The "NYC Nightmare: Subway Hot Cars" Edition
BQE repairs, the state-wide school mask mandate, André De Shields, fall foliage, a legal Q&A around mask and vaccine mandates, the most Instagrammable restaurants, and more
Today - Low: 74˚ High: 78˚
Overcast throughout the day.
• Repairs on the BQE will start in earnest on Monday, lowering the number of lanes from 3 to 2. The intention is to hold off on replacing the road, and more importantly deciding on a design for a replacement, for about twenty years. (Billy Richling for Bklyner)
• After ten years, Bklyner's last day of publishing will be September 10. (Liena Zagare for Bklyner)
• Fatal traffic crashes this year are up 30% from last year. "But last year was last year," I heard you say. That's true, but this year's 166 fatal traffic-related crashes are higher than 2019's 140 fatal crashes. The latest victim of drivers on the city's streets was six-year-old Hiromi Tamy from Dyker Heights. (David Cruz for Gothamist)
• A look at how Celebrate Brooklyn gets organized. (Jessica Lipsky for Brooklyn Magazine)
• Apartment hunting is getting tough. The city is now the #1 most expensive city for renting in the country, some people who left are beginning a return to the city, and the usual end of summer real estate crunch are happening at the same time, ending whatever headlines there have been for the last year and change about how it's a renters' market out there. (Matt Troutman for Patch)
• Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day is September 17, here are the NYC museums you can visit for free on that day. (Jeff Arnold for Patch)
• Governor Hochul is instituting a statewide mask mandate for all students, staff, and visitors inside school buildings. This includes all public, private, charter, and religious schools throughout the state. The only exemptions are kids under two or students with documented medical exemptions and kids can take off masks while eating, drinking, singing, or playing a wind instrument but must remain six feet apart. (Sophia Chang for Gothamist)
• 13 great ceviches. (Hannah Albertine, Nikko Duren, and Carlo Mantuano for The Infatuation)
• Q&A w/the dean and president of Albany Law School: Mask and vaccination mandate are legal. HIPPA does not apply to individuals which means that your employer can legally make your vaccination status a condition of your employment. (Katherina Fung and Michael Hill for Gothamist)
• Broadway Q&A with Tony Award-winner André De Shields, set to return in Hadestown on September 2. (Adam Feldman for Time Out)
• It wasn't until public pressure from Mayor de Blasio, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, and other public officials that a vaccination mandate was announced for the U.S. Open Grand Slam in Queens. Technically it's considered an outdoor venue and "recommended" and not required attendees to wear masks, which is the coward's way. (Christine Chung for The City)
• The story behind "Wild Thing" by Matt Starr, which perfectly encapsulates the Upper West Side in my head. (Mike Mishkin for I Love the Upper West Side)
• 28 outstanding coffee shops. (Eater Staff and Liz Clayton for Eater)
• Looking for the right weekend to get out of the city to check out some foliage? The 2021 Fall Foliage Prediction Map is here. Peak foliage just north of the city is expected in early to mid-October, just in time for apple and pumpkin picking. (Will Gleason for Time Out)
• There isn't much left of Grand Prospect Hall to save. It's been gutted, just like anyone whose seen the photos of the inside. A permit for interior demolition was granted on July 19 and the new owners wasted no time in tearing the place apart. (Ben Yakas for Gothamist)
• Inside the challenge of tackling white privilege in New York's private schools. How do you fight inequality inside a school that costs over $50,000 a year to attend? (Michael Powell for NY Times)
• The City Council passed a bill this week to permanently cap delivery fees for third-party food delivery companies like Seamless or Uber Eats. The law will take effect 120 days after Mayor de Blasio signs it. (Jackie Davalos for Bloomberg)
• The hot subway car, one of NYC's nightmares. There are fewer hot cars this year than in 2019 but ridership is about 50% of what it was two years ago. The MTA is working on installing a new feature in over 1,700 cars to prevent frequent AC breakdowns and also noted that the air is still circulating, it's just hot air. (Stephen Nessen for Gothamist)
• Dreaming of what you'd do after winning the $300+ million Megamillions or Powerball this week? Here's an explainer on the NYC mansion tax and how much it is. Don't forget your friend at The Briefly after you've won! (Kathryn O'Shea-Evans for StreetEasy)
• Real Estate Lust: An $11.5 million townhouse in Turtle Bay that Mark-Kate Olsen notably lost in her recent divorce to David Sarkozy. The townhouse is 38-feet wide with 8,700 square feet of interior space, a grand ballroom, 22-foot ceilings, a backyard art studio, a garage, and a "driver's room" whatever that is, six beds, seven bathrooms, an elevator, and more. (Dana Schulz for 6sqft)
• It's a food truck for dogs. (Melizza Kravitz Hoeffner for Time Out)
• It's kind of like a speed camera but for noise. A bill was introduced this week to install noise-detecting technology and cameras across the city to capture, identify, and issue a summons to people making too much noise. We'll see if it makes any *ahem* noise with the City Council. (David Cruz for Gothamist)
• Did you know it's technically illegal to dance in certain restaurants and bars in the city? Eventual mayor Eric Adams announced support for repealing the Cabaret Law zoning regulations that still exist. If you're confused about the difference between what was repealed in 2017 and this, it's that the 2017 repeal focused on what performers were allowed to do and this focuses on what patrons are allowed to do, to the best of my understanding. (Milette Millington for Kings County Politics)
• Streetsblog makes the case that is it time to build the Gateway Tunnel, which was blocked by the Trump administration and they call "the nation's most important infrastructure proposal." (Gersh Kuntzman for Streetsblog)
• 12 of New York’s most Instagram-worthy restaurants. (RentHop)
Featured Pet: Cosette!
Thank you to reader Courtney for this photo of Cosette (@cosette_pup)!
I am once again asking you to send me photos of your pets to thebriefly@gmail.com
