AOC, Queens BP join food vendors rally against Corona Plaza sweep

Also, nurses strike possible at NJ hospital as contract talks continue. [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.]( [Corona Plaza vendors rally against City Hall's latest enforcement sweep]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter curated by Emily Nadal]( Today's weather: 😎 It's kind of nice getting to experience two seasons in one day, with a fall-like low of 59 degrees today turning to a warm and sunny 81 degrees. Welcome to Wednesday in New York City where dozens of street food vendors are [planning to rally today after a sanitation department sweep]( of Corona Plaza last week. The Adams administration drew criticism from the vendors who say they’ve been working with city officials and agencies for months to address overcrowding and cleanliness concerns at the plaza, so the sudden crackdown on enforcement came as a surprise. Here’s what else is happening: - Sheila Oliver, New Jersey's Lieutenant Governor and the first Black woman to serve as speaker of the state’s Assembly, [has died at the age of 71.]( - A strike is looming at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey as the union which represents the hospital’s 1,700 nurses [works to reach a new contract deal with RWJ administrators.]( - Meanwhile, NYC Health + Hospitals nurses are celebrating a victory after an arbitrator stepped into stalled contract negotiations and [awarded the nurses a contract that will bump their pay by roughly 37%]( over five-and-a-half years. - Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood is set to incur a slew of new residents thanks to rezoning, but that [influx of people could put an unmanagable strain on the area’s sewers](. - A new anti-rat rule went into effect yesterday for businesses that serve food, [mandating their trash be put in a garbage can with a lid.]( - Warner Bros apologized for an [insensitive tweet reply from an official Barbie movie account]( to a Barbenheimer meme that featured atomic bomb images. - The NYPD arrested a man who they say [injured 10 people with a stolen car]( while trying to evade police in Midtown on Tuesday. - The body of a [27-year-old senior analyst at Goldman Sachs]( was recovered from Newton Creek four days after he was last seen at a nearby nightclub, police said. - Fast-fashion retailers are adapting to a world where sustainability is in, with brands like Zara, H&M and Uniqlo [launching repair services for clothing.]( - Feeling lucky? These five lottery stores have [sold the most winning tickets]( in the city. Queens and Brooklyn are tied with two locations each, the other is in Manhattan. - Andy Byford, aka Train Daddy, was recently hired as an Amtrak executive and didn't take long to break out his patented move of pissing off his bosses. Byford is [criticizing the agency’s plans to tear down a block in Midtown]( to expand Penn Station, calling the idea unnecessary. - It turns out New York is the city that consumes the most cannabis in the world, [according to a new study]( with Sydney, Australia coming in second. “We want to work. We’re not asking the government to support us. Now, with these days we haven't worked, we can't pay for rent, electricity, food.” - Rosario Troncoso, president of the Corona Plaza Street Vendors' Association, [DISCUSSING THE RECENT CITY SWEEP OF CORONA PLAZA.]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [Program to pair cops, mental health workers expands to Newark]( A program in New Jersey that pairs mental health workers with police officers is now up and running in Newark, the state’s largest city. [Checks in the mail: NYC medical chain ordered to refund patients for COVID tests]( CareCube, a chain of clinics that improperly charged patients for COVID-19 tests during the pandemic, is being ordered to mail out refund checks for the full amount billed, plus 9% interest. [We Rely On Your Support]( [25 free things to do in NYC this August]( One of the best reasons to live in New York City is that you'll never run out of things to do for free, from opera on the lawn to movie night on a rooftop. [NYC commuters have tapped into subways via OMNY 1 billion times]( The MTA announced that customers have tapped into the system using the OMNY fare payment system more than 1 billion times. [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.