The "Meet the New Subway Map" Edition

We're at 3/4 bean, prepare yourself for election day, Manhattan's Alamo opens on Monday, the best restaurants in Bushwick, Thumbelina the foster dog, and more

Today - Low: 66˚ High: 76˚
Partly cloudy throughout the day.
This weekend - Low: 51˚ High: 74˚

Today’s edition is a little different. I’m putting the featured pet first.

Meet Thumbelina.

Thumbelina is a healthy, loving, mischievous husky mix who happens to have two front leg deformities that do not deter her at all. She loves to play, is great with other dogs, is house trained, crate trained, and she even talks like a husky. She also has a wheelchair which helps her get around more easily. She’s up for adoption at Hearts and Bones and is currently being fostered in Prospect Heights.

A reader of The Briefly should adopt Thumbelina.

If you want to meet Thumbelina, she will be at an adoption event at Happy Dogs NYC McCarren Park on Saturday from 2:30-4:30 pm and I’m told she’ll be dressed up in a Halloween costume.

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• There's a new subway map, inspired by Massimo Vignelli's map from the 1970s. If you've used the MTA's Weekender maps, this will look familiar. (Whitney Kimball for Gizmodo)

• The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot for the November 2 election is October 18. Apply here. (nycabsentee.com)

Rachel Holliday Smith’s latest work for The City will get you ready for the election:

• What you need to know before election day on November 2.

• A look down the ballot at city and borough-wide seats up for grabs on November 2.

• Yeah, you know Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa, what about the seven other people running for mayor?

• Have you ever seen one of New York City's black squirrels? What about a cinnamon squirrel? They make up about 4% of Central Park's squirrels and can be found across the city. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York)

• 230 women- and trans-identified individuals detainees held on Rikers Island's Rose M. Singer Center will be moved to one of two jails in Westchester in a joint attempt by the mayor and governor to reduce the population on Rikers Island. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist)

• Is there eight words together that sound more socially repugnant than "New York real estate agents turned TikTok stars?" (Kim Velsey for Curbed)

• The city's Right of Way law survived a challenge in the state’s court of appeals. The Right of Way Law, passed in 2014, makes it a misdemeanor crime for a driver to strike a pedestrian or cyclist through lack of due care. (Kathleen Culliton for Patch)

• The Thomas Jefferson statue in City Hall could be removed following decades of advocacy. The Public Design Commission will vote about removing the statue, which could go on a "long-term" loan to the New York Historical Society. The City Council's Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus released a statement saying "The individuals we memorialize within the People’s House should be reflective not only of our city’s history and diversity but unquestionable character." (Jen Carlson for Gothamist)

• How's the MTA's staff vaccine or test mandate going? They don't appear to be checking unvaccinated workers' weekly Covid-19 tests. The vaccination rate has increased since May, but it's currently only at 65%. (Stephen Nessen for Gothamist)

• A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that New York State health officials must temporarily allow employers to grant religious exemptions to a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers while a lawsuit challenging the mandate makes its way through the courts. (Sharon Otterman for NY Times)

• The Brooklyn Nets banned Kyrie Irving from the team until he gets vaccinated. Personal choices have consequences. Everyone else on the team is vaccinated. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist)

• The best restaurants in Bushwick. (The Infatuation)

• NYC and DHS are teaming up to make spooky season even scarier. The city's response plans for a biological or chemical attack by releasing non-toxic gas into 120 subway stations on five different days between October 18 and 29. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the gases are non-toxic and pose no health risks. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out)

• Greenpoint's ferry service at the India St. pier will resume service in June of 2022 after abruptly shutting down in May of this year. (Jennifer Rosini-Gentile for Greenpointers)

• Real Estate Lust: A $1.9 million Upper West Side co-op with two beds, three floors of a brownstone, wood-burning fireplaces, 700 square feet of outdoor deck space, a Japanese-style soaking tub, and more. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft)

• You don't have to leave the city to get a selfie inside a pumpkin arch. The "most-Instagrammable Halloween spot" pumpkin arch is back at Pier 17. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out)

• We're at 3/4 bean. The big shiny Chicago-esque bean at 56 Leonard Street, which started construction in December of 2019, is still incomplete. Jen Carlson is on the bean beat and we're all grateful to her for it. (Jen Carlson for Gothamist)

• 14 refreshing ceviche dishes. (Robert Sietsema for Eater)

• The Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan is opening on Monday. There are still plans to open one on Staten Island. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist)

• The Laguardia AirTrain has taken another step towards death as the Port Authority announced they will "pause further action" while they review alternative mass transit options. (Benjamin Kabak for Second Ave. Sagas)

• The Willets Ave LIRR station, a part of the greater AirTrain plan, is inaccessible to people who are unable to navigate stairs. Any plans to update the station were on hold due to the AirTrain. Without the AirTrain, the 2014 promise to make the station accessible may actually happen but it might miss the initial 2016 deadline. (Jose Martinez for The City)

• Senator Chuck Schumer announced his hope to steer funds from the federal infrastructure bill to build rest areas for the city's delivery workers. In one of this year's weirder photo ps, Schumer went on a ride-along with Los Deliveristas Unidos sporting one of their t-shirts. Seeing Schumer in a t-shirt is kinda like watching a dog walk on its hind legs. You know it's a possibility but it's always weird to see. (Claudia Irizarry Aponte for The City)

• It's too early for anything Christmas-related and it's definitely too early to talk about cuffing season. Don't tell the three bars in the city offering two vodka cocktails that are literally handcuffed together. (Melizza Kravitz Hoeffner for Time Out)

• The best Sichuan restaurants in the city. (Diana Kuan for The Infatuation)