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Thursday, November 20, 2025

Today's SCOOP is brought to you by our members.

Dear New Yorkers,

Barely more than a year ago, Eleni Polinski was riding high.

Following passage of the state’s 2021 cannabis reform law, she was sure that her “Godmother’s Garden” brand would be embraced by the coming legal market.

Meanwhile, Godmother’s Garden was winning awards, support from state officials and raves from fans like basketball’s Carmelo Anthony.

Last October, everything crashed. Swarms of cops and firefighters raided her Brooklyn home, walked off with her carefully cultivated plants and charged her, her partner and her 64-year-old mother with multiple felonies.

The three have no doubt who was behind it. Eleni’s uncle was a former high-ranking federal narcotics agent. In a call with one of his daughters, he said bluntly, “They are drug traffickers.”

THE CITY has reviewed hours of surveillance footage of the raid from the home’s Ring camera system, as well as contemporaneous audio recordings and text messages. Coupled with police records and extensive interviews, they paint a picture not only of a questionable raid, but of how a family was shattered by it.

Read about it here.

Weather ⛅

Mostly sunny, with a high near 48.

MTA 🚇

In Brooklyn, there will be no B train service between Kings Hwy and Brighton Beach from 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.

Alternate side parking 🚙

It’s in effect today, Nov. 20.

By the way…

Here’s how each neighborhood voted on the three controversial housing ballot proposals.

Our Other Top Stories

Federal agents dressed in tactical gear raided an East Elmhurst apartment early last Thursday in search of someone who hadn’t lived there for years. A video shared with THE CITY captures the moment they burst into the Queens home occupied by a 33-year-old woman who lives with her four children. The mother, who immigrated from Mexico as a teenager and is legally shielded from deportation, described the terror of having assault weapons pointed at her and her kids. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch is staying on the job once Zohran Mamdani takes over as mayor. Tisch, who was appointed commissioner by Mayor Eric Adams last November, will be a holdover despite some public-safety positions that differ sharply from her boss-to-be. The developers that had been slated to build affordable housing on the Manhattan lot that houses the Elizabeth Street Garden filed a lawsuit in state court Wednesday to challenge the city’s sudden designation of the property as parkland.

Things To Do

Here are some free and low-cost things to do around the city this week.

Thursday, Nov. 20: 30+ downtown art spaces will be staying open late until 8 p.m. for a Downtown Autumn Art Night. Check them out for free.  Friday, Nov. 21: Join the Urban Park Rangers for guided observations of the sky through telescopes and binoculars at Forest Hill Road and Alaska Place. Free, from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21 - Sunday, Nov. 23: Visit Adult Swim’s “Smiling Friends” installation at the Empire Fulton Ferry Lawn in Brooklyn. Free, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

THE KICKER: A recent report by city comptroller Brad Lander found that in 78% of areas near last mile package distribution facilities (18 have opened since 2017) there have been double-digit-percent increases in injury-causing traffic crashes. Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Thursday.

Love,

THE CITY

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