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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, Prosecutors charged a former Queens City Council member and top aide to Mayor Eric Adams yesterday. They allege that Eric Ulrich, 38, pocketed $150,000 in bribes in exchange for performing a remarkably wide variety of favors for a host of individuals — including four major fundraisers for Adams. Ulrich was arraigned in a quintet of indictments that alleged that he regularly and corruptly used his influence as a public official to meddle in the activities of the FDNY, the City Planning Commission, and the departments of Buildings, Health and Mental Hygiene, and Consumer and Worker Protection. "As an elected official and a government employee, Eric Ulrich's duty was to the people of the City of New York, not to his friends, not to his associates, and certainly not to himself," said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.  The beneficiaries of his interference included an eclectic group seeking smooth sailing through New York City's vast bureaucracy: a real estate developer, a tow truck company owner, a consultant hired to expedite building permits and co-owners of a Queens pizza joint. The bribery scheme outlined in the charges emerged, in part, from a years worth of secret recordings obtained over Ulrich's phones — a marathon surveillance effort that began Nov. 4, 2021, just two days after Adams was elected mayor. Bragg declined to say whether any of the recorded conversations included Ulrich's chats with the mayor. None of the indictments directly implicated the mayor in any of his advisor's alleged improprieties. Read more here. In other news: Rent Prices Are Still Incredibly High Apartment rents in Manhattan and Brooklyn continue at record levels as the traditionally strong summer leasing period comes to an end. Median rents in Manhattan were unchanged in August at $4,440. Median rents in Brooklyn slipped slightly to $3,850. Nevertheless, Manhattan rents are up 7.5% over the past 12 months and Brooklyn leases cost 10% more than a year ago. As THE CITY detailed this summer, the continued rise in rents in the two boroughs despite a decline in population in both is a result of a complex series of factors including migration trends, strength in the tech and Wall Street sectors and a lack of supply due to warehousing of apartments and use of them for visitors through Airbnb. — Greg David Some other items of note: Nearly 100 windows on 45 trains were shattered between early Tuesday and Wednesday morning, officials said, forcing service on the W line to be suspended because the line did not have enough trains with windows. The service disruption extended into the Wednesday evening commute. Police said windows on trains along the N, Q, W and B, D and F lines were smashed as vandals inflicted the heaviest toll on subway train glass in more than three years. Mayor Eric Adams has made dyslexia screening a centerpiece of his education agenda, often citing his own experience as a motivation for more intensive testing. He launched a new second round of screeners for students who are struggling, to identify whether they are at risk of dyslexia. Though the efforts have, so far, only reached a fraction of students, officials say they are planning to use the screeners more widely this school year. However, multiple literacy experts said the secondary tests, which flag students at risk rather than offering a specific diagnosis, don’t reveal much beyond what the first set of tests already show. Earlier this month, the New York state Department of Health ceased reporting overall COVID-19 case numbers. As a result, we’re no longer able to include updates in our Coronavirus in New York City tracker. We’ve kept past numbers for the historical record. According to health experts consulted by THE CITY, hospitalization rates, ICU capacity and vaccination rates remain the best indicators of the current state of the pandemic — all of which are updated regularly on our tracker. Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Thursday's Weather Rating: 10/10. WE ARE SO BACK! High temperatures in the mid 70s, sunshine, low dew points (finally) and a glorious northerly breeze. This is what September should feel like. The vibes are immaculate. Things To Do Here’s what’s going on around the city this week. Friday, Sept. 15: The New York Public Library Job Expo & Fair, with career workshops in both English and Spanish. Bronx Library Center, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free. Saturday, Sept. 16: Poseidon Parade, a celebration of end-of-summer with costumes and floats. Beach 94 Street Plaza Amphitheater at Rockaway Beach in Queens, 12-2 p.m. Free. Saturday, Sept. 16: Art is Alive 2023, a multi-disciplined conference of forms from an African and African diasporic experience. Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free. THE KICKER: Although summery temps still linger, fall is just around the corner. The state’s weekly foliage forecast helps keep track of when changing leaves will be brightest. 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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