WORLD WORLDWIDE USA New York NY New York City NYC the city THE CITY News Journal Update - THE CITY SCOOP: NYC Has Lost 100,000 Apartments Due to Combination Remodels

 

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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, It’s a New York dream to combine your place with the one next door to make a spacious home.  But it comes at a price.  Over the last 70-plus years, mergers of flats and rooming houses into bigger residences have taken a steady toll on the city’s housing stock, according to a new study. In fact, since 1950, New York City has lost more than 100,000 units of housing through consolidation of units — a regular feature of the toniest real estate listings. Not that most people have noticed. “Unlike new buildings, which have to go through this huge gauntlet of, often, public opposition to create new units, here you're able to get rid of apartments without anyone noticing,” said Adam Brodheim, the study’s author.  Read more here. In other news: Creedmoor Migrant Shelter Nearing Capacity A tent shelter for migrants at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens is nearing its capacity, housing around 800 people just one week after it opened, city officials said on Wednesday. A second emergency shelter recently opened on Randall's Island will have the capacity for 3,000 people. It’s housing around 350 so far.  The city is racing to create new shelters, as more than 3,000 new arrivals came in the last week, bringing the latest total of migrants in shelters to 59,300, including around 18,000 children. “That’s more people than fit in Yankee Stadium, more kids than fit in Madison Square Garden,” said Zach Iscol, commissioner of New York City Emergency Management. City Hall projects that if the number of new arrivals to New York City continues unabated, it will cost the city $12 billion over three years. New migrant facilities have faced bipartisan opposition and become political flashpoints, with more protests planned this week near Floyd Bennett Field, where officials are hashing out the details for another large-scale shelter.  — Gwynne Hogan   In Israel, Mayor Eric Adams At Last Responds to THE CITY’s Requests for Car Chase Data — Kind Of Since THE CITY began reporting in early July about a surge in NYPD vehicle pursuits, we have asked the police department three times whether the agency tracks injuries and deaths that stem from the chases. The NYPD has not responded.  So on Wednesday, THE CITY approached Mayor Eric Adams outside a food technology event in Tel Aviv and asked him. In his first words on the matter, Adams responded: “We keep track on all data.” He added, “The NYPD’s gonna catch bad guys. They’re going to do it in a safe way.” The NYPD did not respond to a subsequent email from THE CITY requesting the data. — Yoav Gonen Some other items of note: More than 86% of drivers ticketed for illegal airport pickups are nonwhite, according to new claims made in a class-action lawsuit the city is trying to toss out. The suit, filed on behalf of drivers who say they were unfairly targeted by their race, claims that the Taxi and Limousine Commission violated their constitutional rights and doled out excessive fines when it conducted undercover stings mainly at JFK and LaGuardia airports. But in a motion to dismiss filed July 5, the city’s Law Department said the claim lacks merit. The plaintiffs and their lawyers are pushing for a trial. In December 2019, the NYPD released video of a fatal police shooting in The Bronx. In addition to killing a suspect, police had killed one of their own, Officer Brian Mulkeen. Now, the full video plus audio recordings from officer interviews have been obtained by ProPublica — and the new records indicate that investigators allowed police misstatements to stand, despite having body-camera video to disprove them. Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Thursday's Weather Rating: 3/10. Oof. Clouds and showers are back, with intermittent rain for most of the day. Humidity will begin to rise a bit as well, with high temperatures in the mid 70s. The vibes are damp and drizzly out there today! Things To Do Here’s what’s going on around the city this week. Thursday, Aug. 24: The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival continues its 31st year with events and performances through the weekend. Various locations. Free. Thursday, Aug. 24: Closing night of the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! series, with performances by The Head and The Heart and Izzy Heltai. Lena Horne Bandshell, Prospect Park. Doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m. Free. RSVP here. Saturday, Aug. 26: Beach Sessions Dance Series, a modern dance event that includes Merce Cunningham’s 1991 dance “Beach Birds,” performed on the sand at Beach 108th Street, Rockaway. 5:45 p.m. Free.   THE KICKER: Last weekend, Brooklyn’s Haitian Vodou community held an event to honor the island’s water spirits. The borough is home to the largest Haitian population outside of Haiti, reports Brooklyn Magazine, and the Vodou religion is “one of the most understood.”  Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Thursday. Love, THE CITY P.S. Love THE CITY? Our nonprofit newsroom runs on support from readers like you. Donate here.

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