The "PENN 15, Erect Over Midtown" Edition
The "PENN 15, Erect Over Midtown" Edition
My favorite city agency gets a shoutout in this edition. Also Trump was indicted but I wanted to make a joke with the title instead.
• Trump indicted, finally. (Ben Protess, Jonah E. Bromwich, William K. Rashbaum, Kate Christobek, Nate Schweber, and Sean Piccoli for NY Times, contributed reporting from Maggie Haberman)
• The Kings Theatre dumped Ticketmaster, the second-most heroic thing New Yorkers have done this week. (Brian Braiker for Brooklyn Magazine)
• Renderings: PENN 15 standing erect over Midtown. (Michael Young and Matt Pruznick for New York YIMBY)
• The initial story sounded positive, as Mayor Eric Adams was working with Brooklyn venue Avant Gardener to broker a deal with the state over a multi-year fight with the State Liquor Authority• over "rampant" drug use and multiple overdose deaths. Then you realize a personal friend of the mayor and the mayor's former chief of staff used to be the venue's attorney. It pays to be friends with the mayor. (Jon Campbell for Gothamist)
• Pearl Lee's Washtub in Crown Heights is precisely the kind of business I want to see more of. A laundromat that's also a bar. (Emma Orlow for Eater)
• The rules for putting out trash change today. According to the new rulespPlastic trash bags won't be allowed on the curb until after 8 pm. (Matt Troutman for Patch)
• The City put together a great look at Director of State Operations Kathryn Garcia. The name might sound familiar. We almost elected this highly competent public servant as our mayor. Almost. (Reuven Blau for The City)
• On Tuesday, the SUNY Bronx Educational Opportunity Center and Mayor's Office opened a hair salon for asylum-seekers at Wyndham by Wingate hotel in Long Island City. It'll remain open for families staying in the hotel for a week. According to the mayor, pairing student barbers who need the experience with those who need haircuts will expand to stand homeless shelters as well. (Dean Moses for Queens Post)
• The story of Annie Moore, Ellis Island's first immigrant. (Nicole Saraniero for Untapped New York)
• Governor Hochul is using the state's budget to further weaken the state's bail reforms, which is a disgusting negotiation tactic she also used last year. The deadline for a new state budget is April 1, but last year's negotiations lasted nine days beyond the deadline. (Rebecca C. Lewis for City & State)
• The governor also wants the Legislature to lift a regional cap to free up licenses held by now-closed charter schools in New York City, allowing 108 new charter schools in the city. (Jessica Gould for Gothamist)
• Online suggestions are open for naming a new Governors Island ferry. Unfortunately, there is no online voting, so we won't be getting a ferry named "Boaty McBoatface," "Pizza Rat," or "Mayor Adams Sucks." (Catalina Gonella for Gothamist)
• Remember the Flatiron Build auction? The winner backed out, and the second-place bidder isn't likely to pay up either. I'll take it for $80 and set the whole building up as a laser tag arena. (Christopher Bonanos for Curbed)
• Are you one of the state's 34% of adult children still living with a parent? (Matt Troutman for Patch, with contributed reporting from Kathleen Culliton)
• The Independent Budget Office (I love you IBO, I really do!) released a report showing Madison Square Garden has received more than $875 million in tax breaks since 1982 while also detailing the tax breaks that other stadiums and arenas in the city receive. (Yoav Gonen for The City)
• The legal fight over MSG's use of facial recognition to stop the enemies of owner James Dolan from getting inside continues with a restraining order against the policy getting overturned while also acknowledging that it violates state civil rights statutes. (Gwynne Hogan for Gothamist)
• The Williamsburg Market food hall closed without notice. (Emma Davey for Greenpointers)
• In the last edition, I linked to a story about Banter in the West Village having a worker-owned business model, which is part of a trend in NYC that more restaurants and bars are worker-owned. (Emma Orlow for Eater)
• Apartment Porn: An $11 million Cobble Hill townhouse with a 2,000 square foot landscaped garden, si beds, four and a half baths, wood burning fireplace, design from Elizabeth Roberts, and more. (Michelle Cohen for 6sqft)
• New York City's James Beard Foundation 2023 finalists. (Luke Fortney for Eater)
• A change from a federal appeals court means Brooklyn can now have retail weed. (Caroline Lewis for Gothamist)
• It's corpse flower time, as the NYBG's corpse flower appears ready to bloom. (Nicole Saraniero for Untapped New York)
• A guide to all the fabulous flower shows in NYC right now. (Rossilynne Skena Culgan for Time Out)
• Subway station agents are permanently leaving their booths this week to become free-range agents. (Michelle Bocanegra for Gothamist)
• How to break the lease for your NYC apartment. (Emily Myers for Brick Underground)
• Wall Street profits declined 56% in 2022, but Wall Street bonuses only decreased by 21%, with only $33.7 billion being given out in bonuses. The average bonus of $176,700 was higher than the citywide average household income of $113,315. (Greg David and Suhail Bhat for The City)
• Fourteen places to try tea. (Caroline Shin for Eater)
• A fascinating look at how the city's honeybees can provide hyperlocal microbial information from the environment. (Nsikan Akpan for Gothamist)
Top Clicked Links in the Last Edition:
Someone Adopt This Dog: Sake!
Sake is available for adoption at Muddy Paws Rescue. Sake is 13 years old and he is described as gentle, super affectionate, and just wants to be loved. He sleeps in and occasionally makes “old man” noises when he wants to go out. Someone adopt this dog!
