The Briefly for March 24, 2020 – The "Quarantine Rainbow Scavenger Hunt" Edition
Today - Low: 42˚ High: 52˚
Clear throughout the day.
How to access unemployment and other government benefits right now. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) You won't find a social media presence for Corona Courier, a community pairing bike couriers with people who need to self-quarantine. They deliver based on where their volunteers are located. If you've got some time on your hands and a desire to help, this is an opportunity for you. (Nicole Davis for Brooklyn Based) The mayor is starting to talk about schools being closed for the rest of the year, despite being hopeful about letting students back in on April 20. (East New York News) Here’s what NYC’s first day of remote learning looked like. (Alex Zimmerman, Christina Veiga, and Reema Amin for Chalkbeat) The city's playgrounds are open. Are they safe? "It would take a Herculean effort every five minutes, literally, that we simply can’t do." -Mayor de Blasio. (Curtis Brodner for BKLYNER) If you've been seeing rainbows in the windows of apartments around Brooklyn, welcome to the quarantine rainbow scavenger hunt. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft) "Commuting in Corona Times" by Kera Hill is the new subway map that you have to see. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York) Three depressing charts that spell out the demise of the subways. (Streetsblog) The work has begun to go through the articles that survived the fire at the MoCA archives on Mulberry St. (Julia Jacobs for NY Times) Brooklyn has the highest count of positive COVID-19, but so far it hasn't been included in the state's plans for a temporary hospital to deal with the sick and Borough President Eric Adams isn't happy about that. (Mary Frost for Brooklyn Eagle) "How do you enjoy life?" was the note left behind by Robert Herman, photographer, and Tribeca resident, before jumping to his death from his 16th-floor window. (Jeremiah Moss for Jeremiah's Vanishing New York) Video: Drone footage of American cities, nearly deserted. (Matt Novak for Gizmodo) The idea behind closing off some streets to automobile traffic is to alleviate the density in the city's parks. Think about it like an ongoing block party where everyone has to remain six feet away from each other. (Amy Plitt for Curbed) Here's a list of the streets that TransAlt and Bike New York are calling for closure. The most surprising on the list is the Jackie Robinson Parkway, which also includes the NYC marathon route, NYC street fair routes, summer streets and car-free day streets, and more. (Dave Colon for Streetsblog) Turns out restaurants that were popular before coronavirus closed all the city's restaurants are still popular now that we're in "take-out only" mode. (Gary He for Eater) Rao’s, NYC’s most exclusive restaurant, is offering take-out for the first time ever. (Emma Orlow for Time Out) Does Scott Stringer realize he's made a The Lox featuring Lil' Kim and DMX reference when talking about why the census is important? (@NYCComptroller) The city could be looking at a $6 billion hit during the projected six-month COVID-19 crisis according to City Comptroller Scott Stringer. As far as I can tell, that doesn't include the $4 billion the MTA is asking for or the $1.9 billion the Port Authority is asking for. (Robert Pozarycki for QNS) Photos: An empty NYC just before the PAUSE. (Jen Carlson with photos by Gretchen Robinette, Scott Lynch, and David "Dee" Delgado for Gothamist) The MTA has announced that it has suspended fare collection on all of its local and select bus routes in order to keep its drivers safe from coronavirus. (Michael Dorgan for Jackson Heights Post) I used to work with someone whose weekly routine included taking a lunch break and going to Economy Candy to stock up for her desk and apartment. If you're someone for whom candy is a part of life, Economy Candy is now offering CandyCare Packs to keep you sugared up. (Holly Louise Perry for Bowery Boogie) Now is the absolute worst time to open a restaurant, right? Say hello to the brand new Sofia’s Panificio e Vino in Little Italy. (Emma Orlow for Time Out) Mike Bloomberg claimed that he'd be paying his campaign staff through November regardless if he dropped out of the race. He dropped out of the race and 2,000 of his former campaign staffers are suing him for fraud in a class-action lawsuit. (Christopher Cadelago for Politico) Rough Trade NYC closed its online store without an explicitly stated reason. Relatedly, Amazon announced that it was pausing restocking vinyl and CDs, so this could be a supply chain issue. (Bill Pearis for BrooklynVegan) RIP Nashom Wooden, aka drag legend Mona Foot, a victim of COVID-19. (Mickey Boardman for Paper) WABC 770 radio relaunched under a new owner. They had a party on March 16 for the relaunch on March 16, the same day the state limited gatherings to 50 and closed bars, restaurants, and gyms. Look at the photos of these idiots at a party in the radio studio. (amNewYork Metro, with no writer credited) Community Gardens in the city are closed to the public "effective immediately" and "until further notice." (Sydney Pereira for Gothamist) The EPA is evaluating if the Coney Island Creek is eligible to become a Superfund site. The waterway has been polluted for decades after the historical manufacturing of dye and gas in the area. (Scott Enman for Brooklyn Eagle) Gladson Ltd normally supplies Gucci, Paul Smith, Stella McCartney, and others with luxury fabrics, but they'll be churning out a million facemasks for local hospitals. (Emily Davenport for amNewYork Metro) Video: A walk by the Long Island City Waterfront at Hunters Point South Park and Gantry Plaza State Park at night. (ActionKid) City Harvest is looking for volunteers to pack food for fellow New Yorkers. (Allie Griffin for LIC Post) On Monday morning the MTA stopped running C trains after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. 30 workers have tested positive for coronavirus. (Stephen Nessen for Gothamist) The end of the month is coming. Are we going to see a rent freeze? (Collier Sutter for Time Out) The list of the best things the editors of Eater ate and drank this week looks vastly different while sheltering-in-place. (Eater) "I always knew that when the end came, New Yorkers would watch it from a bar. But this was not the end any of us had imagined. Crowding together, not just a survival skill but an engine of the city in normal times, was the most dangerous thing of all." -Pete Wells for NY Times