The Briefly for September 13 - 14, 2020 - The "A Bat Is In Your Home. What Do You Do?" Sunday Edition

Today - Low: 69˚ High: 76˚

Partly cloudy throughout the day.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said a vaccine would need to exist for nearly a year before people might feel comfortable returning to theaters unmasked, which he said would likely be mid to late 2021. (Sarah Bahr for NY Times) Flying military planes over NYC on 9/11 is pretty high on the list of 2020's stupidest ideas and 2020 is a banner year for stupid ideas. It was canceled on request of the city after Mayor de Blasio admitted he didn't know it was happening. That guy really has his finger on the pulse. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) The Village Halloween Parade is canceled. It was inevitable yet still sad. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist) 167 CEOs and corporate bosses wrote the mayor an open letter, asking him to take action on crime and quality of life issues or else "people will be slow to return." It was signed by the CEOs of Lyft, Warby Parker, and the WNBA among others. Not only is their message extremely deaf to the moment, but they are also asking the mayor to be a leader, which is something he has proven he's not. (Matt Troutman for Patch) The letter is 242 words and of these business leaders "need to send a strong, consistent message that our employees, customers, clients and visitors will be coming back to a safe and healthy work environment." These are economic descriptions of people, not how you talk about your family, friends, and neighbors. These millionaires do not offer support for a city that is facing an economic crisis, they demand action from someone else. They want everyone to come back to their offices but haven't said how they'll protect us. They want our support for their cause but use the language of the president when describing our streets. (J. David Goodman, Emma G. Fitzsimmons, and Jeffrey C. Mays for NY Times) Upper West Siders banded together and hired a lawyer to expel the "scum," "trash," and "thugs" in their neighborhood. On Facebook, they discussed an armed uprising and how they could use wasp spray and dog shit against them. They hung a noose outside of where this "scum" was living. They even convinced the mayor to move them. Who was their enemy? Homeless New Yorkers. (Gwynne Hogan and Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) The mayor's decision to remove 300 homeless New Yorkers from a shelter on the UWS has cascading effects that will force 900 New Yorkers in shelters to be moved to accommodate the change. The personal stories of the city treating people like objects that can easily be moved around are heartbreaking, but at least those people on the Upper West Side are happy. (Gwynne Hogan for Gothamist) The Legal Aid Society has plans to sue the city over the "knee-jerk capitulation" over the ejection. (Shannan Ferry for NY1) There are bats in all five boroughs. Here's what to do if a bat gets into your home. Step one: Impossibly, stay calm. (Christopher Mele for NY Times) A senior advisor to Chancellor Richard Carranza, Alison Hirsh, has resigned her post from the Department of Education. She left the mayor's office in June after the NYPD's treatment of Black Lives Matter protesters. (Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech for amNewYork Metro) Here's the story of how a 19-year-old in federal custody ended up hiding behind a loom in someone's apartment in Sunset Park. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) SNL is returning on October 3. There's been no word on guests, hosts, or audiences. (Amanda Hatfield for BrooklynVegan) Congrats to Abeda Khanam, a teacher at Robert F. Wagner High School in Long Island City, for being named state Senator John Liu's Woman of Distinction for 2020. (QNS) Local Law 1932-A suspends enforcement of the personal-liability provision in commercial leases of COVID-impacted tenants and it's set to expire on September 30, but City Council has plans of extending it through March of 2021. (Chris Crowley for Grub Street) Photos: The Trump Statues Initiative, which is bringing “living performance pieces” to the city's streets, like "The Final Push" which features a "gold" President Trump in a golf cart being pushed by Laura Ingram and Sean Hannity over headstones. (Untapped New York) NYC is now home to the world's first-ever Makeup Museum. It's now open with its debut exhibition "Pink Jungle: 1950's Makeup in America." (Collier Sutter for Time Out) NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea posted a photo to Twitter of the top brass of the NYPD and officers openly violating the state's mask and event mandates at an indoor gathering with over 50 people inside police headquarters. The mayor called it "a mistake that needs to be rectified going forward." (Christopher Robbins for Gothamist) A stroll through Pomander Walk, the city's most exclusive street. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York) I Love NY is looking for volunteers to give foliage reports each week. Leaf peeper wanted! (Shaye Weaver for Time Out) The Department of Education confirmed there were 19 positive Covid-19 tests in city schools among teachers with two in one school, triggering an automatic 24 closure. Students don't return until September 21. (Reema Amin for Chalkbeat) A look at Chloë Bass’s outdoor art exhibition "Wayfinding" in St. Nicholas Park. (Brian Boucher for NY Times) A look at an unlikely for crime detterance: More pools. (Ginia Bellafante for NY Times)

"Even with these ongoing concerns, expanded outdoor dining is … nice. Freed of these unnerving matters, expanded outdoor dining would be almost unthinkably pleasant. The fact is, for an ad hoc system that was initiated to help New York’s restaurants survive, expanded outdoor dining works remarkably well."

-Alan Systma, Let’s Just Make Expanded Outdoor Dining Permanent for Grub Street

Indoor dining returns at a 25% capacity on September 30, but that alone will not save the restaurant industry. A look at what 25% looks like and interviews with several restauranteurs about what business looks like for them going forward. (Ben Yakas with additional reporting by Danny Lewis for Gothamist) "The 25% is not going to buy us very much at all." Paul Giannone, owners of Paulie Gee's and Paulie G's Slice Shop. Restaurants react to the return of indoor dining. (Hannah Albertine & Chris Mohney for The Infatuation) Learn about Elizabeth Jennings: The NYC teacher who desegregated NYC transit. (Jerry Mikorenda for Atlas Obscura) Apartment Porn: What's a solarium? This $1.6 million East Village condo has a solarium. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft) Where to eat outside in Fort Greene. (Nikko Duren for The Infatuation) The state's Department of Labor has announced that an extra $300 in weekly federal pandemic unemployment benefits will start hitting bank accounts as soon as next week. (Erika Adams for Eater) The Trump administration has secretly siphoned nearly $4 million away from a program that tracks and treats FDNY firefighters and medics suffering from 9/11 related illnesses. (Michael McAuliff for Daily News) When the headline is enough: Thoughts on the politics and possibilities behind the MTA’s Doomsday budget proposal. (Benjamin Kabak for Second Ave. Sagas) Photos: A Red Phalarope found its way to Stuyvesant Cove Park on Saturday morning. It's a rare sight in the city for birders and for the rest of us, it's a cool little bird. (D. Bruce Yolton for Urban Hawks) The ten best fried chicken sandwiches in NYC. Yes, the Popeye's sandwich made the list. (Hannah Albertine & Matt Tervooren for The Infatuation) Thanks to Meg Blatt for today's featured photo! Note from Rob: Thursday's article about NYPD Assistant Chief Christopher McCormack was written by Joaquin Sapien, Topher Sanders, and Nate Schweber and co-published with ProPublica and included reporting and analysis from The City.