The "Mayoral Bloviation" Edition

The State of the City, ping-pong, LIRR in Grand Central opens, human rights violations at MSG, new restaurants to get excited about and more. Strap in, it's a long one.

We all know Mayor Adams loves to bloviate and nothing gives him the opportunity like the annual State of the City address.

The video is three minutes shy of the full runtime of M3gan, here are some recaps:

• The City recaps the entire speech, breaking down portions on jobs and the economy, crime and safety, housing and development, care and concern, rats and trash, and what he didn’t say, including anything about Rikers Island, the failures of the city as an employer, library budget cuts, and more.

• Patch focuses on three takeaways: Crime, rezoning midtown, and electrifying for-hire vehicles. (Matt Troutman for Patch)

• Hell Gate dials in focus on rats and trash, going into some detail about the future of the city’s composting programs and asks an important question about the first line of defense against rats. (Hell Gate)

What do Super Asshole James Dolan of Madison Square Gaden and Mayor Adams have in common? Both are fighting to violate human rights. It’s not a funny joke.

• “We don’t believe asylum-seekers fall into the whole right-to-shelter conversation.” - Mayor Adams, providing legal justification for the inhumane treatment of asylum-seekers. (Chau Lam for Gothamist)

• “Blocking access to ticketholders who are affiliated with law firms involved in pending suits against MSG may violate local, state, and federal human rights laws, including laws prohibiting retaliation.” - State Attorney General Letitia James, commenting on Madison Square Garden’s use of facial recognition technology to deny entry to the enemies of the owner and worst songwriter in history, James Dolan. (Andrea Vittorio for Bloomberg Law)

The Long Island Railroad platforms opened at Grand Central Terminal for the shuttle to and from Jamaica:

• What to expect from Grand Central Madison. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out)

• Five art installations to see in Grand Central Madison. (Nicole Saraniero for Untapped New York)

• The escalators are the longest of any in the MTA’s system. You’ll have plenty of time to think about this, as each ride takes one minute and thirty-eight seconds to travel about nine stories. This record-setting escalator is one of three escalators you must take to ascend the fifteen stories to street level. (Adriane Quinlan for Curbed)

• The walk from the lower-level train platforms at Grand Central Madison to the 4/5/6 subway platform takes 11 minutes and 20 seconds. This will save the average commuter less than two minutes on the trip from Penn Station to the 4/5/6 Grand Central Terminal platform, including taking two subways with a transfer. (Stephen Nessen for Gothamist)

• A few drawings of what an above-ground Penn Station could look like.

How are there enough ping-pong stories to do a roundup?

• The former Caroline’s will become Spin NYC Times Square, Susan Sarandon’s ping-pong bar. (Anna Rahmanan for Time Out)

• Downtown Brooklyn and the Upper Sides are getting 24/7 ping-pong pods this year. (Rossilynne Skena Culgan for Time Out)

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• When people talk about local news, sometimes you'll hear a joke about reporting on Community Boards. The City is local news, reporting about CB5 in the Bronx, which has struggled to make a quorum for the last three months. There are two things to note here: The first is how valuable local news is and how much you should consider joining your Community Board. Showing up seems to be more than half the battle. (Jonathan Custodio for The City)

• Medical experts agree that someone can't fall ill or overdose on fentanyl simply by touching or breathing it in. That hasn't stopped the head of NYC jails from repeating that myth in his reasons for justifying the end of physical mail in city jails. (Christopher Robbins for Hell Gate)

• The first recreational cannabis dispensary from a justice-impacted person is now open on Bleecker St. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out)

• Q&A w/ a former National Transportation Safety Board air safety investigator: What's going on at JFK after two plane scares in a week? (Sean Carlson and Kerry Shaw for Gothamist)

• How fucked are we regarding sea-level rise? It'll become crystal clear when you see the Army Corps' coastal storm plan. (Samantha Maldonado for The City)

• A City Council law requiring an overhaul of the rogue private carting industry has been thwarted by the Adams administration — and the person who led the program since its inception left the Department of Sanitation several months ago in “frustration” with how new DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch has deprioritized the effort. (Julianne Cuba for Streetsblog)

• Maybe it's time to remove the plaques honoring Nazis in the Canyon of Heroes? (Bahar Ostadan for Gothamist)

• A look into the war over WestView News, including a complete staff walkout in December and a published opinion piece from a 9/11 truther. It's time to understand the difference between WestView News and the New WestView News/Village View. (Clio Chang for Curbed)

• The city is allocating $38 million in additional funding to fight against legal challenges from families of students with disabilities. The families are arguing the city's public schools are not equipped to meet the needs of their children and are seeking reimbursement from the city for private school tuition. How much would it cost to have prevented these complaints in the first place? (Jessica Gould for Gothamist)

• NYPD's vehicles are getting a redesign but the cops inside will not be changing. (Matt Troutman for Patch)

• Robert Sietsema makes a ruling in the Chicago Dog battle between Bobbi’s Italian Beef and Dog Day Afternoon. Spoilers, Dog Day Afternoon wins. (Robert Sietsema for Eater)

• Emmy Squared makes a home in Park Slope on the corner of Fifth Ave and Third St. (Matt Tourtman for Patch)

• Where to Go: Brooklyn Curry Project on Saturdays at Fort Greene Park. What to Order: Dosas — masala, ghee, or vegan cheese. (Emma Orlow for Eater)

• Eighteen Alphabet City secrets. (Untapped New York)

• Apartment Porn: An $8 million Soho loft co-op with a music studio, home gym, billiards room, wet bar, a bonkers sneaker closet, a "flamboyant" kitchen, and more. (Michelle Cohen for 6sqft)

• What it's like to eat at Journey, a volcano-themed "theatrical gastronomy" restaurant and bar. It's dinner and also a kind of show, and it costs $175 per person. I'll choose to live my experience through Shaye. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out)

• The MTA announced plans to allow parents to bring open strollers on 1,000 buses across the city, or about 20% of the fleet. (Stephen Nessen for Gothamist)

• New York City and State's James Beard Award Semifinalists. (Emma Orlow for Eater)

• Sushi, sweets, burritos, and more. Seven new restaurants to get excited about. (Izzy Baskette for Thrillist)

Top Clicked Links in the Last Edition:

1. NYC is home to one of the ugliest buildings in the U.S., a study says

2. Unexpected cleaning of graffiti-covered tunnel spurs controversy in Washington Heights

3. 10 ridiculous vanity plates that New York rejected this year

Featured City Animal: Central Park’s Great Horned Owl!

Not a pet this edition, but a few minutes of an owl!