Struggling to keep the power on as heat wave hits NY

Plus: MTA accused of cutting bus service after congestion pricing pause [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.]( [Report: As heat wave hits NYC, most low-income New Yorkers struggle to keep the power on]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ⛅ Partly sunny, highs in the upper 80s. It's Thursday in New York City, where nearly two-thirds of low-income New Yorkers are falling behind on their utility bills, according to a new analysis from the Robin Hood Foundation. Here are the risks these households face [as the already-hot city heads into August]( when temperatures — and utility costs — typically peak. And here's what else is happening: - City Councilmember Lincoln Restler of Brooklyn said he [plans to introduce a bill today]( that would require landlords to provide tenants with air-conditioning during the summer. - Police said they shot a 24-year-old Bronx man in the arm Wednesday night after he refused to drop a weapon, [but the man was not critically injured](. - City Councilmember Susan Zhuang, also of Brooklyn, was arrested yesterday [for allegedly biting a police officer]( during a protest against a Bensonurst homeless shelter, the NYPD said. - Mayor Eric Adams said yesterday that subway stations will soon get gun-detecting scanners equipped with AI. The announcement comes as NYPD data shows [subway crime has fallen]( below pre-pandemic levels. - A new lawsuit accused the MTA of [quietly cutting bus service]( in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan by 10% due to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s pause of congestion pricing. - For all of Gothamist's transit coverage, plus answers to commuter questions, [subscribe to our free On The Way newsletter](. - Domestic violence survivors fleeing their abusers are increasingly [bouncing from city shelter to city shelter]( with dwindling chances of finding permanent housing, according to a new report. - A judge yesterday temporarily blocked a law that would limit how much income New York state lawmakers can make outside government work, [dealing a win to Republicans]( who are trying to strike it down. - City officials said a pedicab driver has [pleaded guilty]( for attempting to bribe his way into getting the proper registration plates outside of the traditional lottery system. - President Joe Biden [has COVID](. - Hell Gate determined that the Brooklyn Democratic Party this year used campaign funds to [influence at least seven intra-party primary races for local district leaders]( promoting establishment-backed candidates over reform-minded challengers. - Meet the art restoration summer interns working for the Parks Department to [touch up the city's 800 public sculptures](. - NBC reports that convicted Sen. Bob Menendez told allies [he'll resign](. - Menendez himself told CBS [he won't resign]( adding that he hasn't "spoken to any so called allies." - It was a good 57-year run for Neary's, an Irish pub on East 57th Street that's [being sold by the Neary family]( to a restaurateur who plans to replace it with "a more modern Irish-themed restaurant." - The city's first official disc golf course [has opened at Highland Park]( in Cypress Hills. - "Apex was born in America and is going to stay in America": Thank you billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin for outbidding the foreign players and purchasing [this Stegosaurus skeleton]( at auction for $44.6 million. [“I agree to help homeless people, but we cannot put 150 single men with mental illness next to our elementary schools. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of this issue.”]( - Councilmember Susan Zhuang, the day before [BEING ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY BITING AN NYPD OFFICER AT A PROTEST OUTSIDE A PROPOSED HOMELESS SHELTER]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [Family and friends remember Eric Garner on the 10th anniversary on his death]( On Wednesday morning, Eric Garner’s mother, daughter and cousin marched to the beauty supply store on Bay Street in Staten Island where he was killed by police exactly 10 years earlier. [NYC to Boston in 100 minutes: a high-speed train proposal picks up steam]( Planners have pitched similar plans for decades, but this new proposal may carry more weight because it has the backing of labor unions who see the concept as a job creator for the entire Northeast. [We Rely On Your Support]( [Will Sen. Menendez's conviction do anything to curb corrupt NJ politics?]( "In some ways it's symbolic of the sort of revolution from beneath that's taken place in New Jersey politics. The opposition to the nomination of Tammy Murphy, the legal problems of George Norcross, all seem like part of a larger movement that I think will reshape the politics of New Jersey for years to come," said Rutgers political scientist Ross Baker. [How an NJ mayor wants to make sure cities, poor towns build affordable housing]( Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali said he's preparing to challenge several aspects of New Jersey affordable housing law in federal court, including recent amendments that will affect how much housing towns must build over the next 10 years. [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.