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Dear New Yorkers,

And now some news about the conclusion of a long-running investigation …

A group of city sheriffs had a “man cave” of liquor that they stocked with bottles, booze and other booty confiscated from bars and clubs during the COVID pandemic, city investigators found.

The sheriffs, who all worked for the city’s Department of Finance, brought the drinks, including some high-end bottles, into a secret shed inside a storage area in Long Island City, according to the Department of Investigation probe named “Booze Patrol.”

According to the DOI report, photographs from inside the shed show bottles of alcohol in a file cabinet; hookah and hookah accessories inside a cooler and the file cabinet; and beer, wine, soda, seltzer, and snacks inside a refrigerator.

The alcohol skimmers were busted a year ago, but scant details were revealed until THE CITY obtained the investigative file in a Freedom of Information request.

They have all escaped criminal charges.

Read more about the “man cave,” the DOI investigation, and the fallout here.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Friday's Weather Rating: 10/10. YOU'RE NOT DREAMING! High temperatures in the mid 70s, sunny skies, low dew points, no chance of rain — on a Friday. That's it, no notes. The vibes are immaculate today!

Our Other Top Stories

No dice? The resort operator Bally’s wants to build a 3.1 million-square-foot casino complex within Ferry Point Park in Throggs Neck — where it already operates the city-owned golf course. But the odds are looking iffy, since the project still lacks critical support from local lawmakers as the legislative session winds down in Albany. Speaking of Albany, a little-known state Senate committee apparently helps determine the fate of hundreds of bills at the end of each legislative session, reports New York Focus. The committee is almost entirely unknown to the public: “Its existence is never acknowledged,” said a person with direct knowledge of Senate Democrats’ operations. You also may have heard: A Queens man was convicted of 34 felony counts yesterday in a Lower Manhattan courtroom. A jury of 12 New Yorkers found former President Donald J. Trump, Florida resident and native of Jamaica Estates, guilty on all counts brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The hush-money case drew the attention of the nation, brought crowds to Centre Street for weeks and employed locals to get paid to wait in line. What happens now? Probation processing, a very likely appeal and possibly some jail time. Sentencing is set for July 11 at 10 a.m., four days before the Republican National Convention.

Reporter’s Notebook

MTA Gets $156M for Uptown Access

Five subway stations in The Bronx and Harlem will undergo federally funded overhauls to make them fully accessible to people with disabilities, officials announced this week.

The Bronx stops at Wakefield-241st Streeet (No. 2), Kingsbridge Avenue (No. 4) and 167th Street (B/D), and Harlem stations at 110th (No. 6) and 145th Street (A/B/C/D) are part of a $156 million federal funding package that will bring more subway stations into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 through the addition of elevators.

They join 60-plus subway stations across the boroughs where accessibility projects are already underway or planned as part of the MTA’s current five-year capital program, a more than $50 billion spending plan to maintain and expand the transit system.

In April 2023, a federal judge signed off a 2021 court settlement in which the MTA agreed to install elevators or wheelchair ramps at 95% of all subway and Staten Island Railway stations by 2055.

“Everybody is going to become a person who needs accessibility eventually and we need to prioritize it,” said MTA Chairperson and CEO Janno Lieber, citing how ADA work is being completed “at five times the pace of prior MTAs.”

— Jose Martinez

City’s Better Financial Picture

With 31 days until Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council must agree on a budget, a new  analysis says the city fiscal house is in order because revenues have exceeded estimates and the administration’s cost-cutting efforts have worked.

A report from state comptroller Tom DiNapoli released Thursday says the city will end the current fiscal year on June 30 with nearly $4 billion in extra money, which will be used to balance the 2025 budget that begins July 1 and restore many of the cuts the mayor proposed in November but has since been abandoning.

In addition, the mayor’s “Program to Eliminate the Gap” savings effort has reduced spending by 5%, according to DiNapoli, much less than the target 14% but still substantial.

As always from fiscal monitors there are caveats, including potential budget gaps totaling a whopping $42 billion over the first three years for whomever wins the 2025 mayoral election.

— Greg David

Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Friday, May 31: The 10th anniversary of Teens Take The Met!, featuring teen-only art-making activities, music and more. Free (middle school or high school ID required) from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Met Fifth Avenue. Saturday, June 1: The first day of Milk & Honey Month, which celebrates pollinators and dairy makers with activities including scavenger hunts, stories and milk-and-cookie hour. Free and fee-based programming runs through June 30 at the Queens County Farm Museum. Sunday, June 2: Drums Along the Hudson, a multicultural drumming celebration featuring dancers, food, arts and crafts, and more. Free from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan.

THE KICKER: Come election days in June and November, it will no longer be illegal to hand out water and snacks to people waiting in line to vote in New York after a federal judge reversed a century-old ban, reports Gothamist.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Friday.

Love,

THE CITY

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