The Briefly for September 27-28, 2020 – The "Indoor Dining Returns, Outdoor Dining Becomes Permanent" Sunday Edition

Today - Low: 68˚ High: 76˚

Partly cloudy throughout the day.

Video: In case you were wondering, the NYPD's tactics have not changed in the face of months straight of protests throughout the city. This was the scene last night in the West Village as the NYPD swarmed protesters on 6th St after the "Celebration of Art Of Protest" in Washington Square Park (FreedomNewsTV) The NYPD ended its training program for officers to de-escalate encounters with people in a mental health crisis. The future of the program is in limbo. (Gwynne Hogan for Gothamist) Indoor dining returns this Wednesday in NYC. Here's how restaurants are preparing. Keep in mind, not every restaurant will be taking part. (Rachel Sugar for Grub Street) Outdoor dining is now permanent. Here's everything to know about the city's permanent outdoor dining plan. (Erika Adams for Eater) Coronavirus anxiety and depression have hit NYC, as a new study says 44% of New Yorkers are feeling anxiety about the virus and 36% felt depressed since the start of our PAUSE. (Matt Troutman for Patch) How will the city's souvenir shops survive the pandemic without tourists? Maybe they won't. (Carson Kessler for The City) Good news for you if you're someone who has been collecting your compost since the city's collections stopped in March. Compost drop-off locations return to six Greenmarkets. (Tequila Minsky for The Villager) The American Museum of Natural History fired Mark E. Siddall after the museum found that he had sexually harassed and bullied a graduate student who was doing research under his supervision. (Julia Jacobs for NY Times) Tourist helicopters are back to annoy city dwellers and, in a surprising twist, they're coming from Jersey. (David Cruz for Gothamist) Next year's city-wide elections will be ranked-choice. I've linked to this explainer video multiple times already, so when city officials and candidates argue that we're not ready for a new voting system, you can tell them to go to hell. (Clifford Michel for The City) Home sales are surging on Brooklyn. Tell that to the next person who bemoans how many people are leaving the city for the suburbs. (Stefanos Chen for NY Times) Dianne Smith has a new installation titled "Styling: Black Expression, Rebellion and Joy Through Fashion" that pays tribute to Black women who shape and redefine what it means to be stylish. The location? Nordstrom at Columbus Circle. This is the first full-scale art exhibition at the location. (Roger Clark for NY1) The MTA is set to run out of money before 2021 and will likely be forced to borrow money to survive. (Mark Hallum for amNewYork Metro) When someone vandalized the A train tracks last week, Rikien Wilder was there to clear some of the items thrown on the tracks and tackle the vandal as they tried to get away. The MTA showed their appreciation for Wilder's heroics with a free year of subway rides. (Jen Chung for Gothamist) Here's someone trying to find the silver lining in the clouds of Century 21's closing in Bay Ridge. (Jessica Parks for Brooklyn Paper) It's a renters market, the Times gives some advice about how to negotiate with your landlord. (Ronda Kaysen for NY Times) On August 23, 1974, John Lennon claims he saw a UFO outside Midtown East apartment. (Dave Lifton for Ultimate Classic Rock) The apartment that John Lennon was living in, and saw the UFO from, is now for sale for $5.5 million. It's a 4,000 triplex and it's also where the iconic John Lennon "New York City" photo was taken. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft) Maybe you'll see your own UFOs after purchasing the apartment because UFO sightings are up in New York. At 184 sightings, we've already exceeded the 151 sightings total for 2019. (Adam Nichols for Patch) The asshole of the week is Heshy Tischler, who crashed a press conference about the uptick in Covid-19 cases in the Ocean Parkway Cluster without a mask and denying the existence of the virus, causing the press conference to be cut short. (Aidan Graham and Meaghan McGoldrick for amNewYork Metro) "There’s rampant COVID denialism and misinformation abound in the community. People are not getting tested and are refusing care even when sick. This is deeply distressing." Three men from Orthodox communities died from Covid-19 last week at Maimonides Hospital. (Jen Chung for Gothamist) Bill de Blasio held a press conference announcing that he will hold future press conferences about the city's "rebirth." I'd argue the city's rebirth starts on election day 2021 when we pick a new mayor. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist) The mayor bowed to pressure from Upper West Siders to remove 300 homeless men from a temporary shelter. Then he took that decision back. Then he took that decision back and removing the 300 homeless New Yorkers from their temporary shelter and move them to another shelter in the Financial District in a move being called "the pinnacle of cowardliness." Most politicians reveal their true selves once they are no longer up for re-election. I guess the mayor is showing us all who he really is. (Jake Offenhartz and Gwynne Hogan for Gothamist) The mayor's pledge to close Rikers Island is falling apart. (Caroline Spivack for Curbed) Thanks to a federal judge's ruling, you have until October 31 to fill out your census information. The Trump administration had tried to shorten the deadline to September 30 and the city is woefully behind on people filling it out. (David Cruz for Gothamist) John Burns, a longtime friend of the mayor and first deputy commissioner at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, resigned under fire after an investigation found he mistreated a female employee and created a hostile workplace. (Reuven Blau for The City) Photos: A first look at Eataly's honey-themed rooftop restaurant. (Bao Ong for Time Out) It's a fantastical idea: The Mandragore would use half of Roosevelt Island to build the country's tallest building and the world's tallest "carbon sink" that would actually reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the city and generate energy with wind turbines and solar panels. (Collier Sutter for Time Out) Miles Morales: Spider-Man, coming for the PlayStation 4 and 5, uses Harlem as its setting, a rare location for a digital depiction of New York City. (Charles Pulliam-Moore for Gizmodo) The six best new burgers in the city. (Hannah Albertine, Nikko Duren, & Matt Tervooren for The Infatuation) Photos: Check out the new bike-based cargo delivery vehicles you'll be seeing around the city soon. (Gersh Kuntzman for Streetsblog) What's your subway station number? An interactive subway map that gives you a ranking as a New Yorker based on every subway station you've ever been to. (My score was 152, giving me the title of "NYC Lifer") (The Cleverest) 10 great places to see on a Brooklyn Greenway bike ride. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York) Photos: Inside the secret train track hidden in the depths of Grand Central Terminal. (Emily Nonko for 6sqft) Restoration work on the Empire State Building's Art Deco spire is complete, giving the building's "hat" its original silhouette. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft) The mayor announced 9,000 furloughs of managers and city employees not under union contracts. The unlucky 9,000 will be laid off for five cays between October and March. The mayor's looking to save a billion dollars to prevent 22,000 layoffs and these furloughs will save $21 million. (Matt Troutman for Patch) Among these 9,000? The Department of Education announced furloughs for superintendents and other non-union management will be furloughed. Perfect timing as schools are reopening. (Sophia Chang for Gothamist) 70 staff members as IS 51 in Staten Island are in quarantine after a teacher tested positive for Covid-19. (Amanda Farinacci for NY1) In a reversal of education department policy, city teachers will now be allowed to work remotely if they are teaching students who are learning from home, according to a new agreement reached Friday between the city and the teachers union. Seems weird they'd be forced to come to a school building to teach remote students, right? (Alex Zimmerman for Chalkbeat) Here's what you need to know about K-8 students returning to schools this week. (Matt Troutman for Patch) The secret patios of NYC, where you can eat and drink away from the street. (Hannah Albertine & Bryan Kim for The Infatuation) Thanks to reader Zlata for today's featured photo from The Edge!