The Briefly for November 15, 2019 – The "Why Do Tourists Love the M&M Store?" Weekend Edition

This weekend's planned subway disruptions are non-existent on the numbered lines, but hits the E, R, L, and Q trains. (Subway Weekender)

The MTA is considering a restructuring "transformation plan" that will end up firing thousands of administrative jobs in an effort to save money, but will still end up with a $426 million deficit in 2023. (amNewYork)

While the MTA fires thousands, they'll be making way for 500 police officers. The cops will cost $250 million and are theoretically partially financed by the $200 million they will be saving through anti-fare evasion efforts, or to put it another way over 18 million subway rides. What a deal! We only have to spend $250 million to get back $200 million. (Streetsblog)

This is the real question. Why do tourists love the M&M store so much? (/r/AskNYC)

How can you make ordering lunch worse? Ask Sweetgreen, whose "3.0" location manages to lower the bar even further while you pay $15 for a salad. (Eater)

The story that started with the most questionable Halloween decorations has a surprise ending of honest conversation. (NY Times)

The East Side Coastal Resiliency Plan, which will protect the Lower East Side from the rising ocean and storms like Superstorm Sandy passed City Council, but there is already a lawsuit planned to try to stop the phased construction along the 2.4 miles of shore. Leading the charge is Arthur Schwartz, the same lawyer who tried to sue the 14th St busway out of existence. (Curbed)

Major League Baseball signed a deal with Nike that would have shut out multiple businesses surrounding Yankee stadium from selling Yankees gear, effectively killing them completely, but after an rallying effort from the Yankees' front office, places like Stan the Man's will be included in the MLB deal. (amNewYork)

Hart Island, the city's mass gravesite for early AIDS patients, stillborn children, the disenfranchised, the unknown, and Veterans that dates back to the Civil War, will be transferred from the Department of Corrections to the Parks Department. As part of the bill passed by the City Council, the Department of Transportation will be charged with creating transportation to the 101-acre island. (Curbed)

In response to the candy and churro-related arrests happening in the subways, the mayor asked the MTA to consider designated "vending areas" in subway stations. Could it be that de Blasio's never-ending feud with Governor Cuomo actually spurs the mayor to stand up for the people of the city? (Politico)

The mayor has asked some 18,000 city employees, 15,000 of them FDNY, to be a part of the new Outreach NYC program. The program will report unsheltered homeless people in an attempt to connect them with voluntary outreach programs. (amNewYork)

An 85-foot mural by Keith Haring that once adorned the halls of Grace House, a youth organization in the Upper West Side, sold for $3.9 million. The church who owned the land sold the building and removed the mural in worry that it could have been destroyed in renovations. (NY Times)

Facebook is moving into 1.5 million square feet of office in Hudson Yards next year. While this isn't mentioned in the article, I assume that means that Apple won the bidding war for space in the Farley Building inside the post office on 34th. (amNewYork)

Via is now offering $15 rideshares from LaGuardia to Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn and $20 rides to Staten Island and the Bronx. (Gothamist)

Our airports are the most expensive in the country, from the flights to parking to coffee. (Patch)

Why not add ice skating to that list? The TWA Hotel will be installing an ice skating rink at JFK airport. (amNewYork)

Photos: A first look inside the Waldorf Astoria’s historic conversion. (6sqft)

Attorney General Letitia James is suing B&H Photo for failing to pay $7.3 million of taxes when offering instant rebates. When offering an instant rebate, the law says you are taxed on the pre-rebate price, but B&H had been collecting taxes on the post-discounted price. (amNewYork)

A teenager was arrested and charged with three counts each of hate crime assault, aggravated harassment, and harassment for throwing eggs as a synagogue and Orthodox Jewish New Yorkers. (Gothamist)

Comings and goings from Broadway: Going is Tootsie, coming is Woman in Black, KPOP, and cuts to West Side Story. (amNewYork)

Scooter and Pete are two adorable new Red Panda fur babies making their at the Prospect Park Zoo. There are photos and video. (Gothamist)

What's going on with chicken parm and horny singles? (Eater)

There's a deadly drug-resistant fungus called Candida auris. More than 800 cases have been reported in the country and half of them have been in New York. A list of hospitals, long-care nursing homes, and hospice units that have been exposed is available. (amNewYork)

The mayor held a town hall and you can be sure that for any criticism levied against him or his administration, he had someone else to blame and in a few occasions it was the audience. (Gothamist)

The NYPD arrested and charged Michael Hall with attempted murder, two counts of arson, one count of criminal possession of a dangerous weapon, two counts of attempted assault, one count of menacing and harassment in connection to a series of fires at the NYCHA complex, the Louis Pink Houses, that occurred over a span of six months. (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

The city's next great pastrami sandwich is from Hometown Bar-B-Que in Industry City. (Eater)

The 16 most exciting Caesar Salads in the city. (Grub Street)