The "Every Bite is Torture" Edition
The "Every Bite is Torture" Edition
Subway fares are expected to rise again, the history of Brooklyn's bus redesigns, the worst dishes of 2022, how to brute force solve fare evasion, SantaCon knows you hate SantaCon, and more
Today - Low: 35˚ High: 46˚
Clear throughout the day.
This weekend - Low: 35˚ High: 43˚
I want to thank NB, Luz, Pam, Andres, Jessica, Mkarell, Madeline, and John S for contributing to The Briefly on Ko-Fi recently.
• New York City is the worst city for drivers in the country. You'd think that more people would be taking the subways. (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)
• Speaking of the subways, fares are expected to exceed $3 by 2025 as federal aid is expected to dry up. City and state governments talk about the subways like they run a business instead of an essential service. (Jose Martinez for The City)
• Hell Gate looks into the MTA's recent past and how economic downturns have previously put the agency in this exact position and prevented it, how they've gotten out of it before, why the subway needs to be treated like an essential service, and what needs to be done to change the current service. (John Surico for Hell Gate)
• As part of a labor agreement, subway agents will leave their booths to find station problems and help riders with accessibility problems. (Stephen Nessen for Gothamist)
• The MTA should offer $2.75 intracity trips on the LIRR and Metro-North to boost ridership, according to a new report from TransitCenter. New York’s old model of suburban railroads serves commuters between Long Island or upstate and Midtown Manhattan instead of also accommodating the city's population. (Dave Colon for Streetsblog)
• The headline is "MTA proposes redesign of Brooklyn's bus network," but we've been reading almost this exact headline for years, so pardon my skepticism. As proof, here’s the MTA's presentation from 2019 about redesigning the Brooklyn bus system. The latest iteration won't be put in place until at least 2024. (Stephen Nessen and Clayton Guse for Gothamist)
• The city's Internet Master Plan is dead. Originally launched before the Adams administration took power in 2020, the hope was to provide free or low-cost internet access to the city's poorest residents. (Michelle Cohen for 6sqft)
• New York City is the most expensive city in the world. (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)
• Poverty in New York state continues to outpace national levels and those of neighboring states, with racial minorities and other historically marginalized groups bearing the heaviest burden, according to a report released by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. (Michelle Bocanegra for Gothamist)
• NYC's most popular pet names. Charlie and Luna topped the male and female dog categories, while Milo and Luna were tops for cats. (Matt Troutman for Patch)
• How do you solve the problem of fare evasion? Do you change the conditions that create fare evasion? No, the answer is taller turnstiles if you’re the MTA's CEO, Janno Lieber. (Matt Troutman for Patch)
• Carolines on Broadway is closing at the end of the year. Its landlord, the Kuwaiti government, is raising its rent and pushing it out. (Adriane Quinlan for Curbed)
• A nine-foot-tall sculpture of the Notorious B.I.G. by artist Sherwin Banfield was unveiled in Dumbo on the corner of Adams and Prospect and will be on display until October 2023. (Brooklyn Magazine)
• Ten alternatives to the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. (Nicole Saraniero for Untapped New York)
• SantaCon knows you hate SantaCon. (Kerry Shaw for Gothamist)
• The best books of 2022 according to the NYPL. (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)
• "Every bite is high-caloric torture." Robert Sietsema's worst dishes of 2022. (Robert Sietsema for Eater)
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