Rent in NYC is really high; 2nd NJ councilmember shot dead in a week; the search for the missing owl and more

We are supported by our readers. Consider donating to fund the local reporting you rely on. [View in Browser]( Thursday February 9, 2023 [Donate now]( ADVERTISEMENT [Rent in NYC is really high]( [A picture of apartment buildings in New York City.]( [And it's getting higher.]( ADVERTISEMENT More Stories From Today [A photo of the Red Hook shelter.]( [Migrant’s suicide attempt revives fears of conditions at Red Hook shelter]( [More than 500 men are staying at the new facility, which has been open for a week.]( [New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals nominee, Hector D. LaSalle, gives testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee in Albany.]( [GOP sues to force full vote on Hector LaSalle for NY chief judge]( [Gov. Kathy Hochul’s nomination for chief judge has been tied up in a stalemate for three weeks.]( [A brother sister sit on their enclosed porched.]( [‘It’s like a public dump.’ How the remains of formerly enslaved people came to rest beneath a Staten Island strip mall]( [Benjamin Prine's descendants didn’t know about their family ties – or their connection to his enslaver.]( [88-year-old Ray Cortez stands in front of the window of the Brooklyn townhouse he's called home for more than 50 years.]( [88-year-old Brooklynite faces eviction from his own home in alleged fraud case]( [Ray Cortez bought his townhouse more than 50 years ago. Now he’s facing eviction in what his lawyers say is a case of deed theft.]( [Then-Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams points at a sign reading "rat reproduction rate" while delivering a speech.]( [Mayor Adams blames rat infestation at his Brooklyn home on neighbor]( ["The entire block is infested," Adams said during the hearing on summonses for a “rat runway” at his Bed-Stuy home.]( [An owl perched in a tree.]( [Inside Central Park Zoo’s effort to recapture Flaco the missing owl: dead rats, nets and long nights]( [Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl, has been on the loose for a week. The rescue operation takes on a growing urgency with each night.]( [Russ Heller was shot and killed Wednesday outside of PSE&G, where he worked, authorities say.]( [2nd NJ councilmember shot dead in a week. Authorities say it's an isolated incident.]( [Russell Heller, 51, was fatally shot in the parking lot of a PSE&G facility where he worked.]( [a "Messiah is here" sticker on a crosswalk sign]( [Extra Extra: Lots of luck in your senior year to you, too?]( [Because nobody really knows what Joe Biden meant there, here are your end-of-day links: YIMBY happy hour, a very big cruise ship is about to pollute the waters of Red Hook, it's big spoon season and more.]( ADVERTISEMENT [Support Us]( Follow Gothamist on [Gothamist on Facebook]( [Gothamist on Twitter]( NYPR Network [WNYC]( [Gothamist]( [WNYC Studios]( [NJPR]( [WQXR]( [New Sounds]( Copyright © New York Public Radio, 160 Varick St., New York, NY 10013. All rights reserved. [Terms of Use]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe]( from this list.