The Briefly for May 29, 2020 – The "Our 'Let Someone Else Figure It Out' Mayor" Weekend Edition

Today - Low: 69˚ High: 75˚

Possible drizzle overnight.

This weekend - Low: 53˚ High: 79˚

The City Council is pushing a sidewalk-table bill forward that would allow restaurants to apply for permits that would expire on October 31 for outdoor dining. This isn't a revolutionary idea, even Cincinnatti got it done already. Mayor de Blasio's complete lack of leadership constantly leaves voids for others to fill. (Gabriel Sandoval for The City) When the city starts phase one of reopening, employees of construction jobs, wholesale, manufacturing, agriculture, and retail companies (with safety procedures in place) can go back to work. This will mean somewhere between 200,000 and 400,000 New Yorkers will return to work. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) Once New yorkers start to get back to work, how are they getting there? Are the city and state committed to making sure that our public transportation can get those workers to work safely? Our mayor, not known for being proactive, is leaving that decision up to workers and is expecting that the "short-term reality" is that there will be a spike in drivers. No talk about making sure the subways and buses are safe and will be ready no conversation about more opportunities for bicycles, just more cars. (Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist) All the borough presidents have sent a letter to the mayor demanding the city set aside 40 miles of "emergency" bus lanes to get ahead of the expected car congestion. My favorite bit of reporting from this article is "In a press conference on Thursday, the mayor did not allude specifically to the letters, but told reporters that he’s thinking about what to do, but hasn’t done anything yet." Beautiful. (Gersh Kuntzman for Streetsblog) So you've made sourdough bread, countless cocktails, Shake Shack sauces, Junior's cheesecakes, and pizza at home during the pandemic. What's next? Boba Guys have a DIY bubble tea kit. (Bao Ong for Time Out) The same groups that sued the city over its stop-and-frisk policy have sued the city over the NYPD's Covid-19 social distancing enforcement, calling it "stop and frisk 2.0." Their original case against the city led to a ruling that declared stop and frisk unconstitutional and racially discriminatory. (Kevin Duggan for amNewYork Metro) Union Square was full of protestors on Thursday night as a part of nationwide demonstrations sparked by the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police. The demonstrators were met with an aggressive police presence, including an eye witness seeing an officer put a knee on someone's neck as a part of their arrest. Another rally is planned for 4 pm in Foley Square and at night outside the Barclays Center. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) Photos: 10 weeks of a quiet Tribeca. (Tribeca Citizen) Video: Over 100 years of bread-baking experience at Madonia Bakery in the Bronx. (Ed García Conde for Welcome2TheBronx) Williamsburg has a new mural, courtesy of street artist Swoon, on S. Fifth Street. (Rose Adams for Brooklyn Paper) When we think back to what was different about the summer of 2020, the return of drive-in movies to the city should be close to the top of the list. (Erika Adams for Eater) Five tech-forward strategies restaurants are testing to ease back into dining in NYC. (Tanay Warerkar for Eater) The Times' review of the animated "Central Park" on Apple TV+ from the makers of Bob's Burgers: "Delightful, not depressing." (James Poniewozik for NY Times) Video: The stunning sights of empty NYC landmarks. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) One of the reasons that I love New York City is that a headline that reads "Gay, democratic-socialist candidate leads Clinton Hill state senate race in fundraising" is not remotely out of the ordinary. One reason Jabari Brisport is out ahead for his senate race is the support of Bernie Sanders' Our Revolution. (Matt Tracy for Brooklyn Paper) A feature on artist Sara Erenthal, whose work you've likely strewn about the city, and her latest series of work dedicated to the city under lockdown. (Howard Halle for Time Out) How many of the city's 1.1 million students are taking classes online? Don't ask the Department of Education. No, seriously, don't ask because they don't know. (Jessica Gould for Gothamist) Movie theaters are a part of phase four of New York's reopening plan, which could be July or later. What will movie theaters look like when they reopen? (Collier Sutter for Time Out) No mask, no service. The governor signed an executive order allowing businesses to refuse service to people for not wearing masks. (Kathleen Culliton for Patch) Video: Maybe it was partially inspired by this video of Staten Islanders screaming at an unmasked woman to get the hell out of a grocery store until she left. (TMZ) How do you wear a mask to a bar or restaurant? Good question. Grub Street dives in. (Chris Crowley for Grub Street) Bobby Catone, known jackass and owner of a tanning salon on Staten Island, opened his tanning salon for a moment on Thursday morning when he was warned by police he could be thrown in jail and have his license revoked if he disobeys and opens his salon again. (David Cruz for Gothamist) Apartment Porn: Hillary Swank's former townhouse in the West Village sold for $9.8 million. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft) More than 190,000 New Yorkers applied for unemployment last week as national joblessness rates reached 41 million. (Kathleen Culliton for Patch) The city supposedly hired over 1,700 contract tracers, but the reality of the situation is uncertain and the blame is being put on Mayor de Blasio for making NYC Health & Hospitals in charge of the effort instead of the Department of Health. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) The Brooklyn Museum will become a temporary food pantry starting in June. (Emma Orlow for Time Out) It's art you'll need a drone to appreciate. Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada is painting a 20,000 square-foot mural in Flushing Meadows/Corona Park. (Howard Halle for Time Out) Photos: The Tompkins Square hawks are growing up right before our eyes. (Lauge Goggin Photography) The mayor is flirting with a financial tactic with the intention of digging the city out of its current financial hole that brought the city to the brink of bankruptcy in the 1970s. The idea is to borrow up to $7 billion from the state, which would put the city on the hook for $500 million payments for the next twenty years. The idea was called "fiscally questionable" by the governor. (Luis Ferré-Sadurní, Jeffery C. Mays and Jesse McKinley for NY Times) Thank you to reader Laura for today's featured photo!