The "Cocktails, Games, Toxic Gas" Edition
The "Cocktails, Games, Toxic Gas" Edition
The dangers of development in a Superfund site neighborhood are becoming abundantly clear. That plus the most outrageous 311 calls, the subways are about to get a lot cleaner, and more
• Governor Hochul hasn't given up on the Penn Station redevelopment project, despite the enormous societal changes since Andrew Cuomo first birthed the idea for Midtown. (Jon Campbell for Gothamist)
• NYC is nearly back to pre-Covid 19 job levels as employment increased by a quarter million jobs in 2022, with January 2023 bringing 32,000 new jobs. We're less than 5% away from recovery. (Greg David for The City)
• Where to watch the Oscars and other things to do this weekend. (the skint)
• The MTA is hiring 800 full-time, unionized workers to clean subway stations. (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)
• The Department of Environmental Conservation discovered toxic fumes rising into the Royal Palms Shuffle Board Club. In March 2021, the DEC documented concerns at the venue of a cancer-causing industrial solvent at 10,000x the allowable amount under state health guidelines, and other dangerous chemicals. There has been construction to remediate the situation, but that will not be completed until late 2024. Royal Palms remains open, and statements from owners have been odd and include vague and unnecessary messaging about development in Gowanus. I will confirm that the Royal Palms owners never disclosed this to the staff, and the owners have privately called the Gothamist article an "opinion piece." This is not the last time we will hear about the dangers of increasing residential density in Gowanus, as centuries of pollution don't tend to go away just because building housing on some underutilized land is financially viable. (Jordan Gass-Poore' for Gothamist)
• Kudos to the new head of the Taxi and Limousine Commission, David Do, who did the work to pass the TLC driver's license exam and plans to do some driving. He missed a question on the Prospect Expressway turning into Ocean Parkway. I wonder how many of us could pass the geography section without studying? (Jose Martinez for The City)
• Between Daylight Saving Time this weekend and the Central Park cherry blossoms beginning to bud, I will not know what time it is or when it is in the year. (Rossilynne Skena Culgan for Time Out)
• The MTA will open 24 more bathrooms in early May. Since January, the MTA opened 18 bathrooms, resulting in 35,000 "visits," with men making up 27,000 of those visits. (Matt Troutman for Patch)
• Anna Rahmanan lays out the case that Grand Central Madison "will be great once there are enough trains", which is a heck of a caveat! (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)
• The Brooklyn Democratic Party never ceases to amaze. The BDC is being sued by its landlord for $82,000 in back rent. (Jeff Coltin for City and State)
• Tommy Torres, a former district leader for the Brooklyn Democratic Party and current "special assistant" to Mayor Adams, owes the city $55,269 for campaign finance violations associated with a failed City Council campaign, according to a new lawsuit. (Gwynne Hogan for Gothamist)
• The most outrageous 311 calls. 311 does not have a UFO-ologist. (Matt Troutman for Patch)
• In November, the city proposed delivery workers will be paid at least $23.82 an hour by 2025 under a new minimum wage law. This week they reduced that minimum wage to $19.96. The city is blaming this on delivery workers "working" for multiple apps simultaneously. Counterpoint, they work for multiple apps simultaneously because working for one isn't sustainable. (Claudia Irizarry Aponte for The City)
• Take a look at the new plan for the Prospect Park Loop for pedestrians and cyclists. (Stephen Nessen for Gothamist)
• The Second Ave Subway extension to East Harlem has a price tag of $7.7 billion, up $800 million since the last time a number was thrown around. That is $5.13 billion per mile, one of the most expensive railroad expansion projects in the history of the world. (Stephen Nessen and Clayton Guse for Gothamist)
• Where to Go: The York in the East Village. What to Order: The double York smashburger. (Scott Lynch for Hell Gate)
• If your water tastes slightly different over the next few weeks, don't panic. The city is doing repair work on the Delaware Aqueduct and is switching water sources while the work is done. (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)
• A look inside BIAS NYCs K-pop parties. Yes, there are photos. (Akhil Vaidya for Brooklyn Magazine)
• Nine favorite sandwiches for Spring so far. (Robert Sietsema for Eater)
• A little bit of love for Austin Street Pizza in Forest Hills. (Edge of the City)
• Meet the man who loves pigeons more than you do, but not in a weird way, you sicko. (Hannah Teich for Hell Gate, photos by Stephanie Keith)
• 22 places to eat in Bed-Stuy. (Eater)
Top Clicked Links in the Last Edition:
Featured City Pets: Santiago and Elqui!
Thanks to reader Maya for sending this snapshot of Santiago and Elqui dominating the ironing board! Send your pet pics to thebriefly@gmail.com
