NJ party bosses pick late Rep. Pascrell’s replacement on ticket

Plus: What we learned at NYC's Rat Academy [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 party bosses pick Rep. Pascrell’s replacement on Democratic ticket]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☁️ Cloudy and humid, with highs in the mid 70s. It's Friday, and Democratic leaders in New Jersey have just selected a replacement for the late Rep. Bill Pascrell on November's ballot. Here's how the closed-door process to nominate state Sen. Nellie Pou — a popular choice who's likely to become New Jersey's first Latina to serve in the House of Representatives — has nonetheless [renewed criticism of the way party bosses operate](. And here's what else is happening: - Leaving town this weekend? [Consider hitting the road after 7 p.m.]( if you want to avoid nightmarish traffic. - City workers have finally dismantled a Kips Bay sidewalk shed that had been up for 15 years, but [400 miles of city sidewalks remain covered by scaffolding](. - Police this morning are searching for a man who [allegedly kidnapped a 9-year-old girl]( from a Queens supermarket and sexually assaulted her. - The MTA has now installed metal platform barriers at 10 subway stations in an effort to [prevent fatal slips and shoves onto the tracks](. - New York is rolling out a new pilot program that uses Medicaid funding to help low-income residents [access resources including housing, food and transportation](. - A former NYPD officer who claims he was fired after [ticketing a city employee for illegal parking]( is suing the police department. - Five sea turtles that were hospitalized after being [trapped in a fire at a New Jersey zoo]( are now recovering at a facility on Long Island. - East Harlem residents say they want the Second Avenue subway to extend to their neighborhood — they just [don't all support but the congestion pricing program]( that could pay for it. - It's not just rat-infested dining sheds — even unpermitted little two-tops outside city restaurants are [getting shut down by inspectors](. - The Mets-Willets Point 7 train station right next to the U.S. Open [is still not wheelchair-accessible]( nearly a decade after the MTA pledged to install elevators. - Police this week successfully [freed a kitten]( that had been trapped in a Staten Island storm drain. - The mood was sour at the Nvidia quarterly earnings watch party [at this bar in Chelsea](. - Here's how Bradley Beach, a Jersey Shore town just south of Asbury Park, [became known as "Chinatown by the Sea"]( back in the 1940s. - The World Health Organization [is warning]( about a drop in condom use among young people. - Kamala Harris' ultrawealthy donors are urging her to [scrap her plan to tax the ultrawealthy](. - Today, Explained got to the bottom of why so many TikTokkers are pointing out that [a minion didn't die for your sins, but Jesus did](. - King Charles revealed last week that [he's feeling "not too bad"]( amid his cancer treatments — so why hasn't he [knighted]( Gary Oldman yet? “The scaffolding is innocent of all charges. The buildings are not being taken seriously by the management companies.” - Architect Jorge Fontan, who specializes in façade work and inspections, on how [NEGLECTED CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS KEEP SCAFFOLDING UP FOR YEARS]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [NYC's West Indian Day Parade 2024: What you need to know]( More than a million people are expected to converge on Brooklyn's Eastern Parkway starting at 11 a.m. on Monday for the annual West Indian Day Parade, the culmination of a week of events celebrating Caribbean culture, music and history. [13 completely free things to do in NYC this September]( Add the Harlem Opera Festival, House of Yes block party, drawing classes at the Brighton Beach Library and more to your September calendar. [We Rely On Your Support]( [NY House candidates clamor for credit — or blame — in congestion pricing fight]( Congressional candidates from both parties are claiming victory over Gov. Kathy Hochul's indefinite pause of the congestion pricing program. [I went to NYC’s Rat Academy. Here’s what I learned.]( People who attend a two-hour Rat Academy session, participate in a city rat mitigation event and attend a "rat walk" hosted by the city’s rat czar will become official members of the "New York City Rat Pack," billed as an "elite squad of dedicated anti-rat activists." [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.