The "Kill All the Spotted Lanternflies" Edition
The "Kill All the Spotted Lanternflies" Edition
Third booster shots, Mermaid Parade canceled, the fanciest Trader Joe's in NYC, the best margaritas, Cuomo files for retirement, Staten Island is Staten Island, finding Gem Spa's Zoltar, and more
Today - Low: 74˚ High: 82˚
Mostly cloudy throughout the day.
This weekend - Low: 72˚ High: 83˚
• It's not just you, restaurant prices are going up. Costs of food, the labor market, and Covid-19 have all played their part in increasing costs. (Mahira Rivers for Grub Street)
• As soon as the federal government announces it, NYC is ready to go with third booster shots for everyone who received the Pfizer or Moderna shots. (Anna Quinn for Patch)
• Governor Cuomo filed for his retirement on September 1, 2021. His pension could be worth up to an estimated $50,000 a year based on his 14.56 years of public service. Nick Reisman for NY1)
• Where to eat at the bar right now. (Hannah Albertine for The Infatuation)
• Mayor de Blasio and almost Governor Hochul met face-to-face this week and the mayor praised the conversation, calling it "sane." Look, at this point, it's the little things. (Matt Troutman for Patch)
• An interim report from the City Comptroller's office shows how ill-prepared the city government was to handle a pandemic and just how badly it dropped the ball leading up to the first case being announced on March 1, 2020. The city started work on a pandemic plan in the mid-2000s and never finished the work. In February 2020, every single one of the N95 masks that were in the city's stockpile was expired. It seems that every assumption we had about how much Mayor de Blasio bungled the response was true and the reality may be worse. The Comptroller's office noted that despite a lawsuit to get the documentation necessary to finish the report, the mayor's office has been uncooperative. (Katie Honan for The City)
• In a bit of good news, 75% of adults in NYC have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. We're slightly ahead of the rest of the country, which is at 72.3%. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft)
• A new guidance orders members of the NYPD who have not submitted proof of full vaccination to wear a face covering at all times—regardless of whether they're indoors or outside. The punishment for not following the guidance? "Disciplinary action." So basically nothing? Oh, okay. Only 47% of the NYPD is vaccinated. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist)
• What you need to know about the indoor dining vaccination requirement. (Hannah Albertine for The Infatuation)
• A handful of idiots on Staten Island are suing the city over the vaccine mandate. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist)
• Staten Island's Enoteca Maria is not on the list of restaurants suing over the vaccination policy. All the grandma chefs have been vaccinated and the restaurant is open again. (Clifford Michel for The City)
• Where to eat in Chinatown. (Eater)
• The Mermaid Parade and the West Indian Day Parade have been canceled for the second year in a row. (Duncan Freeman for Brooklyn Magazine)
• Grand Prospect Hall may soon be demolished. Where our dreams come true is dead. The building, which dates back to 1892, is on the National Register of Historic Places but is not landmarked. (Ben Verde for Brooklyn Paper)
• Tips on getting started bike riding in NYC. (Elisabeth Vincentelli for NY Times)
• The Zoltar machine outside of Gem Spa disappeared in 2019. It's been found in, where else, Bushwick sitting outside OMG Pizza a little worse for wear. (Ben Yakas with photos by Scott Lynch for Gothamist)
• The Times goes "in defense of the lazy picnic" with some pairing recommendations of where to grab food nearby to parks. (Julia Carmel for NY Times)
• The city's first e-Scooter share program is live in the Bronx 3,000 electric scooters from Lime, Bird, and Veo for $1 plus a minute-by-minute fee. (Ed García Conde for Welcome2TheBronx)
• If you see a Spotted Lanternfly, you must destroy it. No joke, kill every single Spotted Lanternfly you see. (Jen Carlson for Gothamist)
• The City Planning Commission will vote to disapprove the controversial Crown Heights apartment tower that threatens to block the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s sunlight, hopefully killing the threat to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the neighborhood's sunlight like a Spotted Lanternfly. (Ben Verde for Gothamist)
• The city's finest new pastries and an argument on why we need more sweets in our lives. Preach. (Ryan Sutton for Eater)
• There will never be a day where I don't include a story about another Salt Bae lawsuit. This time around he's being sued for classifying non-managerial workers who worked 72 to 90 hour weeks as managers to avoid paying them any overtime. (Kate Duffy for Insider)
• Friend of Jared Kushner and someone inside the Trump orbit Ken Kurson was arrested and is facing felony charges for cyberstalking. Trump pardoned him, but pardons only excuse you from federal charges. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance made his stance clear in his statement, saying "We will not accept presidential pardons as get-out-of-jail-free cards for the well-connected in New York." Next do Trump! (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist)
• Median rent in Manhattan is back over $3,000. We're not yet at the pre-pandemic median of $3,500, but we're getting there. (Emily McDonald for StreetEasy)
• Jeff Bezos, who is one of the people on the planet who needs another home the least, bought an apartment on Fifth Ave for $23 million. This is the fifth apartment he'll own in the building, bringing his total real estate purchases in this building alone to $119 million. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft)
• Real Estate Lust: A $150 million duplex on the 127th and 128th floor of Central Park Tower which is the highest apartment in the building with eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, corner observatory, library, private elevator, access to the highest private club on earth, and more. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft)
• This Sunday's Five Boro Bike Tour will require proof of vaccination to participate. (Raaanan Geberer for Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
• The fanciest Trader Joe's in all of NYC will open this fall in a landmarked space below the Queensboro Bridge. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out)
• Q&A with Moulin Rouge star Danny Burstein. (Adam Feldman for Time Out)
• What you need to know about the R. Kelly trial. "Need" is a word doing a lot of work in that headline. (Precious Fondren for NY Times)
• The 10 best margaritas in NYC. (Nikko Duren)
Featured Pet: Achachairú!
Thank you to Andrea for sharing this photo of Achachairú (@achachairu.thecav), who is named for a Bolivian fruit and is wearing the hell out of whatever it’s wearing.
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