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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, Michael Mazzio, a tow truck company owner now under indictment for bribery, asked members of Mayor Eric Adams’ inner circle to end a rival towing company’s exclusive rights to haul vehicles from city highways, court documents allege. Mazzio’s company had once held those rights. To get them back, according to an indictment filed earlier this month by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Mazzio steered bribes to Eric Ulrich, a top adviser to Adams, and argued that the city needed to terminate lucrative agreements it had with his competitor, Runway Towing.  Records obtained by THE CITY show Mazzio helped raise $140,000 for Adams’ 2021 mayoral election campaign. City Hall eventually denied the rival tow truck company’s permit renewal — bucking a judge’s earlier order that said a cancellation was “too harsh.” Read more here. In other news: From Prison to Affordable Housing in Chelsea The state is seeking affordable housing proposals for the former Bayview Correctional Facility in Chelsea. As THE CITY first reported last year, Empire State Development Corp. signaled the new direction for the former state prison as part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Penn Station redevelopment scheme, a plan that has since been put on pause. The new solicitation calls for a minimum 60 supportive housing units as well as 15 short-term transitional residences. “The issuance of this RFP reflects ESD’s commitment to redevelop this Site for community needs, regardless of the Penn Station Area General Project Plan timeline,” the state’s notice reads. The facility has been closed since 2012 after flooding from Hurricane Sandy. Hochul similarly issued an affordable housing solicitation consisting of affordable housing for the defunct Lincoln Correctional Facility in Harlem that faces Central Park, which is currently being used to house migrants, as well as for a state-owned site near the Javits Center. ”We’ve been working with the state on the Bayview RFP for the past several months, and it’s of great relief that this is live and that we can get this work going,” said Jeffrey LeFrancois, chair of Manhattan’s Community Board 4.  — Gabriel Poblete Some other items of note: “North Brooklyn” — DUMBO, the Navy Yard, Bushwick and Bed-Stuy — has become a thriving economic hub in the city. Before the pandemic, the area saw the highest rates of small business formation in NYC according to a study released in May. And those neighborhoods also showed the highest growth in new small firms as the city recovered. Their success may point to possible paths for further economic growth outside Manhattan. The Adams administration is set to issue an emergency decree to allow people to use city-funded housing vouchers anywhere in the state — in an effort to open up more housing opportunities for low-income residents in the five boroughs, officials said Tuesday. The move is intended to ease the burden on city homeless shelters, which have been flooded by more than 100,000 asylum seekers in the past year.  “We don’t need to live this way.” City Planning Commission Director Daniel Garodnick joins the FAQ NYC podcast to make the case for a rezoning plan intended to reshape the city and set the conditions for developers to build a projected 100,000 new units over 15 years.   Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Wednesday’s Weather Rating: 8/10. SUNSHINE! High temperatures reach the upper 60s (a little chilly?) with a nice breeze. Most importantly, it’s finally not raining all day. The vibes are pretty dang good! Things To Do Here’s what’s going on around the city this week. Thursday, Sept. 26: 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: It’s like a West Indian Waffle House: A Caribbean American restaurant in Bushwick now serves midnight brunch, reports BK Reader. Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Wednesday. Love, THE CITY P.S. Love THE CITY? Our nonprofit newsroom runs on support from readers like you. Donate here.

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