Dear New Yorkers, The last time a known mobster was found dead in a car trunk along the sprawling New York-New Jersey port was back in 2005. But in many ways, the nearly century-old legacy of organized crime is still felt along the waterfront, even as the 70-year-old agency established to clean up the docks — the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor — has been marked for extinction. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously approved the right of the state of New Jersey to withdraw from the agency. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who has long championed the effort, announced himself “thrilled.” But New York Gov. Kathy Hochul expressed dismay. On today’s waterfront, the imprint of organized crime extends beyond issues of law and order, from the lack of diversity among the best-paid dock workers to the high cost of doing business. Meanwhile, there’s the persistent influence of the Genovese crime family. “The Genovese family still controls those New Jersey docks,” said Bruce Mouw, a former FBI supervisory special agent whose team sent John Gotti to prison. “That hasn’t changed much in a long time. If the Waterfront Commission goes away they are just going to have total control.” Read more here. Some other items of note: The future of a food and art pop-up called Plaza Tonatiuh is uncertain after the NYPD cracked down on the unpermitted weekly event on Easter. The pop-up started in spring 2021 in Sunset Park, and provided a community gathering space during the pandemic. But neighbors and local officials voiced concerns about trash buildup, crowds and possible fire hazards. Last week, more than a hundred Sunset Park residents came together to try to resurrect Plaza Tonatiuh — while children tearfully recounted frightening scenes from the police crackdown. A new city program is taking aim at a “quiet problem” in New York City public schools: the lack of librarians. Under state law, schools with more than 700 students are required to have a full-time librarian, with part-time librarians required for those who fall below a certain enrollment threshold. But recent reporting by Chalkbeat shows that the city has only roughly 260 certified school librarians in its 1,600 public schools (caveat: some schools may hire librarians off the DOE’s books, with PTA money). Worse, a larger share of high-poverty schools had no librarian on staff at all. Now, a city program is trying a new tactic: certifying current public school teachers as librarians. THE CITY’s Missing Them project has new obituaries in honor of four New Yorkers: Abdulmalik Alhaj, Lewis Bynum, Chaudhry Safdar Hussain, and Edgar Luna, who died due to COVID-19. In addition, you can visit our exhibit at “The Many Losses From COVID,” a community art memorial organized by Naming The Lost and City Lore any time from now until May 29. You can also see our ongoing exhibit with Photoville featuring obituaries and photos from the project at locations in The Bronx and Queens until May 31. Thanks to everyone who RSVP’d to THE CITY’s Open Newsroom session onThursday in partnership with Chalkbeat, ProPublica and the Brooklyn Public Library, which addresses mental health resources in New York City public schools, and how to get support. We are at capacity for the event. But don't worry if you didn't sign up in time — we'll share a video of the panel discussion with Scoop subscribers soon. For the latest local numbers on COVID-19 hospitalizations, positivity rates and more, check our coronavirus tracker.
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