Companies are dropping big bucks on congestion pricing lobbying

Also, no Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade this year. [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.]( [Major companies lobby on congestion pricing ahead of meeting on toll costs]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter curated by Emily Nadal]( Weather: ☁️☔ Well, our one sunny day was appreciated, but we're back to gray skies and possible rain in the forecast tonight. It’s Thursday morning in New York City, and companies are [spending big bucks on lobbyists to push lawmakers and government officials for exemptions to congestion pricing tolls.]( Since the summer, companies like Lyft, Uber, UPS and even Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have spent tens of thousands of dollars on lobbying to make their case about how much drivers should pay and who should get a break from those charges. With tolls potentially costing as much as $23 per entry into Manhattan south of 60th Street, companies are worried about how much more of an expense congestion pricing will leave them with. Here’s what else is happening: - Fans of the Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade, where hundreds of pups attend donned in their best costumes, [were shocked to learn the event was canceled this year]( with no reason given as to why. - New Jersey has a $1 billion dollar farming industry. But there [aren’t any heat-specific federal or state laws regulating conditions]( for the roughly 25,000 farmworkers in the state amid rising temperatures causing scorching summers that’ll only get worse. - This [photo of Sen. Bob Menendez]( who [pleaded not-guilty]( to bribery and corruption charges yesterday, is the true example of "life imitates art." - EBay is facing billions of dollars in penalties from a lawsuit filed by the U.S. government in Brooklyn Wednesday which [accuses the platform of violating the Clean Air Act]( among other environmental laws, by allowing sales of several harmful products. - Mayor Eric Adams held a press conference Wednesday [announcing the arrest of an 18-year-old after police found three so-called “ghost guns” and a 3-D printer]( in an East Harlem home that they say was being used as a daycare. City officials are now re-examining what measures they need to take to keep children safe at in-home daycares. - New Jersey authorities rescued a man who was [found pinned under a 200-pound boulder in a muddy brook]( during the rainy weekend last week. - The operator of the Brooklyn construction company who was found responsible for a 2018 wall collapse that resulted in the death of a worker [will serve two to four years in prison](. The Staten Island man, Jiaxi "Jimmy" Liu, ignored workers' safety concerns at the Sunset Park construction site before the fatal incident. - Facial recognition was banned in New York state schools [after a report showed the risks to student privacy and civil rights outweigh potential security benefits](. Facial recognition software was being used in one state school district as a safety precaution to prevent a violent attack. - New York City officials don’t seem to know the exact number of Venezuelan migrants eligible for work permits. City Hall officials said Wednesday [22,000 people would be covered under temporary protection status, which conflicts with Mayor Eric Adams’ 9,500 figure.]( The discrepancy is renewing questions about how the city is processing and surveying the more than 60,000 migrants currently in its shelter system. - New York City might not be home to the top school in the area, but the city can boast the second-best school, [which is the Bronx’s Riverdale Country School]( according to a Niche report. - Speaking of schools, the NYC Department of Education just launched a new HIV curriculum [which will be taught across all grades levels.]( - Amy Sedaris worked for 90 minutes at a NYC cannabis shop [while also dishing out details about what Amy Cohen is like]( when he’s stoned. “The intense lobbying shows that special interests are trying to carve themselves out of the tolls." - Rachael Fauss, a senior analyst at the good government group Reinvent Albany, [DISCUSSING CONGESTION PRICING LOBBYING.]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [NYC only has 405 legal Airbnb and other short-term rentals available after crackdown]( New York City approved just over 400 short-term rentals amid a crackdown on unauthorized listings across Airbnb and other booking platforms. [NYC Council says mayor's office has done an 'inadequate job' aiding food stamp applicants]( At a city committee hearing on Wednesday, representatives from the Department of Social Services failed to provide answers on staffing needs. [We Rely On Your Support]( [East Harlem's 'lifeline' Target set to close, citing theft]( Curiously, the chain plans to open another location in Harlem, according to its corporate website. [NJ Sen. Bob Menendez pleads not guilty to bribery and corruption charges]( Sen. Bob Menendez, his wife and two other defendants pleaded not guilty Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan on bribery and corruption charges. [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. 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