The "Cocktails To Go Forever" Edition
The State of the State, a new rail line, Mayor Adams puts his foot in his mouth, Manhattan won't charge for low-level crimes, the burger delivery guide, in praise of stuffed peppers, and more.
Today - Low: 23˚ High: 34˚
Snow (1–3 in.) in the morning.
This weekend - Low: 29˚ High: 39˚
The latest seven-day positivity rate: 33.41%
72.78% of city residents have received two shots, 82.19% of city residents have received more than one shot. Source: NYC Department of Health.
• Biggest headline first: Governor Hochul supports making to-go cocktails permanent. (Luke Fortney for Eater)
• Video: Governor Hochul delivers the State of the State address. (YouTube)
• Five takeaways from the State of the State. (Jon Campbell for Gothamist)
• All aboard the Interborough Express! The governor announced plans for a new train line connecting Brooklyn and Queens, connecting Bay Ridge to Jackson Heights through East Flatbush and Ridgewood. (Dave Colon for Streetsblog)
• Here's some good news for people who love cops: Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul announced a plan to flood the subways with police officers. The mayor thinks if people don't see the police, they don't feel safe, something only a former cop would say. (Matt Troutman for Patch)
• It took less than a week, but here's the headline: Eric Adams Has Already Lost New York’s Restaurant Workers. As it turns out, people don't like being told they are low-skilled workers who don't have the academic skills to sit in a corner office. (Alan Sytsma for Grub Street)
• Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso is already doing what Eric Adams never could: he's banning all parking in Borough Hall plaza. Adams allowed the private vehicles of his employees parked in the public plaza for all eight years. (Kirstyn Brendlen for Brooklyn Paper)
• A State Supreme Court judge ruled that a lack of funds was not a sufficient justification to close the pandemic rent relief program early. The program is open again through January 11. The statewide moratorium on evictions ends on January 15. (Chau Lam for Gothamist)
• Mayor Adams announced $111 million in funding for the city's hospitals to strengthen staffing to fight the Covid-19 surge. Unable to help himself, he also called concern over kids in schools "hysteria" during the press conference dedicated to talking about hospitals. (Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist)
• Newly minted Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg announced that they will not be pursuing charges against fare evasion, marijuana misdemeanors, resisting arrest, prostitution, and "outdated offenses" such as obscenity and adultery unless it's connected to a felony. (Matt Troutman for Patch)
• 1,652 incarcerated people in state prisons were wrongfully punished with solitary confinement, longer prison terms, and bans on family visits due to faulty drug tests. (Matt Katz for Gothamist)
• FAW: What it'll take to get a marijuana business license. (Caroline Lewis for Gothamist)
• Billy Joel at MSG? You might say IT HASN’T HAPPENED FOR THE LONGEST TIME! Billy Joel’s next show at MSG is postponed from January 14 to August 24. The original date for the show was May 2, 2020. Yes, I do make myself laugh. (Emily Davenport for amNY Metro)
• CareCube is now under investigation by Attorney General Letitia James for charging money for free Covid-19 tests. (Katie Honan for The City)
• The Times asks the cursed question: Will Governor Cuomo try to make a comeback? (Katie Glueck for NY Times)
• One year later: Looking at the New Yorkers arrested for alleged roles in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. (Robert Pozarycki for amNY Metro)
• In praise of the stuffed peppers at Dhamaka, which made the Times' 2021 Restaurant List. (Chris Crowley for Grub Street)
• Hey Williamsburg, you're getting a Black Seed Bagels. (Jennifer Rosini-Gentile for Greenpointers)
• $400 sushi menus are becoming the new normal. (Ryan Sutton for Eater)
• Mulchfest! Mulchfest! Here’s how to recycle your Christmas tree in NYC. (Aaron Ginsburg for 6sqft)
• Podcast: An interview with Huge Ma, State Assembly candidate and creator of TurboVax. (Christian Murray for Queens Post)
• Real Estate Lust: A $2.8 million Carroll Gardens duplex with four beds, two and a half baths, a private terrace, 1,600 square feet, radiant floor heating, building amenities like an automated parking garage, bike storage, a pet spa, a roof deck, and more. (Michelle Cohen for 6qsft)
• 10 of the oldest bars in the city (Cassandra Munoz for Untapped New York)
• There's a new LL Cool J statue up in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Check it out on display through November. (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)
• Henrietta Hudson, New York’s longest-running lesbian bar, is pairing up with Community Testing Services to offer free COVID-19 PCR and rapid tests along with your drinks. 6 pm to 3 am on Fridays and Saturdays, 6 pm to midnight on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. (Caroline Spivack for Curbed)
• A guide to pairing vegan bites with cocktails. (Deanna Ting for RESY)
• It's hard to do something for the first time ever in NYC, but congrats to Lucy Yu on opening Yu and Me Books on Mulberry Street, opening the city's first-ever Asian-American woman-owned bookstore in Chinatown. (Roger Clark for NY1)
• Photos and Video: Passage in the Garment District is a new interactive art installation open to the public with 20 circles of light that create a pedestrian tunnel. (Lynn Lieberman for GothamToGo)
• Ten Broadway and Off-Broadway shows to look forward to in 2022. (Matt Windham for amNY Metro)
• The Queens taco truck that set off the city's Birria trend, Birria-Landia, is expanding to the Bronx and Manhattan. (Luke Fortney for Eater)
• Ten secrets of Carrol Gardens. (Noah Sheidlower for Untapped New York)
• The burger delivery guide. (The Infatuation)
Featured Pet: Mr. Peanutbutter!
Thank you to reader Catherine for sending in this photo of Mr. Peanutbutter, who is having a hard time getting back to work. Send your pet photos to thebriefly@gmail.com!
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