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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, Greenpoint residents will make their case to a Manhattan Supreme Court judge today in a bid to save Park Church from the wrecking ball.  The century-old Lutheran church abuts leafy McGolrick Park in Brooklyn. For more than a decade — before the facility closed last year — it served as a vibrant community space, featuring theater, music, and dance performances, as well as an affordable day care, soup kitchen, and a homeless shelter.  This afternoon, community opponents will detail why they contend an impending sale of the property to a private developer should be blocked.  They’ll lay out an alternative vision for the church as a renovated community and events space they’re calling Commonplace — and they’ve found a resident willing to match the $4.7 million paid by a developer last fall, according to Jamie Hook, one of the activists leading the charge. “This was one space that was somewhat insulated from the madness of development that is going on in the neighborhood,” said Hook.  Read more here. In other news: New Vote, New Result for UFT School occupational and physical therapists ratified their contract with the city, with 89% approving the agreement in a controversial revote election, their union, the United Federation of Teachers, announced Wednesday. This summer, the therapists’ chapter stood alone in rejecting the union’s tentative agreement with the city, claiming the guaranteed raises of 17.58% to 20.42% by 2026 would not give them pay parity with teachers. The therapists at first rejected the deal by a two-to-one margin. After the therapists voted down the contract, union president Michael Mulgrew pressured them to vote again, prompting the resignation of several leaders of the therapists’ chapter in protest. “I want to thank the OT/PTs who participated in the union meetings this summer to discuss your contract,” Mulgrew wrote in a note to therapists announcing the revote election results Wednesday. “The challenge we faced helped build a stronger union.” — Claudia Irizarry Aponte Some other items of note: When the temperature hits 85 degrees, workers in New York City are 7% more likely to be injured on the job — and at 95 degrees, the likelihood of an accident goes up by one more point to 8%, according to an analysis by THE CITY. According to state Workers’ Compensation Board data, 420 injuries in New York City were explicitly attributed to heat since 2002. But THE CITY’s analysis suggests that official incidents of injury associated with heat may be an undercount of the true toll. And while seven states have laws on the books to protect workers in extreme heat, New York does not.  A struggling Chinatown mall at the base of the Manhattan Bridge could get a new lease on life. The East Broadway Mall, once a bustling shopping center, has languished for years as dozens of businesses closed. The current lease operator filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and has struggled to pay rent to the city, which owns the property from its previous incarnation as a municipal parking lot. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services announced this week it has a tentative agreement with a new operator who would give the space a much-needed $5 million makeover over the first year and a half of a new lease — while not evicting current tenants.  For more than three years, THE CITY tracked vital metrics on the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. In the time since, the pandemic has changed — and so has the available data on it. But THE CITY still sees the need to give New Yorkers a city-specific view. So we updated the tracker once again to align it with the most accurate and useful information currently available. Here is the new tracker, plus an explanation of what changed. Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Thursday's Weather Rating: 10/10. OH YES! High temperatures in the mid 70s, dew points in the 50s and a gorgeous northerly breeze with mostly sunny skies continuing all day. It feels amazing out there. That's all there is to it. The vibes are immaculate! Things To Do Here’s what’s going on around the city this week. Thursday, Aug. 31: The Public’s Shakespeare in the Park production of “The Tempest,” through Sunday, Sept. 3, at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Free tickets are available. Thursday, Aug. 31: NYC Parks presents “Heart of the City: Kevin Couliau, An Ode to NYC Basketball,” an exhibition of photographs of the city’s outdoor basketball scene. Arsenal Gallery in Central Park, daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Sept. 5 (closed Labor Day). Free. Sunday, Sept. 3: Birdwatching: First Sunday Outings, an easy introduction to birding with the Brooklyn Bird Club and the Prospect Park Alliance. Audubon Center in Prospect Park, 8-10 a.m. Free. THE KICKER: In the East Village, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s former space on Great Jones Street — soon to be an “atelier” owned by Angelina Jolie — has been “Barbiefied”: Someone painted the building with hot pink paint, including over a plaque commemorating Basquiat. 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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