The Briefly for October 11-12, 2020 – The "SERENITY NOW!" Sunday Edition

Today - Low: 55˚ High: 68˚

Rain in the evening and overnight.

Midtown's Roosevelt Hotel is closing at the end of the month after 96 years. (David Cruz for Gothamist) There is a law in NYC that local police cannot enforce federal immigration law, that does not stop ICE agents from pretending to be local police during raids. (Sophia Chang for Gothamist) When the city lacks its usual entertainment, it turns to the trash pandas. Welcome to The Raccoon Show. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist) Spider-Man 3 has begun filming in Queens. Look for the filming notices for "SERENITY NOW." Yes, all of the fake filming titles for Spider-Man movies have been George Costanza references. (Jacob Kaye for amNewYork Metro) Inside a Bronx freshman's first day back in the classroom. (Alex Zimmerman for Chalkbeat) Maybe after this is all over, we should stop putting schools in windowless basements. (Cindy Rodriguez for Gothamist) The city owes its public school teachers $900 million, which dates back a decade and has its roots in the Bloomberg administration's dealing of the last financial crisis. The city tried to punt on those payments until an arbitrator ruled the city must pay its teachers half of what is owed by the end of the month, the other half in July 2021 and agree to a no-layoffs provision through June 2021 along with teachers getting a 3.5% pay bump by May 2021. (David Cruz for Gothamist) A new state requirement will demand that 20% of all students and staff enrolled in in-person learning be tested weekly for Covid-19 inside the state's "yellow" zones with the mandate in effect by Friday, October 16. (Sophia Chang for Gothamist) Farewell to Queens Comfort on 30th Ave in Astoria. Today is its last day of service. (Luke Fortney for Eater) Broadway will remain shut down through May 2021, extending past the last "end date" in March. (Broadway World) Satire: Hundreds Of Cane-Wielding Demonstrators Pull Governor Into Kickline To Protest Broadway Shutdown. (The Onion) Broadway is known as "The Great White Way" thanks to the volume of lights on the various marquees, but the nickname remains appropriate for other reasons too, as a new report shows that only 20% of shows on Broadway or Off-Broadway during the 2017-2018 season were created by people of color, two-thirds were filled by white actors and 94% directors were white. (Sahar Bahr for NY Times) Had enough of apartment living in NYC and yearn for a life on the seas but still in the city? Here's everything you need to know about houseboat living in NYC. (Cait Etherington for 6sqft) Mayor de Blasio has chosen the city's next rezoning battleground: SoHo and NoHo, from Astor Place down to Canal Street. The opponents say it will "ruin" the neighborhood's character and the proponents argue that it will bring 3,200 apartments to the area, with 800 below-market rate. The deciding City Councilmember will be Margaret Chin, provided the city moves forward with approval before she's term-limited out in 2021. (Sydney Pereira for Gothamist) Apartment Porn: There's a house in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens that's for sale that my wife is obsessed with. Once you see the photos of the $2.75 million pre-war house, you'll become obsessed too. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft) Photos: Tribeca's Pier 26 is now open, complete with a man-made tidal marsh called the Tide Deck. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft) The City Reliquary is in danger of closing. It's one of the city's oddest and most unique and interesting museums in addition to being a non-profit civic organization. In non-pandemic times, it is worth your visit. Now it needs your help. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft) There will never be a story about the Grand Central Terminal lost and found that I will not link to. Years ago my best friend left an acoustic guitar on a Metro-North train and found it at the lost and found a few days later, just one of the roughly 2,500 items lost every month. (Nicole Saraniero for Untapped New York) Here is the full list of NYC politicians being endorsed by Our Revolution, founded by Bernie Sanders. (amNewYork Metro) How much does a life cost? Last year Matt Palacios was killed by Luc C. Vu, who was driving a dump truck and made an illegal left turn. Court records indicate that Vu's driver's license has been revoked for six months, that he paid a $250 fine on the failure to yield to a bicyclist charge, and that he will receive a conditional discharge in one year if he does not get into additional legal trouble. $250 for taking Matt's life. (Mike Johnson for PWInsider) "I don’t know what you call them — peaceful protesters — maybe spoiled brats at this point." -NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea on NY1. The NYPD is on pace to spend more than $100 million beyond its budget for overtime this year. (Christopher Robbins for Gothamist) On the same night that NYPD officers stood by while protesters attacked civilians and a journalist during a Borough Park protest against Covid-19 restrictions, the police department arrested four Black Lives Matter activists in Bedford-Stuyvesant for low-level offenses and detained them for two nights before they were released. (Gwynne Hogan for Gothamist) Video: Watch the NYPD be unable to break up a massive celebration full of unmasked people blocking a street in Crown Heights last week and eventually give up and go home. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox congregants attended an indoor prayer service in Borough Park on Friday in open defiance of Governor Andrew Cuomo's newly imposed restrictions on religious gatherings in COVID hotspots. The service was led by a rabbi who tested positive for Covid-19 one week ago. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) MSG and the Barclays Center are becoming voting locations on November 3. Yankee Stadium? Silence. In a neighborhood that could use the most help from a neighbor, the Yankees, who pay $0 in real state taxes and pay $1/year for the land their stadium occupies, have turned their back on the local community at nearly every opportunity. (Mary Steffenhagen for New York City News Service) Congratulations to the NYC girls who have become some of the first to ever join Scouts BSA, formerly the Boy Scouts of America. (Yasmeen Khan for Gothamist) The NYPL released a list of 200 book titles to get you election-ready. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft) Farewell to Dizzy's Diner in Park Slope after 22 years. (Ben Verde for Brooklyn Paper) Turns out it pays to be in the crowd for SNL. No literally, the audience is being paid $150 to be considered cast members, since audience members aren't allowed. Each "cast member" is given a rapid Covid-19 test before entering the studio. (Julia Jacobs and Dave Itzkoff for NY Times) The Times is declaring cuffing season, but did the last cuffing season ever officially end? (Johan Engel Bromwich and Sandra E. Garcia for NY Times) Farewell to 88 Lan Zhou in Chinatown, who will be closing on October 31. (Elie Z. Perler for Bowery Boogie) The top 12 neighborhood pizza slices. (Robert Sietsema for Eater) How to support independent restaurants. (Bonnie Tsui for NY Times)