'HO HO HO PLEASE DRIVE SLOW'

Cheeky NJ highway signs back for holidays [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.]( [‘Only Rudolph should be lit’: Cheeky NJ highway signs back for holidays]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ⛅ A mix of sun and clouds, with highs in the lower 50s. It's Monday in New York City, where drivers across the Hudson are being encouraged to slow down this holiday season. The New Jersey Department of Transportation has placed more than [220 signs across state highways]( with phrases including "Reckless drivers are worse than fruitcake" and "Santa's watching, put down the phone." Here's what else is happening: - What will newly-expelled Rep. George Santos do next? "Whatever I want," he said. - One item [on his calendar]( A federal fraud trial scheduled for September 2024. - Police this morning were [searching for a suspect]( who fatally shot a man inside a Harlem bodega Sunday evening. - An order from Mayor Eric Adams' administration to fast-track fire safety inspections at a high-end Hudson Yards office tower forced officials to cancel previously scheduled inspections at multiple schools and apartment buildings, [according to emails obtained by Gothamist](. (The Hudson Yards tower failed said safety review, anyway.) - Two years after a fire forced several Sunset Park residents to leave their rent-stabilized apartments, they're now returning to [dramatically renovated units that still lack heat or gas](. - The NYPD said [four family members were stabbed to death]( in Far Rockaway on Sunday morning before police fatally shot their suspected murderer. - After another Rikers Island detainee death, New York Attorney General Letitia James has [joined calls for a federal takeover]( of the jail complex. - A new [intake center for migrants seeking work permits]( has opened on Manhattan's West Side. - The window has closed for people to file older sexual assault claims under New York's Adult Survivors Act — but lawmakers and advocates are considering ways to [allow people who missed the deadline to still sue](. - Tourists and shoppers took to 5th Avenue yesterday — [in the rain!]( — for the first of this year's holiday car-free Open Streets. - 5th Avenue from 48th Street up to Central Park will once again be closed to car traffic from noon to 6 p.m. [on Dec. 10 and 17](. - An attempted traffic stop in Murray Hill yesterday led to a police chase that ended with [a Jeep driver injuring a cyclist]( hitting several parked cars and crashing into scaffolding in the East Village. - Will New York City voters blame the expensive migrant crisis for Mayor Adams' proposed cuts to police and library budgets — or [just blame the mayor]( - As [Venezuelan migrants continue to get settled]( in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, Roosevelt Avenue is turning into a bonafide "Little Caracas." - Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson held two fundraisers in Manhattan over the weekend, telling donors that the GOP [might kickstart efforts to impeach President Joe Biden]( this week. - Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson is [producing a documentary]( about rival rapper and alleged rapist Sean "Diddy" Combs. - An Upper East Side teenager who was banned from The Mark Hotel for alleged drunken shenanigans is now suing the hotel, [claiming that the establishment relied on underage drinkers]( to stay afloat during the pandemic. - Have some time for a game? [Play]( our mini local news crossword. - Sign up for reminders when we publish new games [here](. “[Given the degree of his grift and corruption, I'd be surprised if anybody jumped on [a Santos book deal] or wanted to work on it. Never say never, of course, but I think it's pretty unlikely that any publisher would want to be associated with that.]( - Andrew Stuart, a Manhattan-based literary agent, on [THE PROSPECT OF A GEORGE SANTOS MEMOIR]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [Millions in federal dollars funneled into new Governors Island hybrid-electric ferry]( The new ferry — which is expected to reduce the city’s carbon dioxide emissions by 800 tons each year — is one of several initiatives to shrink the city's carbon footprint. [Is your rizz authentic? New Yorkers weigh in on the word of the year.]( Merriam-Webster’s editor at large joined WNYC's "All of It" to discuss how the dictionary chose the word of the year, what it tells us about this moment, and some words that quite didn't make the cut. [We Rely On Your Support]( [Geminid meteor shower will be bright enough to be seen in NYC this month]( The Geminids meteor shower promises around 120 shooting stars per hour during its peak on the evening of Dec. 13 through dawn the next day. [For NYC's Beyoncé fans, the 'Renaissance' film is their moment to 'be a little bit extra']( Screenings of "Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé," a documentary about the making of her latest tour, are events unto themselves. [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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