The Briefly for May 15, 2020 – The "Quarantining with a Ghost" Weekend Edition

Today - Low: 62˚ High: 79˚

Drizzle in the morning and overnight.

This weekend - Low: 54˚ High: 75˚

A beginner's guide to understanding New York's reopening plan. (Ryan Sutton for Eater) The City Council's bill capping fees restaurant delivery apps can charge tops out at 20% and it's waiting for Mayor de Blasio's signature. (David Cruz for Gothamist) Let the true 2021 mayoral race begin, as Scott Stringer makes an off-handed remark about Corey Johnson's predilection for dancing in public. (Samar Khurshid for Gotham Gazette) Happy 100th birthday to Louise Ceci Jacobson, who celebrated with a drive-by parade. (Carlotta Mohamed for amNewYork Metro) 45% of U.S. adults believe in ghosts, but how many of us believe we are quarantining with a specter ? (Molly Fitzpatrick for NY Times) asian-veggies.com a new Asian produce delivery service in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. (Cathy Erway for Grub Street) Over 100 city kids have PMIS, the pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, which may be linked to Covid-19. Seventeen total states and six European countries have reported cases and there have been three deaths from PMIS in New York state so far. (Kathleen Culliton for Patch) President Trump's playbook seems to be ‘Ford To City: Drop Dead’ (Paul Blumenthal for HuffPost) Video: There's the National Debt Clock, there's the actual clock in Union Square, and now add the Trump Death Clock in Times Square to the city's list of infamous clocks. (HuffPost) Paulo Pinho and Clelia Pinho, the couple charged with a hate crime for allegedly attacking a group of Hasidic men, argue that they are the real victims because the men the allegedly attacked were not social distancing. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist) Let's take a moment to celebrate anything that brings us an inch closer to the way life was before mid-March. Dunkins across the city have begun reopening. (Give Me Astoria) What will dining look like once we're back? A look to California may provide some answers. (Ryan Sutton for Eater) An unnamed “famous Upper East Side bar and lounge” and a “trendy downtown hotel” have both supposedly held speakeasy parties this week. A risky move, considering the Post already found out, so city officials can't be too far behind. (Luke Fortney for Eater) Video: Another disturbing NYPD arrest, this time it's a 22-year-old mother being violently arrested while walking with her toddler. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) You'd be surprised how NYC hasn't changed int he last century from this aerial photograph from 1933. (Matt Coneybeare for Viewing NYC) Broken machines, staff shortages, a lack of bilingual interpreters, and polling locations that weren’t accessible to the disabled. A report released Thursday by City Comptroller Scott Stringer found “widespread mismanagement and lax recordkeeping” by the city Board of Elections in last year’s general election. (Emily Ngo for NY1) NYU Langone Medical Center and NYC Health + Hospitals - Metropolitan came out on top of Leapfrog's list of the best and worst hospitals in NYC. (Brendan Krisel for Patch) Twenty community clinics will now make free coronavirus testing available to all people showing symptoms, with an additional 12 clinics scheduled to be added to that list. (Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist) Followup to the story about Dr Oxiris Barbot, the city's health commissioner, and a comment she made to Terence Monahan, the NYPD Chief of Department, Dr Barbot has already apologized. Ed Mullins, the head of the NYPD's union who is the subject of an NYPD Internal Affairs probe, continues to push on Twitter, having called Dr Barbot a "bitch." It's time to move on Ed. (Christopher Robbins for Gothamist) Will rooftop bars still be a thing this summer? Here's a what they could look like. (Emma Orlow for Time Out) This is NYC's biggest asshole, who thought dumping a Rubbermaid container of cereal and milk on the subway would be funny. (Ashley Reese for Jezebel) Shopsin’s is back at Essex Market. (Scott Lynch for Gothamist) The schedules for virtual Brooklyn and Queens Pride Month events have been released. (Matt Tracy for amNewYork Metro) Community health centers in the city will receive $22 million in emergency funds from the federal government to bolster coronavirus testing capacity. (Brendan Krisel for Patch) Ahead of expected budget cuts, CUNY is looking to cut its budget by $10 billion, with adjunct professors first on the chopping block. (Sydney Pereira for Gothamist) "The meat shortage," as explained by the city's meat suppliers. (Kitty Greenwald for Gothamist) Mayor de Blasio appointed at least 80 donors to advisory groups that were formed to help shape New York City’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. There are a total of 330 people appointed to the groups. (Anna Sanders for NY Daily News) As the city creeps towards a reopening, beauty salon owners don't feel like they have a seat at the table. Maybe they should have donated more to the mayor? (Anna Quinn for Patch) Frozen on Broadway is closed. The show will not reopen once Broadway returns. (Michael Paulson for NY Times) The head of the city's contract tracing program is the same person who gave Mayor de Blasio advice in March that there was "no proof that closures will help stop the spread," and believed that large events should have continued as planned. This was happening while the mayor's top health officials were threatening resignation in protest if the mayor didn't listen to them. (William K. Rashbaum, J. David Goodman, Jeffery C. Mays and Joseph Goldstein for NY Times) 10 ways for adding more plants in your NYC apartment. (Localize.City) This weekend's project? Make real New York-style bagels at home. (Bao Ong for Time Out) Thanks to reader Flo for today's featured photo!