NYC's racial equity watchdog wants your input

Plus: 5 things we want to learn in Monday's NJ Senate debate [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.]( [New voter-approved NYC racial equity watchdog wants your input]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ⛅ Partly sunny, highs around 70. It's Monday in New York City, where a new commission is proposing free tuition at most CUNY colleges, turning jails into "rehabilitation centers" and providing more financial and legal support to families facing eviction. These are among the 16 preliminary goals announced today by the Commission on Racial Equity, a watchdog group that was approved by voters in a 2022 citywide ballot measure. [Here's what the group hopes to accomplish](. And here's what else is happening: - The three Democratic candidates for New Jersey’s open U.S. Senate seat face off in a debate tonight moderated by WNYC "Morning Edition" host Michael Hill. [Here are five things we want to learn from the debate]( which will stream live on WNYC.org at 6 p.m. - Indicted New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez's [corruption trial]( begins today in Manhattan. - The NYPD said [officers shot and killed a 33-year-old man]( in East Flatbush early Sunday after he was spotted pointing a gun at another man on the street. - The Department of Transportation said it hopes to add 500 new secure bike parking facilities to New York City streets over the next five years as part of an effort to [encourage cycling and reduce bike theft](. - Lawmakers in New Jersey appear to be [moving ahead with a deeply unpopular bill]( that would make it more difficult for the public and the press to access government records. - A Nassau County Supreme Court judge last Friday struck down the county's [ban on transgender women and girls playing sports]( at county-run facilities. - New York City will pay $1.6 million to settle a lawsuit from a former Rikers Island detainee who [was forced to perform oral sex]( on a physical therapist at the jail. (The physical therapist pleaded guilty to a felony sexual assault charge and was sentenced to two years of outpatient mental health counseling.) - The settlement comes after more than 700 former Rikers Island detainees, mostly women, filed lawsuits under New York's Adult Survivors Act [accusing jail employees of sexual assault](. - The show dogs have [arrived for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show](. - 3 Dollar Bill, a popular queer bar in Williamsburg, last week canceled its Eurovision watch party after protests over the song contest's inclusion of an Israeli contestant — [but then reinstated the watch party]( after counterprotestors said the boycott was antisemitic. - Either way, congrats to Swiss artist Nemo for winning Eurovision [with this nonbinary anthem](. - Everyone's mooning each other through the NYC-to-Dublin [live video portal](. - A new study (done on mice) suggests that the brain does not drain its toxins [while you sleep](. - "The Jersey Shore's" Vinny is [still single]( and a little frustrated. - Go ahead, [throw some pickles]( in your Dr. Pepper. [“Do you think that because they are from New Jersey, they are more likely to break the law?”]( - A proposed question filed with the federal court in Manhattan to be asked of [POTENTIAL JURORS IN SEN. BOB MENENDEZ'S CORRUPTION TRIAL]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [Fast food bags, foliage and more: MTA officers arrest 19 in latest ‘ghost car’ crackdown]( The NYPD last week arrested 19 people and doled out 100 summonses in one day as part of a joint operation with other law enforcement and transportation agencies to curb the number of drivers evading tolls and other fines by using cars with fake or obscured license plates — known as “ghost cars” — around the city. [As NY Knicks fight through playoffs, fans test the magic of their gameday rituals]( Tim Ullio, a 31-year-old bartender at a Midtown bar popular with Knicks fans, has followed the team his entire life. Only now does he have a lucky towel. [We Rely On Your Support]( [She sold over $1M in clothes on Depop. Her next act? Opening a store in NYC.]( Bella McFadden, who earned a following online as a vintage reseller with an eye for Y2K style that Vogue once described as “red-hot mallrat fashion," has opened iGirl, a tiny storefront on Third Street near Avenue A. [This NYC artist will help you with anything (except sex) for free]( For the past month, Bianca Giaever, an artist and filmmaker, has been roaming New York City, wearing a firetruck red jumpsuit and an enormous sandwich board that reads “FREE HELP.” [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.