Here's what NYers need to know about Monday's eclipse

Plus: Mayor Adams’ homeless encampment sweeps reached new high last fall [View this email in a browser.]( Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( [Here's what New Yorkers need to know about Monday's eclipse]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☀️🌒 Mostly sunny (until it's not), with highs in the lower 60s. It's Monday in New York City, where the moon will begin covering the sun at 2:10 p.m.; about 90% of the sun will be covered by 3:25 p.m.; and it'll all be over at 4:36 p.m. [Here's how to safely enjoy this event that won't come again until 2045](. And here's what else is happening: - Towns in upstate New York that [fall within the path of total darkness]( for today's eclipse are preparing for hordes of spectators unlike anything they’ve experienced in recent memory. - The state Assembly returned to Albany on Sunday to approve a temporary budget extender through April 11, allowing lawmakers to [make it home to their districts in time for the eclipse](. - New York City said it'll [save 2,500 miles of receipt paper each year]( by switching to a fully digital parking meter system. - Mayor Eric Adams' administration carried out 500 monthly police-involved sweeps of homeless encampments last year, [new data analyzed by Gothamist shows](. - MTA CEO Janno Lieber said he's confident congestion pricing tolls will go into effect in June as scheduled, [despite a recent New Jersey lawsuit]( that could temporarily halt the program. - Are there any environmental hazards near your New York City home? The Adams administration released [an online map that'll show you](. - NYPD officers [tackled and handcuffed two violence interruptors]( during an incident in Crown Heights back in February, exposing a rift between rank-and-file police and the organizations hired by the city to help deescalate potentially violent situations. - The Brooklyn Tower [is in foreclosure]( after selling only 18 of its 148 luxury condos. - A [massive cargo ship lost power]( and had to be halted right before it reached the Verrazzano Bridge last Friday. - The Port Authority is planning a two-year, $430 million renovation of the PATH train — which is the [5th busiest mass transit network in the country](. - Here's a list of the fast food chains offering free, discounted or special edition [products for the eclipse](. - Movie theaters, which have struggled to fully recover from the pandemic, have a unique advantage: [Their layouts are so weird]( that landlords would rather cut their rent than try to renovate them and turn them into banks. - Someone in Oregon bought [the $1.3 billion Powerball ticket](. - Melania Trump will end her campaign trail hiatus on 4/20 to host [a fundraiser with LGBTQ+ Republicans at Mar-a-Lago](. - Have some time for a game? [Play]( our mini local news crossword. - Sign up for reminders when we publish new games [here](. [“State police are expecting backups all along the [New York State] Thruway and Route 81, probably from the Canadian border to far south of Syracuse. So, you know, this could end up just becoming a big parking lot up here in northern New York.”]( - Watertown, NY Police Chief Charles Donoghue on [TODAY'S ECLIPSE MANIA]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [How earthquake-proof are NYC’s high-rises and new buildings?]( The city’s building codes were amended in 1995 to ensure that new construction or any significant upgrades are designed to make buildings earthquake-resistant and minimize the probability of collapse, which is the biggest cause of death during temblors. [Move over Washington — Cory Booker says NJ's cherry blossoms are a 'magical land of wonder']( The Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival, an annual two-weekend spectacle of the changing seasons that brings thousands of bloom enthusiasts to Newark, New Jersey, kicked off on Saturday. [We Rely On Your Support]( [Court ruling paves way for third-party cannabis companies to compete in NY]( Just as sites like DoorDash and Seamless have taken over food delivery in New York, third-party cannabis companies could soon become the go-to source for legal weed purchases. [Rise in fare evasion could hit New Yorkers' wallets, report warns]( The Citizens Budget Commission said the MTA likely lost more than $700 million to people who skipped transit fares or evaded tolls at bridges and tunnels in 2023, marking a financial hit equivalent "to the amount of funding that would be raised through two rounds of fare hikes." [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.