The Briefly for June 22, 2020 – The "An Answer to Our Collective Fireworks Question" Edition

Today - Low: 71˚ High: 85˚

Clear throughout the day.

A boy caught a 20-pound catfish in Central Park using a bagel as bait. When we have conversations about who is a "real" New Yorker, this catfish deserves to be a part of the conversation. (Mike Mishkin for I Love the Upper West Side) Tuesday is a 2020 primary in New York for much more than the Democratic presidential nominee. Here's your guide to the local races. (Kathleen Culliton for Patch) If you applied for an absentee ballot and it hasn't arrived, here's what to do. (Brigid Gergin for Gothamist) This weekend was the breaking point based on everyone in the city going to Twitter to complain about fireworks. Firework complaints are up 230x in June. What the hell is going on? (Sydney Pereira, Beth Fertig, David Cruz, Jake Dobkin, and Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) Believe it or not, there's a real answer to what the hell is going on. According to Dave Hill, all of the fireworks shows in the Northeast have been canceled and fireworks vendors are up to their ears in pro-grade fireworks. Thanks to supply and demand, dealers have turned to the black market and are trying to unload their fireworks for any price. (@DaveHill77) “Everywhere I go it smells the same, and it smells like my breath.” Let's check-in with David Sedaris. (Sarah Lyall for NY Times) A guide to phase two's reopening. (Jen Carlson for Gothamist) Phase two means something big: Offices are open once more. If companies decide to reopen their offices? That's a different story. (Michael Gold and Troy Closson for NY Times) A 1.9-acre waterfront park and small beach is coming to the Bushwick Inlet Park, which was approved by the Parks and Waterfront Committee of Brooklyn’s Community Board 1. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft) Looking for a piece of history off the beaten path? Check out Jackie Robinson's house on Tilden Ave. (Untapped New York for Michelle Young) After 96 days, Governor Cuomo's daily press conferences have come to an end. (Bill Mahoney for Politico) Half of New York’s working-class immigrants have lost their jobs as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new study by the Center for Urban Future. (Claudia Irizarry Aponte for The City) How many days has it been since the passing of the Eric Garner Chokehold Ban? An NYPD officer was suspended without pay after being caught on video using an illegal chokehold on an unarmed Black man in Queens. (Mark Hallum and Zach Gewelb for amNewYork Metro) 86.4% of tickets for biking on the sidewalk in 2018 and 2019 went to Black and Hispanic New Yorkers, even though they comprise only 49 percent of cyclists. (Julianne Cuba for Streetsblog) Dominique Alexander was found hanging from a tree last week in Fort Tryon Park in Manhattan, his death was ruled a suicide. Alexander's death is one of many deaths of Black men that have been ruled a suicide after being found hanging from trees. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist) There were reports of three nooses being hung in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx on Juneteenth. The NYPD declined to open an investigation, claiming the ropes were nothing more than harmless string. This is the second investigation into a noose left in a city park that the NYPD has refused or closed without a thorough investigation. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) Vincent D’Andraia, the cop that was suspended for showing a protester to the ground and was charged with misdemeanor assault has a history of 11 allegations of misconduct since 2015. (Yoav Gonen for The City) Students at predominantly Black New York City schools are significantly less likely to have a positive view of school police or to believe school discipline is applied fairly. If that's your assumption, there's a new study that confirms your assumption. (Jessica Gould, Alex Zimmerman, and Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee and Gothamist) New York City’s education oversight board is calling for public schools, not the police, to manage the officers stationed on city campuses. (Christina Veiga for Chalkbeat) “The Case for Self-Enforcing Streets” from Transportation Alternatives argues that the NYPD should be removed from traffic enforcement, calling for an expansion in enforcement technology, changing how crash investigations work, and more. (Gersh Kuntzman for Streetsblog) Hundreds of protesters marched on Astoria Blvd in Queens demanding the removal of the Christopher Columbus statue. (Angélica Acevedo for amNewYork Metro) The American Museum of Natural History expressed plans to have the statue of Theodore Roosevelt removed from its entrance on Central Park West for its racist depictions of Native American and African figures. (Mike Mishkin for I Love the Upper West Side) While we're talking about statues, let's encourage the Long Island town of Babylon to tear down their statue of Robert Moses. (Sydney Pereira for Gothamist)

"Mayor de Blasio could have acted all along. He could have called for the NYPD to make officers’ disciplinary records public. He could have fired Officer Pantaleo immediately after he murdered Eric Garner. Mayor de Blasio knows how this all works, but benefits from the opaqueness that characterizes the political system in this city and state. He has amplified the problem with the system."

-New Kings Democrats, Mayor de Blasio is neither progressive nor effective. He needs to resign

Juneteenth will become a city holiday in 2021. (Marina Fang for HuffPost) Photos: Juneteenth celebrations across the city. (Sophia Chang, photos by Angela Chalmondeley, Khaleeq Alfred, and Gretchen Robinette for Gothamist) NYC Parks installed “Juneteenth Grove” at Cadman Plaza Park “in celebration of Juneteenth and to celebrate the homegoing of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless others.” (Mary Kim for Brooklyn Heights Blog) Downtown Brooklyn and Park Slope are getting new bike lanes this summer on Smith St, Fourth Ave, and Navy Street. (Kevin Duggan for Brooklyn Paper) Another week and another local racist caught on camera. This time it was in Flushing Queens where a man with a face mask pulled down yelled slurs at a South Korean student inside a 7-Eleven. The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating. (Allie Griffin for Queens Post) It's been 63 years since the legendary brawl at the Copacabana that involved six hall of fame Yankees and their wives while celebrating Billy Martin's birthday. Finally, the truth has come out. (David Margolick for NY Times) The Yankees and Mets have announced that their, uh, "spring" training will be happening in New York and not Florida. (Priscila Korb for Patch) Is wearing a mask getting in your way of drinking? Check out Crook & Marker's TasteMask, which includes a flap for a straw. (Bao Ong for The Out) Thanks to reader Hannah for today's featured photo!