The Briefly for June 16, 2020 – The "4th of July Every Single Night" Edition

Today - Low: 61˚ High: 75˚

Partly cloudy throughout the day.

Today's the last day for you to apply for an absentee ballot. A voter's guide to some of the most hotly contested races on the NY ballot. (Peter Rugh for The Indypendent) What you need to know for the June 23 primary elections. (Ben Verde for amNewYork Metro) What the hell is going on with all the fireworks lately? (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) Attorney General Letitia James is going to hold an online public hearing on Wednesday to investigate the NYPD's actions during the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd. (Jacob Kaye for amNewYork Metro) NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea has promised "greater transparency," but it's hard not to think of that as a joke when he announces that an officer was suspended without pay for spraying mace at a group of people during a protest in Manhattan on June 1. Which officer? No information. Which incident specifically? No information. Very transparent. (Anna Quinn for Patch) The NYPD is disbanding a unit of 600 plainclothes cops in precinct-level and Housing Bureau anti-crime teams. The NYPD will still have plainclothes cops in the Surveillance and Narcotics bureaus. Despite the announcement coming with the statement that it has "no reflection" on their work, the disbanded group represented 2% of the NYPD, but 31% of its fatal shootings. (Kathleen Culliton for Patch) Make NYPD discipline records public you cowards. (Erin Durkin for Politico) "Systemic racism is something that is learned. It's learned over generations. We need to look at the narrative as it has been taught and revise it. And I feel that people are now starting to listen because it's not just a black problem. If one part of your population is not good, it's going to call to question what is it to be an American citizen? What is that? What is the real perk in that?" An interview with Detective Felicia Richards, president of the NYPD Guardians Association, a fraternal organization for black police officers. (Jami Floyd and Danny Lewis for Gothamist) The state's court system will undergo an independent review of its practices regarding institutional racism. The review will be overseen by a former U.S. secretary of Homeland Security and a general counsel for the Obama Administration's Department of Defense. (Noah Singer for Brooklyn Eagle) Photos: Soho street art. (Josh Vogel for NYC Urbanism) While the plans for the city's 2020-2021 school year haven't been publicly announced (I've heard it's a limit of 10 people per classroom), there's still a matter of what teachers will be healthy enough to return to the classrooms. According to the Department of Education estimates, up to 20% of teachers could be working remotely due to health concerns. (Reema Amin for ChalkBeat) Short experiences from across the city from people who discovered their neighbors and neighborhoods during quarantine. (NY Times) Where was the mayor on Monday? He was sick and at home. In his own words, "All New Yorkers should get a Covid-19 diagnostic test, whether or not they have symptoms or at increased risk." Did he get a test? Of course now, and he has no plans to get one in the future. (Christopher Robbins for Gothamist) Don't make Cuomo turn this reopening around. There were over 25,000 reopening violation complaints to the state and it seems that Governor Cuomo is losing patience with Mayor de Blasio's inability to enforce the rules, stating plainly "enforce the law or there will be state action." (Erik Enquist for The Real Deal) Raise your hand if you're surprised that the MTA's homeless outreach program was not a success. No one? (Kathleen Culliton for Patch) 12 restaurants that are selling frozen Chinese dumplings for home cooking. (Tony Lin for Eater) Since 2013, there have been more than 25 million applications submitted for roughly 40,000 units in the city's housing lottery. This week the city rolled out a new system for the lottery. (Matthew Haag for NY Times) Airbnb is settling a lawsuit with the city by handing over data about hosts. It won't be retroactive, but it will start once a new city ordinance is passed. The hope is to weed out illegal short-term rentals. (Christine Fisher for Engadget) Monday's LGBTQ SCOTUS decision has its roots in Greenwich Village. (Andrew Berman for GVSHP) 33 places to celebrate Black history in NYC. (Noah Sheidlower for Untapped New York) Over 10,000 people took to the streets of Brooklyn on Sunday for "Brooklyn Liberation: An Action for Black Trans Lives." The march came together after Dominique "Rem'mie" Fells and Riah Milton were killed within 24 hours of each other. Justice was also called for in the names of Tony McHale, Layleen Polanco, and Nina Pop. (Meaghan McGoldrick for Brooklyn Paper) The photos from the Black Liberation rally are truly impressive. (Amanda Hatfield for BrooklynVegan) Photos: Coney Island's George Floyd protest. (Jamie DeJesus for The Brooklyn Home Reporter) The NYPD found no criminality after officers became sick Monday night from shakes they got at a Shake Shack in downtown Manhattan. I think the NYPD should have allowed Shake Shack to do their own investigation. (CBS News) Tired of your traditional summer reading lists? Here's a list of Nick Cave's favorite books. (Erin Christie for BrooklynVegan) A 14-year-old who pleaded guilty to robbing Tessa Majors in Morningside Park was sentenced in Manhattan Family Court on Monday to 18 months in a juvenile facility. (Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist) The NYC sandwich delivery guide. (Hannah Albertine, Nikko Duren, & Matt Tervooren for The Infatuation)