NJ doctor, trapped in Gaza, will keep treating kids

Plus: NYC's first 'Rat Summit' coming this 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.]( [NJ doctor, trapped in Gaza, says he'll treat kids hurt in explosions until he can go home]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☁️ Cloudy and breezy, highs in the mid 60s. A New Jersey doctor and pharmacist are among approximately 20 health care professionals who've been stuck at a hospital in Gaza after Israel closed the Rafah border crossing to Egypt. Dr. Adam Hamawy, who has plastic surgery offices in Princeton and Woodland Park, told Gothamist on Wednesday that he'd just [treated his youngest patient yet]( a 1-year-old with burns covering 20% to 30% of his body. Here's what else is happening: - An [unofficial graduation ceremony for student activists]( at Columbia University on Thursday will celebrate the pro-Palestinian protests that have roiled the campus for months. - NYU is requiring students it says violated school policy during its own recent protests [to complete a five- to six-page "reflection paper"]( on character, morality and ethics. - A state initiative aimed at helping homeless New Yorkers living on the streets and subways has [placed more than 450 individuals in long-term or permanent housing]( in two years, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul's office. - New York's new [$90 million tax credit]( meant to boost local news outlets is largely targeted at for-profit print publications, leaving out nonprofits and most TV broadcasters. - During yesterday's opening statements in Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial, his attorneys told jurors that Menendez did not accept a single bribe — and that instead, [his wife was secretly accepting lavish gifts]( from their friends. - Several City Council members are protesting Mayor Eric Adams' sudden firing in April of Hassan Naveed, the city's hate crimes czar, arguing that it was part of [a pattern of terminations targeting Muslim officials](. - Some East Bronx residents are fighting an ambitious rezoning plan to allow [7,500 new homes to be built near a set of Metro-North stations]( that are currently under construction. - The New York City Fire Museum has [closed indefinitely]( after an emergency evacuation Saturday due to concerns about the Spring Street building's structural safety. - Nine members of a mutual aid group were arrested in Harlem last weekend for [distributing hot meals without a permit](. - It's illegal to sell uncertified e-bike batteries in New York City, but Amazon, Target and mom-and-pop bike stores [are doing it anyway](. - It's illegal to bring non-service dogs into New York City restaurants, but [diners are doing it anyway](. - Lucy the Elephant, a 143-year-old elephant-shaped museum in the Jersey Shore town of Margate, was named [America's best roadside attraction]( by USA Today. - This is it: The MTA is releasing two more promotional MetroCards before [the switch to OMNY]( is final. - "If high inflation hurts just about everyone, [why can’t we have no inflation]( - Teaching a child how to spell and use punctuation [is hard](. - Peloton [is dying](. - Jimmy Carter [is at home eating ice cream](. [“Please ask for a cease-fire. Now I have seen with my own eyes what innocent people are suffering. Our presence instills a sense of safety, hope and relief to those who are in pain.”]( - Ghada Abukuwaik, a New Jersey pharmacist [CURRENTLY STUCK IN GAZA]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [Yalta for rats: Mayor Adams convenes first NYC 'Rat Summit' this fall]( City Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who chairs the sanitation and solid waste committee, said the summit can lead to more humanitarian methods of dealing with the rat crisis. ['It is true survival to be pregnant in New York': Ilana Glazer on comedy, motherhood in NYC]( "Broad City’s" Ilana Glazer is back on screen with a new movie, “Babes,” about two best friends in New York City. [We Rely On Your Support]( [Is that rent hike legal? These are the new rights for NYC tenants with 'good cause' in effect.]( The state's new “good cause” measure is supposed to limit dramatic rent hikes and require landlords to renew leases for rule-following residents. But the law comes with a number of carveouts and caveats that are leaving tenants with questions. [Housing development battle puts a treasured North Jersey forest at risk]( A housing trial set to start on Monday could put North Jersey’s treasured Drew Forest at risk of housing development that locals say would harm a jewel of biodiversity and important water resource. [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.