The "Real Scumbag Energy" Edition
NYC is the most congested, when precautions will be lifted, new eligibility for vaccines, the best outdoor breweries, and more
Today - Low: 38˚ High: 39˚
Possible light rain overnight.
This weather is unfair.
• Only 45% of office workers in Midtown will be back at their desks by September according to a new survey from The Partnership for New York City. ((Christopher Robbins and Beth Fertig for Gothamist)
• In a real scumbag move, Governor Cuomo's Vaccine Czar Larry Schwartz has been calling county executives gauging asking for them to support Governor Cuomo, tying those conversations to vaccine distribution. (Jesse McKinley and J. David Goodman for NY Times)
"However the end game works out with Cuomo, let’s keep one thing in mind. He was never indispensable to start with. We never needed his toxic masculinity, his neoliberal ideology, his systematic corruption or his blundering incompetence. We can do better. We deserve better."
- John Tarleton, Why Cuomo Has Got to Go for The Indypendent
• NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea doesn't think the NYPD has an accountability problem, despite using his commissioner's position to overrule judicial findings of guilt in NYPD trials five times since December 2019. (Gabriel Sandoval for The City)
• Beauty & Essex has its own secrets, but stare at the sign long enough and you'll see an echo of the history of the building. (Ephemeral New York)
• Inside the renovation of an 1865 townhouse in Chelsea that started as the city went into lockdown. Of course, there are photos. (Wendy Goodman, photos by Chris Mottalini for Curbed)
• In tribute to The Brooklyn Ice House on Van Brunt in Red Hook, part of The Free Pour's weekly ode to their favorite Brooklyn bars. (Caitlin Hughes for The Free Pour)
• What's a key to Gramercy Park worth? Is it worth this $395k 230 square foot studio apartment with no oven, only two burners, and room for a mini-fridge? (Dana Schulz for 6sqft)
• How starved for space are we as New Yorkers? The Lawn Club in the Seaport District is now offering rentable "mini backyards". (Anna Ben Yehuda for Time Out)
• Congrats to the Cross Bronx Expressway, which was recently anointed as the third most congested road in the country. The same report deemed New York City the most congested city in the country. We're #1! We're #1! (Ed García Conde for Welcome2TheBronx)
• 227 Duffield Street, the rowhouse that was recently landmarked doe its abolitionist history, was purchased by the city for $3.2 million and it will be "protected and celebrated for a very long time" according to First Lady Chirlane McCray. (Devin Gannon for 6sqft)
• Surprise, surprise. Many of New York City's most dominant real estate companies are illegally discriminating against low-income residents who rely on rental assistance. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist)
• The vaccine will be open to “public-facing” workers this week, meaning 80% of New York's adult population is eligible for the vaccine. I guess I'm just one of the "lucky" 20%? (Caroline Lewis for Gothamist)
• New York is canceling most spring and summer high school Regents exams, which makes my inner teenager jump for joy. Only Regents exams in Algebra I, English, and earth science will be administered. (Reema Amin for Chalkbeat)
• Nearly half of New York City public schools have had attendance rates during the COVID-19 crisis that fall below what’s considered acceptable by education experts and the majority of the schools with a high number of absences are located in Black and brown communities hit hardest by the pandemic. (Cindy Rodriguez and Jessica Gould for Gothamist)
• One of the greatest things about the city is the history that's underfoot, literally. Two manhole covers in the city date back to 1862. One is outside the Port Authority and another was discovered in Central Park. Add finding the manhole cover to your next trip to Central Park along with finding •the 1811 survey bolt• whose location remains partially hidden. (Michelle Young for Untapped New York)
• The Downtown Brooklyn Municipal Building (where I was married!) was named for Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Monday. (Kevin Duggan for Brooklyn Paper)
• Mayor de Blasio will consider lifting precautions once five million New Yorkers are vaccinated. Of course, most of the city's precautions are decided by the state, but it's nice to have goals. (Faraz Toor for NY1)
• Do you know who's running for City Council in your district? (Rachel Holliday Smith for The City)
• You can take up to four paid hours to get a coronavirus vaccine shot according to a new bill signed by the governor. (Lisa Finn for Patch)
• The best outdoor breweries. (Nikko Duren for The Infatuation)
Featured Pet: Cosette!
Oh my glob Cosette! My heart melts. Thank you to Courtney for sending this photo (and a few others) of Cosette. Follow Cosette on Instagram.