The Briefly for October 16 - 17, 2020 – The "Greatest Mystery of 2020" Friday Edition
Today - Low: 46˚ High: 64˚
Rain throughout the day.
This weekend - Low: 48˚ High: 62˚
Video: Watch the congressional debate between Congressmember Max Rose and NY Assemblyperson Nicole Malliotakis. Vote for Max Rose. (NY1)
"Time and time again, Trump-loving State Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis has used votes and influence as an elected official to fight against efforts to improve LGBTQ rights — and there’s a chance she could bring her bigoted politics to the national stage."
-Matt Tracy, Nicole Malliotakis’ Dismal Record on LGBTQ Issues for Gay City News
Farewell to Dangerfield's on the Upper East Side, which was forced to close after 50 years. (Bill Pearis for BrooklynVegan) This is, and I can't understate this enough, the greatest mystery of the year. (EV Grieve) City civilian inspectors gave out 1,095 Covid-19 safety measure violations to 247 spots between Sept. 29 and Oct. 13, according to Mayor de Blasio's office. The biggest offense? Lack of cleaning log. (Reuven Blau for The City) Another fight in the endless battle between Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio: if yeshivas can decide they're "childcare centers to skirt the state's red zone rules. Cuomo says no, of course, the mayor disagrees. (Sydney Pereira for Gothamist) Governor Cuomo has gone as far as saying that he'll revoke funding from non-compliant yeshivas, threatening to "withhold funding until the matter is resolved to our satisfaction." (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) 52% of the city's public school students are enrolled in remote learning. That's a 2% increase from last week. (Sophia Chang for Gothamist) Juneteenth is now an official public holiday in New York State. Governor Cuomo signed it into legislation this week, beating Mayor de Blasio to the punch, who claimed he would make it a holiday in the city by 2021. (Zainab Iqbal for Bklyner) Apartment Porn: A $6.25 million Brooklyn Heightsfive-bedroom townhouse with a velour reading nook, a backyard, and lots of color. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft) The NYPD is preparing for election protests according to a new memo issued by Commissioner Dermot Shea. (Matt Troutman for Patch) Attorney General Letitia James is recommending that the NYPD be removed from conducting traffic stops after the fatal shooting of Allan Feliz, whom cops killed during a so-called routine traffic stop in the Bronx last year. Her recommendation is to shift to automated enforcement and redesigning roads to make it harder to speed and break traffic rules. (Julianne Cuba for Streetsblog) The New York Philharmonic canceled all of its performances through June 2021. This is an extension of their previous cancelation that was scheduled to end January 5. (Mike Mishkin for I Love the Upper West Side) A statue of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is coming to Downtown Brooklyn’s City Point in 2021. (Kevin Duggan for Brooklyn Paper) Speaking of statues, check out the new sculpture of Medusa holding the decapitated of Perseus that is now outside the New York County Criminal Courthouse on Centre Street. The sculpture was created by artist Luciano Garbati. (Mark Hallum for amNewYork Metro) The city has new rules for outdoor dining this winter that will allow for electric heaters, natural gas heaters, and propane heaters. Maybe it's time to invest in some "restaurant blankets." (Will Gleason for Time Out) For now, here's a list of restaurants with outdoor heating lamps. (Nikko Duren for The Infatuation) Grand Central is looking to alter its rent agreement with its tenants, with the MTA will take a percentage of rent from the restaurants and other small businesses based on gross revenue. Apple won't be getting a break, just the smaller businesses. (Tanay Warerkar for Eater) No need to panic (yet), but State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said that without federal aid, we're looking at "the end of regional public transit as we have known it." (Stephen Nessen for Gothamist) What we're talking about when we say tax the rich. (Josefa Velasquez for The City)
"After hearing that I would be kicked out of the Lucerne, I felt traumatized – dehumanized at the thought of being moved from shelter to shelter like a pawn on a chessboard during a global pandemic. The words of the mayor brought back thoughts of traumatic experiences from my past, as a young child growing up in New York City’s foster care system."
-Shams DaBaron, City’s Move to Vacate UWS Hotel Shelter is Adding ‘Trauma on Top of Trauma,’ Resident Says for City Limits
How to negotiate rent on a city apartment. (Jordi Lippe-McGraw for StreetEasy) In May, Mayor de Blasio assembled a Surface Transportation Advisory Council to provide suggestions to keep people safe as the city reopens. The mayor has ignored all of their recommendations has not responded to their open letter written on September 1. (Christopher Robbins for Gothamist) Mayor de Blasio’s five head “neighborhood policing” effort has done little to slow crime or eliminate racial bias in who gets charged, according to a new study. (Greg B. Smith for The City) With less than a year in the position, NYPD Chief of Patrol Fausto Pichardo decided to reture. Reports say that he was a "leave the NYPD alone" guy and "always hated the mayor." (Jake Offenhartz, Jen Chung, and Gwynne Hogan for Gothamist) Mayor de Blasio has denied there was “friction” between him and Pichardo, so you there was friction. (Matt Troutman for Patch) Gallery: The spooky homes of NYC. (Collier Sutter for Time Out) Maybe we all need to embrace this makeshift shrine to Mercury that was left at the Utica Ave A/C stop. (Nicole Saraniero for Untapped New York) Here are the 2020 Tony Award nominees. (Michael Paulson for NY Times) The first virtual mayoral forum featuring seven potential mayoral candidates was held this week and there was one thing they all had in common. No one likes the mayor. (Brigid Bergin for Gothamist) The 10 best bánh mì in the city. (Hannah Albertine & Matt Tervooren for The Infatuation)