The "Let Us Drink In Public" Edition
The "Let Us Drink In Public" Edition
City workers get a vaccine mandate, bridge and tunnel traffic is back, the best burgers in NYC, and more
Today - Low: 73˚ High: 87˚
Clear throughout the day.
• Come September 13, city workers will either have to be vaccinated or show proof of a negative Covid-19 test every week. Unvaccinated city workers will have to wear a mask at all times starting next week. (Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist)
• If you're vaccinated and angry at the vaccine holdouts, you're not alone. It's prevalent enough that even the Times noticed how angry we are. (Roni Caryn Rabin for NY Times)
• The one positive of the rise in Covid-19 Delta variant cases is that a lower volume of people are being hospitalized compared to last fall thanks to the amount of vaccinated New Yorkers. (Ann Choi for The City)
• Revel's fleet of blue Tesla taxis will launch in September. It will start with 50 cars only picking up and dropping off below 42nd St in Manhattan. Its drivers will be full-time employees and receive paid time off and sick days. (Stephen Nessen for Gothamist)
• The city resumed the process of transferring thousands of homeless New Yorkers from pandemic hotel rooms back to barracks-style group shelters on Monday, the same day Mayor de Blasio announced the vaccination mandate for city workers. Something doesn't sit well about that timing. (Andy Newman for NY Times)
• Anyone Comics in Crown Heights is celebrating the release of “The Access Guide to the Black Comic Book Community,” by Dimitrios Fragiskatos, George Carmona, and Joseph Illidge with the Access Guide Black Comic Book Fair on July 31. Fragiskatos is also the owner of Anyone Comics. (Reyna Iwamoto for amNewYork Metro)
• There is speculation that one-term congressman Max Rose could challenge Nicole Malliotakis for his old seat representing Staten Island. Rose ran his campaign last time around on being a Democrat that Republicans could stomach but this time around he would face Democratic opposition from people who aren't afraid to call themselves Democrats. (Clifford Michel for The City)
• Drinking in public should not be illegal. That's the recommendation for Mayor de Blasio's own NYC Nightlife Advisory Board. As it states, drinking in public places should be "regulated but not prohibited." (Bao Ong for Eater)
• There's a yet unnamed new minor league baseball team headed to Staten Island. The group that owns the new team is led by John Catsimatdis, a financial supporter of Donald Trump's presidential campaigns but also includes Pete Davidson, Colin Jost, Michael Che, and others. The name will be decided "with community input." (Devin Gannon for 6sqft)
• Everything you need to know about the LaGuardia Airport AirTrain. (Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner for Time Out)
• Bryan Park announced the return of Movie Nights on Mondays and Tuesdays from August 23 - September 28, curated by Vulture. (Bill Pearis for BrooklynVegan)
• This may come as a shock, but the state is shitting the bed when it comes to enforcing its own plastic bag ban. (Revuen Blau for The City)
• If the state can't enforce a plastic bag ban properly, how will it oversee its $2.7 billion pandemic rent relief program? Poorly. After only $1 million was approved, Governor Cuomo announced an overhaul of the program. Compare this to Texas, where $450 million was distributed. This is embarrassing. Texas won't teach children that the KKK is morally wrong but they seem to be able to do this. (Greg David for The City)
• Governor Cuomo accused the sexual harassment investigators from New York Attorney General Letitia James's office of having political motives and not being independent. Feels like the adage of "Accuse your opponent of what you are doing to create confusion," which is a tactic Cuomo has on speed dial. (Kevin Duggan for amNewYork Metro)
• Bridge and tunnel traffic is at or above pre-pandemic levels while mass transit remains below 50% or pre-pandemic levels. (Jose Martinez for The City)
• Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge bike lane is progressive, as the bike lane has made its way to Manhattan. (Dave Colon for Streetsblog)
• Six great books to read this summer set in NYC. (Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner for Time Out)
• Flame, a dining experience with "pyro chefs," will open a pop-up in the city in November. It appears to be as much of a performance as it does a dining experience and tickets are $85 for a two-course meal. (Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner for Time Out)
• "Depending on the time of the day, it is Bushwick’s liveliest social club, marketplace, theater, discotheque, and sporting arena. More often than not, it is all of the above, all at once." A love letter to Bushwick’s Maria Hernandez Park. (Jason Jeong for Brooklyn Magazine)
• Renters are beginning to experience something that homeowners previously had the joy of experiencing: bidding wars. (Charu Suri for NY Times)
• The 23 best burgers in the city. (The Infatuation)
Featured Pet: Plum!
Shhh. Everyone be quiet because Plum is having a nap on the couch. Thanks to reader Noah for the photo! Send your pet/bodega cat photo to thebriefly@gmail.com to bright everyone’s day.