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Dear New Yorkers, What grows up to a dozen feet long in a few months, absorbs carbon and heavy metals and might just thrive in the toxic waterways of New York City? Meet the sugar kelp starting to be farmed around the city’s creeks and rivers. It’s not destined for dinner plates. This algae agriculture is an effort to study how the organism could help clean up the water and mitigate climate change. One of the places it’s being grown: Newtown Creek, an EPA “Superfund” site known for raw sewage and centuries of industrial waste. “Even in these conditions, we're seeing growth everywhere,” Shanjana Mahmud, a volunteer with the Newtown Creek Alliance, told THE CITY. Read more here. Some other items of note: Public schools are closing, volunteer fire departments are struggling and housing costs remain sky-high as Hudson Valley towns cope with the ongoing pandemic-era influx of New York City second-homers. The part-timers, locals say, don’t participate in municipal life the same way as permanent residents. “Neighborhoods aren’t neighborhoods when it feels like 60% of the houses on my block are empty during the week,” a Woodstock native told THE CITY. A group of law professors have filed ethics complaints alleging prosecutorial misconduct by four Queens prosecutors who are still on the job after Appeals Court judges found they had discriminated against potential jurors of color. Four of the six complaints involved “peremptory challenges” against prospective jurors who were Black. The two other complaints involved the removal of Muslim and Hispanic people in jury selection. Alvin Bragg’s bid to take down Donald Trump, the New York Police Department’s disdain for the Civilian Complaint Review Board and much more gets discussed on the latest episode of THE CITY’s FAQ NYC podcast.  We’re just getting started covering the 2023 City Council elections (Primary Day is June 27!) and we want to make our reporting better with your help. What are your questions about voting, your ballot or local campaigns? Text “Election” to THE CITY’s team at (718) 215-9011 to get answers, or email us at ask@thecity.nyc with “Election” in the subject line. Does your “For You Page” need more local news? Follow THE CITY’s new account on TikTok and see our stories as you scroll. See how New York City is doing with our newsroom’s economic recovery tracker. For the latest local numbers on COVID-19 vaccinations, testing rates and more, check our coronavirus tracker. Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Wednesday’s Weather Rating: 7/10. Partly cloudy skies to start the day, with high temperatures once again approaching 60° F. Clouds increase late with some showers tonight, but most of the day ends up quite nice. The vibes are pretty good!   THE KICKER: The United States struck out last night in the World Baseball Classic final last night in Miami. But congratulations to Japan for their win — the third in the tournament's history. Get ‘em next time, USA ... in three years. Shoutout to our hometown players — Kyle Higashioka, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Adam Ottavino — and local-legend coaches, Andy Pettitte and Dave Righetti. Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Wednesday. Love, THE CITY P.S. If you liked something about today's newsletter, or didn't, let us know at zshah@thecity.nyc And thank you to a reader who pointed out to us yesterday that there is a better way to describe people who use wheelchairs; the Tuesday Scoop included an outdated term.  THE CITY's work is made possible, in part, through the support of our sponsors. Interested in becoming a sponsor of THE CITY? Contact us here.

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