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If you know anyone who might like this newsletter, send it to them. If this was sent to you by someone else, subscribe here — it's free!  Dear New Yorkers, The city Department of Correction isn’t the only jail system keeping advocates, elected officials and reporters in the dark when a person in custody dies.  While the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) typically reaches out to close relatives within 24 hours of a death, members of the public sometimes wait weeks before learning of the latest death behind bars. And the state prison system has never put out the word to the media when prisoners die. Critics say the information blackout comes at a cost. “They are not reporting it to us,” said state Assemblymember Harvey Epstein (D-Manhattan), who is drafting legislation to require DOCCS to notify state lawmakers quarterly. “So if there are problems going on, we can’t improve those situations.” The proposed measure comes as the city’s Correction Department abruptly stopped telling reporters about deaths behind bars, as THE CITY reported last month.  Read more here. In other news:   City Budget Deal May Be Close The City Council and Mayor Eric Adams are expected to shake hands on a new budget later today, THE CITY has learned. The deal includes a restoration of the $36.2 million in proposed cuts to the city’s three library systems, according to multiple sources. Council leadership said they fought for the restoration of the cuts in the approximately $107 billion budget. A spokesperson for Mayor Adams, Jonah Allon, told THE CITY that “we have been working with City Council to evaluate if adjustments can be made through the budget process.” The libraries already face a $1 billion gap for repairing their decrepit buildings, THE CITY reported earlier this week. The Council is expected to vote on the budget Friday. — Katie Honan Some other items of note:   New York’s beleaguered public housing authority has long struggled to conquer toxic mold, one of the greatest scourges to the homes of many of the city's 450,000 NYCHA residents. Now, there are signs of real progress: The pace of tenant requests for repairs has dropped dramatically since 2019, as a federal judge’s oversight prompts unusual management discipline. But more work remains to be done. Chris Banks, a lifelong East New York resident, did it on his fifth try. On Tuesday, he finally outpolled either Charles or Inez Barron, the political power couple who have held seats in that neighborhood for decades and who Banks had challenged since 2012. This week’s primary elections produced big upsets — in contests with extremely low voter turnout. In the latest episode of the FAQ NYC podcast, Ben Max joins hosts Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel to break down everything that happened in an election that most New Yorkers missed.  While likely not to produce an orange sky like NYC experienced earlier this month, wildfire smoke in Canada has put millions of Americans under air quality alerts this week. It’s a good idea to check the air quality in your area, and THE CITY has also put together guides to monitoring indoor air (like in your apartment) and staying safe if you need to go outdoors. For the latest local numbers on COVID-19 hospitalizations, positivity rates and more, check our coronavirus tracker. Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Thursday's Weather Rating: 7/10. All right! High temperatures in the low 80s with a much more limited chance of isolated showers compared to prior days. The humidity remains a bit higher than we'd like, but overall it's not too bad. The vibes are on the rise today! THE KICKER: Looking for summer reading recommendations? The Brooklyn Public Library offers a free service called Bklyn BookMatch — fill out an online questionnaire about your reading preferences, and a librarian will reply with a customized list of five titles you might like.   Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Thursday.   Love, THE CITY P.S. If you liked something about today's newsletter, or didn't, let us know at zshah@thecity.nyc

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