The "Rent is Always Too Damn High" Edition
The "Rent is Always Too Damn High" Edition
NYC declares rat mitigation zones, Papaya King will live on, the NYPD brags about overtime, Panda Express has an opening date, and more.
Thank you to reader Jon for contributing to The Briefly on Ko-Fi.
• The suburbs' fight against Governor Hochul's plan to increase housing density has hit the city, and the city's ain't hot on it either. Throughout the fight, it's almost hard to remember that the goal is creating more housing because there isn't enough anymore to be economical. (Gabriel Poblete for The City)
• The governor has a new candidate for the chief judge of the state Court of Appeals, Rowan Wilson. Wilson is a far less controversial pick than Hochul's last choice, whose case history made him seem anti-union and anti-abortion and the New York Post called a "centrist." (Jon Campbell for Gothamist)
• The city is owed over $2 billion in unpaid fines, with more than half of that coming from parking and camera-enforcement tickets, according to a new analysis from The Briefly's favorite publicly funded agency, the Independent Budget Office. (Gabriel Poblete for The City)
• The NYPD shut down a community market in Sunset Park on Easter Sunday under the guise of stopping illegal street vendors. How did they top that? They shut down an indigenous ceremony and a rosary prayer and threatened to arrest those that did not leave. Congrats to the NYPD for emptying a public park on Easter Sunday. (Giulia Heyward for Gothamist)
• Years ago, I lived on a street with a bike path blocked multiple times a day, every single day, at the same time each day. I put in 311 request after 311 request about how a truck was blocking the bike lane, including a photo, license plate, and the times the truck was present. I don't think I heard back once after dozens of requests. What percentage of 311 service requests about illegal bike lane parking results in action from the NYPD? Only 1.9% of requests result in a fine, which is the lowest response rate across in terms of enforcement for enforcement that can literally save lives. (Benjamin Arnav for Streetsblog)
• If you take the NYPD at their word, ballooning overtime is a result of staffing shortages and responding to crimes. If you listen to the recordings that Gothamist has, it tells a very different story. (Jake Offenhartz for Gothamist)
• Do you live in a rat mitigation zone? The new zones in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx, will be the focus of a multiagency effort to address the rats and the conditions that cause them. (Aaron Ginsburg for 6sqft)
• The right to own a gun appears to be in America's DNA as more important than the right to live, so city elementary schools will be locking school entrances next month. (Alex Zimmerman for Chalkbeat)
• Life expectancy in NYC is down 4.6 years since the start of the pandemic. (Catalina Gonella for Gothamist)
• Inside the quest to find a permanent home for curling in NYC. (Max Kalnitz for Brooklyn Magazine)
• Here's a fun question: How do 30-foot tall, 10,000-pound trees get to rooftop gardens? (Nicole Saraniero for Untapped New York)
• Governor Hochul backed off from weakening New York State's climate change law. The change was initially proposed by State Senator Kevin Parker, who represents Brooklyn. I was surprised to learn while researching that he has multiple accusations of assault against him and is still in office. (Rosemary Misdary for Gothamist)
• 13 things to know about the new Superiority Burger in the old Odessa space. (Robert Sietsema for Eater)
• The City went to CitiField and asked some tailgaters how they felt about Steve Cohen's plan to put a casino in the parking lot. Mets fans, who have believed in a snowball's chance in hell since the late 60s, were not enthusiastic. (Haidee Chu for The City)
• After the Gowanus rezoning, Lavender Lake was forced and then priced out of the neighborhood, and the bar and restaurants ended up in Williamsburg (Jennifer Rosini-Gentile for Greenpointers)
• Photos: Easter bonnets from NYC’s 2023 Easter Parade & Bonnet Festival. (Shaye Weaver for Time Out)
• Former cop Mayor Adams gives current cops yearly raises as high as 4% and a pilot program to let them work fewer days in exchange for longer shifts. I would bet my dogs that this results in more opportunities over time. (Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist)
• A week of eating, including a samosa the size of a fist. (Robert Sietsema for Eater)
• “Rent Is Too Damn High” is never out of fashion, as Jimmy McMillan is fighting off another eviction attempt. (David Brand for Gothamist)
• Sections of Rockaway Beach will close this summer starting Memorial Day as work to shore up the peninsula's coastline extends into its fourth year. (Sophia Chang for Gothamist)
• Panda Express on First Ave and Fourteenth has a projected opening day of June 5. (EV Grieve)
• The Mermaid Inn has a new home on the Upper West Side on Columbus and 76th. (Bobby Panza for I Love the Upper West Side)
• Papaya King's original location is closed but will eventually open somewhere new. (Upper East Site)
• The best and worst dog breeds for apartments. Great Danes are on the best list! (RentHop)
• Did you know there's a special presentation for the last rivet hammered into Rockefeller Center? It's not as complicated as finding the original 1811 survey bolt in Central Park, but it's still pretty cool. (Nicole Saraniero for Untapped New York)
• Ten underrated NYC parks to visit this spring. (Lidia Ryan for 6sqft)
• How to find peak cherry blossoms in city parks. (GothamToGo)
• Farewell to Jekyll & Hyde, a favorite of suburban drama kids. (Luke Fortney for Eater)
• Apartment Porn: The $13.9 million Upper East Side historic district's oldest home with three stories, four beds, five wood-burning fireplaces, a front and back yard, a double-height conservatory, and more. (Davin Gannon for 6sqft)
• Thirty outstanding tacos to try. (Robert Sietsema for Eater)
Top Clicked Links from Last Week’s Edition:
New Rendering Revealed For PENN 15 Supertall At 15 Penn Plaza In Midtown, Manhattan
This $11M Elizabeth Roberts-designed Cobble Hill home might be the prettiest townhouse in Brooklyn
Featured City Pet: Milo!
Thanks to reader Megan for sending in this photo of Milo, who I believe is in this photo somewhere… Send your pet pics to thebriefly@gmail.com to be featured.
