Several rescued on NYC highways from flash flooding

Plus: More NYers are using doulas, but disparities persist [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.]( [Several rescued on NYC highways from flash flooding, officials say]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☁️ Cloudy, with early possible early showers and highs in the lower 70s. It's Wednesday in New York City, where first responders last night had to rescue six people trapped on a flooded highway in Queens, plus additional car passengers on the Henry Hudson Hudson Parkway and Major Deegan Expressway. Meteorologists said [more rainfall is expected later this week]( as the remnants of Hurricane Debby move through the New York metro area. Here's what else is happening: - Mayor Eric Adams' administration sent drones equipped with loudspeakers to nearly a dozen flood-prone neighborhoods yesterday [to warn of heavy rain](. - New York City paid troubled migrant shelter contractor DocGo almost $1.7 million for the equivalent of [nearly 10,000 nights of unused hotel rooms]( according to a new audit from Comptroller Brad Lander. - Amtrak’s 114-year-old East River tunnels are slated to undergo years of repairs starting this fall — and experts warn [the work could spell big trouble for commuters](. - How much contraband did the NYPD find when officers temporarily booted 3,000 people from the Randall's Island migrant shelter for a surprise search? [None, according to police](. - A 75-year-old Queens man was convicted yesterday on federal charges of [spying for the Chinese government]( while posing as a pro-democracy dissident. - Lincoln Place between New York and Nostrand Avenues in Crown Heights has once again been crowned [the "greenest block" in Brooklyn](. - New York is unlikely to meet its goal of getting 70% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030 — but the state is [on track to exceed]( its solar energy targets. - Gov. Kathy Hochul yesterday justified her indefinite congestion pricing pause by explaining that the toll would've hurt those pizza delivery drivers who [transport pizzas from outside the congestion zone into the congestion zone](. - Scrap metal thieves are [stealing commemoratives plaques from local cemeteries](. - The pro bull riding tour is [coming to the Barclays Center]( this weekend. - The 36-year-old Brooklyn man who bought the domain HarrisWalz.com back in 2020 [has just cashed in](. - Wishing the best for Afghan break dancer Manizha Talash, [who fled Taliban rule]( resettled in Spain and is now competing in Paris as part of the Refugee Olympic Team. - "You wake up in somebody’s bed and just decide to keep living with them": Here's how the Icelandic approach to relationships, [known as "sex before coffee,"]( seems to work out for people. [“The fact that they didn't find anything shows that the scope of the operation may have been an overreaction to a problem that doesn't exist.”]( - Josh Goldfein, A Legal Aid Society staff attorney, on [THE NYPD RAID AT THE RANDALL'S ISLAND MIGRANT SHELTER]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [More pregnant New Yorkers are using doulas, but racial, geographic disparities persist]( While most participants in a city-funded program known as the Citywide Doula Initiative identify as Black, overall access to doulas is still far higher among white New Yorkers than other racial groups. [He was 'Officer Champagne' at Rikers. 24 women accuse him of sexual assault in jail.]( A new Gothamist investigation has found at least 20 jail staffers’ names repeated across multiple lawsuits, suggesting that Rikers Island had several serial sex abusers on its payroll. [We Rely On Your Support]( [An off-Broadway play satirizes the real-life relationship of lawyers Cellino and Barnes]( Most New Yorkers who know Cellino & Barnes know the personal injury firm from its subway posters, billboards, bus bench ads — and of course its distinctive jingle, 1-800-888-8888. Now, the story of the two infamous attorneys is back on stage. [90-year-old Brooklyn man alleging deed theft could face eviction this week]( Ray Cortez, who purchased his St. Mark's Place three-story rowhouse in 1969 for around $20,000, could face eviction this week — unless an appeals court intervenes and allows him to prove he’s the rightful owner after he relinquished the property deed to alleged fraudsters more than a decade ago. [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.