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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, If a City Council bill set to be introduced today becomes law, Department of Correction officials will have to notify the public after any death in custody within 24 hours. The agency overseeing detainee medical care would also have to issue public reports with recommendations to prevent future fatalities. The push for increased transparency behind bars comes months after the Department of Correction suddenly stopped notifying the media about fatal incidents in city jails — a development first reported by THE CITY. City Councilmember Carlina Rivera (D-Manhattan), the legislation’s primary sponsor, cited THE CITY’s coverage about the lack of transparency in jail death reporting and secret medical  reviews conducted by staff at Correctional Health Services.  Eight people have died behind bars this year so far, including three at the George R. Vierno Center, one of eight jails on Rikers Island. In 2022, city lockups saw 19 deaths among approximately 6,000 detainees — the highest rate in decades.  Read more here. In other news: Four Years in Construction Homicide A construction company operator was sentenced to four years in prison on Wednesday in connection with the death of Luis Sánchez Almonte, a laborer who was crushed to death at a Brooklyn building site in 2018. In March, Kings County Supreme Court judge Danny K. Chun convicted Jiaxi “Jimmy” Liu of WSC Group of criminally negligent homicide, in addition to offenses related to workers’ compensation fraud, in a case brought by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “The death of Luis Sánchez Almonte was not an accident but a preventable disaster that was caused by disregard of safety protocols and reported signs of danger,” Gonzalez said in a statement Wednesday. “The prison term imposed today is an affirmation of these facts — and also a message that those who put their workers in jeopardy will pay a steep price when their actions result in tragedy.” — Claudia Irizarry Aponte Some other items of note: Several hundred migrants have had their time in New York City-sponsored shelters run out since Saturday — the first wave to see their time expire on 60-day notices that had warned them they must exit. The limits on shelter stays are unprecedented in the more than four decades that New York City has agreed to a right to homeless shelter for anyone who seeks it, without a clock. In the coming days, thousands more migrants will have their time in shelter run out. All told, 13,500 migrants have received 60-day notices, city officials said Wednesday, a number that covers nearly all of the adults without children who have been staying in city shelters. Migrants are now limited to 30-day stints as part of a new city policy that went into effect last week and was first reported by THE CITY. Some migrants say they are applying for new stays, while others are reconsidering their decisions to settle in NYC. In early June, an unprecedented orange haze of wildfire smoke choked New York and caught city officials off guard. At the time, Mayor Eric Adams said there was “no blueprint or playbook for these types of issues.” With climate change making the conditions for wildfires more severe and more frequent, there’s a push to prepare that playbook. Councilmember Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn) will introduce three bills on Thursday that detail steps the city would have to take to prepare for and address emergency periods of poor outdoor air quality, including declaring an official air quality emergency when the air quality index — a measure of multiple air pollutants — is forecast to hit at least 150. Siblings of Sary Mao, a Khmer-speaking Cambodian refugee whose body went undiscovered in a staircase for five days after she died of a heart attack last month following a visit to Montefiore’s Family Health Center in The Bronx, grieved for their sister outside the center on Wednesday. The door to the stairwell where Mao was finally found had been marked “emergency exit” but only in English, even though many of the clinic’s patients speak little or no English.  Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Thursday’s Weather Rating: 5/10. Not a bad start, with high temps in the mid 60s and some sunshine. Clouds increase as the day goes on, and so does the humidity with showers possible tonight. The vibes are…alright. Things To Do Here’s what’s going on around the city this week. Thursday, Sept. 28: The opening of Bronx Zoo Pumpkin Nights, a family-friendly event that features jack o’ lantern trails, treats, games and more. Thursdays-Sundays through Oct. 29, 6-10 p.m. Children under 2 enter free; children 2+ $25; adults $35. Friday, Sept. 29: Kameron Neal's Down The Barrel (Of A Lens), a large-scale video installation with charged imagery from the NYPD’s declassified surveillance film collections. Clark Studio Theater at Lincoln Center, noon to 10 p.m. (Limited additional dates through Oct. 3.) Free.  Saturday, Sept. 30: The Soul of Food: Afro-Indigenous Traditions of Harvesting, with discussions followed by harvesting and cooking. Clifton Place Memorial Garden, Brooklyn. 1 to 3:30 p.m. Free with registration. THE KICKER: The Jay-Z exhibition at the Brooklyn Public Library is being extended despite some criticism, reports Gothamist. 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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