Can NYC crush the 800 abandoned boats along its shores?

Plus: Who destroyed hundreds of trees in Queens park? [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.]( [Parks Department floats new initiative to crush NYC’s abandoned, derelict boats]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☀️ Sunny, highs around 70. It's Tuesday in New York City, where about 800 abandoned boats are lining our 520 miles of shore. [Here's how the Parks Department plans to literally crush these derelict vessels]( before they pose any further threat to marine wildlife or other boaters. And here's what else is happening: - Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday that she and state legislative leaders had a handshake deal on a $237 billion budget agreement — [sort of](. - Police said they’re looking for a suspect who [slashed a man in the face]( at the 47-50 Street/Rockefeller Center subway station subway station just after midnight last night. - Prosecutors in New Jersey said [a police officer and another person were hospitalized]( — and are expected to survive — after exchanging gunfire in Montclair yesterday. - A man [accused of two separate shootings]( in Tompkins Square Park last month has been indicted on attempted murder and other charges. - Police reform advocates said they're insulted by NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban’s recent decision [not to discipline the two officers involved in the 2019 killing of Kawaski Trawick]( a Bronx man who was having a mental health crisis at his apartment. - At least eight of the 16 mental health clubhouses across New York City are [losing funding and at risk of closure]( when their city contracts expire at the end of June, even as the city looks to expand access to clubhouses overall. - City officials are moving ahead with a plan to convert a defunct newsstand outside City Hall into an e-bike battery charging hub for delivery workers — [despite protests from the local community board](. - The State Assembly is blocking a law that would allow New York City to lower its default speed limit from 25 mph to 20 mph with the goal of reducing traffic deaths — but [no lawmaker contacted by Hell Gate explained why](. - [New York City tap water is safe to drink]( according to a test based on federal standards for forever chemicals in the water supply. - New Jersey's reported earthquake aftershock count is [up to 73](. - Famed Upper East Side hot dog shop Papaya King is being bulldozed to make way for [a 17-story luxury condo tower](. - Donald Trump was allegedly [snoozing in court]( yesterday. - The artist and curators behind Israel's pavilion at the Venice Biennale are [refusing to open their exhibition]( unless "a cease-fire and hostage release agreement is reached." - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed Trump [asked him to be his running mate](. - The Jets are getting [new uniforms]( that may or may not help. National Poetry Month Spotlight Please Use all the Doors The F train hurtles in, doors slack open. Opportunity boards, pushed in at the last moment by Chance Against the urging of the conductor, They lean against the doors. In between stations, with no preamble The train slides to a halt A dapper man who reminds me of my Da, Looks up from his phone. An astonishingly beautiful young woman reads Kant, Pulls out her earbud. A dust covered construction worker wakes, We listen as an announcement grinds out some Static fortune. Opportunity leans forward and looks for a seat, While chance keeps his hands in his pockets. - Janice Sullivan, Brooklyn For National Poetry Month, we're collecting your poems on the theme of "local": the nearby places you find important, and what’s making news there. [Submit your poem here]( for a chance to have it featured in Early Addition or on WNYC. More from Gothamist [second image]( ['History makers': Crowds flood Brooklyn streets for WNBA draft]( BAM sold out its 1,000-seat capacity for this year's draft, where the Indiana Fever selected Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark as the first overall pick. [A taste of famed Copenhagen restaurant Noma comes to NYC with series of pop-ups]( The restaurant’s chef and co-owner René Redzepi is partnering with several New York City restaurants and organizations — including Superiority Burger and the Union Square farmers market — to host pop-ups with the restaurant group’s packaged goods branch, Noma Projects. [We Rely On Your Support]( [Hunt underway for vandals who destroyed hundreds of trees in Queens park]( Authorities said they were searching for vandals who uprooted nearly 300 freshly planted trees in a Queens park to make way for a DIY dirt bike track. [Bryant Park announces lineup for this summer's free Picnic Performances]( The free concert series will kick off with a two-night celebration of Puccini from New York City Opera on May 31 and June 1. [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.