The "Brooklyn Bridge Bike Lane is Real" Edition
The "Brooklyn Bridge Bike Lane is Real" Edition
The best tacos in Brooklyn, school is back in session, a call for the National Guard to run Rikers Island, the best first date spots, a guide to San Gennaro, and more
Today - Low: 72˚ High: 79˚
Partly cloudy throughout the day.
Starting today you can find a new weekly Brooklyn-focused edition of The Briefly in Brooklyn Based as part of a new partnership between The Briefly and Brooklyn Based!
• The NY Times' liveblog of the Met Gala, including all the photos you could want of the event. Did Jason Derulo fall down the stairs this year? (NY Times)
• Photos: Forget the Met Gala, here's Bushwig. (Ben Yakas, photos by Sai Mohktari for Gothamist)
• A dumpling tour of the Upper West Side. This beats a Sex in the City tour for sure. (Regan Murray for Untapped New York)
• An arbitrator has ruled that the city must offer teachers with certain medical and religious exemptions non-classroom assignments, as outlined by an arbitrator between the city and the teachers' union. Requests will be denied for any religion where leaders have encouraged vaccines. (Jen Chung for Gothamist)
• Six things to watch as kids return to school this week. (Amy Zimmer for Chalkbeat)
• In hopes of encouraging vaccinations, the MTA removed its $500,000 death benefit for unvaccinated transit workers. An exception will be made for a "valid documented exception." Only 55% of Subway and bus workers are vaccinated. (Jose Martinez for The City)
• Vaccinated New Yorkers make up just 4% of COVID-19 infections so far this year with unvaccinated people were 21 times as likely to be infected or hospitalized statewide. (Gwynne Hogan for Gothamist)
• The best first date spots in the city. (Nikko Duren for The Infatuation)
• State elected officials are calling on Governor Hochul to activate the National Guard to help run Rikers Island. During a visit, the officials witnessed a suicide attempt during their visit along with, dead roaches, rotten food, fecal matter, and "deplorable conditions." The visit was scheduled after the tenth death inside the jail and after the de Blasio administration reportedly attempted to block the visit from happening. (Reuven Blau for The City)
• The Brooklyn Bridge Bike lane is open to the public as of 2:15 pm today. Take a ride and email me what you think. (Kevin Duggan for amNewYork Metro)
(note: there is no imagery of the attacks from 9/11 in this video, thank you to Lolita for sending it in)
• This year is on pace to be the deadliest year for traffic incidents since Mayor de Blasio took office, which doesn't speak highly for his "Vision Zero" plan to bring traffic deaths to zero by 2024. A three-month-old baby girl was killed in Clinton Hill by a driver going the wrong way on Saturday. (Jen Chung for Gothamist)
• Texas sucks. During a press conference, the governor announced that New York is an abortion safe haven and will launch a public information campaign and tie up "loose ends" of the state's 2019 Reproductive Health Ave, which codified Roe v. Wade into state law. (Ben Brachfeld for amNewYork Metro)
• Economy Candy is back with a new layout. I realize that I've linked to multiple stories about Economy Candy and other NYC mainstays over the last year and a half, but it's not a guarantee that these stores or beloved locations will stick around. Ask the Grand Prospect Hall or Gem Spa. (Holly Louise Perry for Bowery Boogie)
• 10 reasons NYC is the most exciting city in the world. Number three is "it's impossible to be bored," which feels like a lie. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out)
• Not on their list of why NYC is exciting is that it's filthy, which is why NYC is the #3 dirtiest city in the world according to the same survey that ranked it #1 most exciting. One and two were Rome and Bangkok. (Will Gleason for Time Out)
• Review: Taqueria Ramirez might be the best tacos in Brooklyn according to Scott Lynch. (Scott Lynch for Brooklyn Magazine)
• Farewell to Zablozki's in Williamsburg, which closed for good over the weekend. (Bill Pearis for BrooklynVegan)
• The New York Blood Center (NYBC) is hosting a month-long series of blood drives in honor of the twentieth anniversary of 9/11. (Julia Moro for QNS)
• A guide to the 95th annual San Gennaro in Little Italy. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft)
• Photoville will be spread out across 25 locations this year in celebration of its tenth anniversary, starting this weekend in Brooklyn Bridge Park. (Craig Hubert for Brownstoner)
• Beetlejuice will return to Broadway in April 2022. Tickets will go on sale on October 1. (Adam Feldman for Time Out)
• Where to go on a date right now. (Nikko Duren for The Infatuation)
Featured Pet to Adopt: Guinness!
Someone reading this email needs to adopt Guinness. Look at that smile! You can apply to adopt Guinness at Waldo’s Rescue Pen. Thank you to reader Kathryn for sending in this photo of Guinness. I want to see a new photo of Guinness after you adopt him!
Thank you to the reader that bought me a coffee since the last edition of The Briefly.
