street, the NYPD has decided to get in on the action. NYPD officers grabbed 18-year-old Nikki Stone tossing her into an unmarked Kia minivan. Reports indicate she's since been released. (Allyson Chiu for The Washington Post) 91 percent of public drinking tickets in the last six months went to Black and Latinx New Yorkers. Is anyone surprised? (Luke Fortney for Eater)
"With the Senate back in Washington working on another COVID-19 relief package, we at the MTA are fending off a fiscal tsunami. We’re simply trying to survive the rest of this year, and the next one, with our finances mostly intact. But to do that, we need help and we need it now – in the form of another $4 billion in federal aid to get through 2020."
-Patrick Foye, Chairman and CEO of the MTA, MTA fiscal tsunami requires federal relief for Bronx Times
A little look at NYC's history using augmented reality. (Nicholas Loud for Untapped New York) The history of animals in Central Park from the goat-drawn carriages to Hattie the snowplow elephant to the camels that helped plow the soil for planting. (Sam Neubauer for I Love The Upper West Side) The city has suspended its brown bin composting program, but the LES Ecology Center is rolling out a phased reopening of food scrap drop-off sites with a few sites accepting scraps. (Tequila Minsky for amNewYork Metro) The Yankees' second game in two days was postponed while MLB tries to come to grips with the outbreak in the Marlins' locker room. (Joe Pantorno for amNewyork Metro) Governor Cuomo made the offer that New York state hosts the games for any MLB team that wants to play them, boasting the state's infection rate is currently below 1%. For players, Cuomo would carve out a new exception from his out of state quarantine rules. (Zack Fink for NY1) Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, DC, and Puerto Rico were all added to New York's quarantine list, bringing the total up to 34 states. (Matt Troutman for Patch) I nominate that Riverside Park be renamed Trash Panda Park after racoons have taken over. (Mike Mishkin for I Love The Upper West Side) The Industry City rezoning is dead. City Councilmember Carlos Menchaca is the deciding vote when it comes to the proposal and he has come out in strong opposition to it. Menchaca has laid out multiple conditions for his support and he says they were not met. ITs only hope is that Speaker Corey Johnson step in to rally the council against Menchaca, which seems unlikely. (Kathryn Brenzel for The Real Deal) A moment of cute! A duck built a nest on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The staff is keeping an eye on it and the new family will be moved to Central Park when they're ready to leave. (Howard Halle for Time Out) “I don’t think this is the type of job we should just ‘wing it,’ and that’s the sense I’ve been getting sometimes.” The city's contact tracing program is not off to a great start. (Sharon Offerman for NY Times) Mayor de Blasio says that unless the federal government's new stimulus package includes more state aid, the city will be forced to layoff up to 22,000 workers. These are the jobs that he said could be saved with if the city can successfully renegotiate worker contracts with unions by October 1. (Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech for amNewYork Metro) Thinking about heading to Long Island to go to the beach to avoid the city's beaches? Good luck with those sharks. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) 12 more bars have had their liquor licenses suspended by the State Liquor Authority, mostly in Jackson Heights, bringing the total to 29. (Tanay Warerkar for Eater) For almost $1,000 you can enjoy a three-night stay in the Wythe Hotel, complete with a movie or TV show screening in the hotel's private screening room. They'll even throw in popcorn for free. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction instructing New York State to begin unemployment payments to Uber and Lyft drivers immediately and promptly. (Noam Scheiber for NY Times) Where to eat outside in Chintatown. (Hannah Albertine for The Infatuation)