How to check if your building is at risk of collapse

Plus: Christmas trees are expensive. Blame the '08 recession. [View this email in a browser.]( Our Gift to You! Get this T-shirt when you [donate & help fund]( our non-profit newsroom. [Donate Now]( [Is your NYC building at risk of collapse? Here are a few signs to look out for.]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☀️ Sunny today, with highs in the mid 40s. It's Wednesday in New York City, where dozens of displaced residents from the Bronx apartment building that partially collapsed this week said [they'd been noticing rats, leaks, and visible cracks in the walls](. Allyn Kilsheimer, an engineer who specializes in building collapses, told Gothamist [there are several things concerned tenants should look for]( If a marble rolls across the floor when it normally wouldn’t; new noises; walls that start to bulge; windows that used to open, but now stick. "It's all related to if you see something changing in a relatively short period of time," he said. Here's what else is happening: - One reason Christmas trees are so expensive this year: Farmers didn't plant enough of them a decade ago [due to the 2008 recession](. - Firefighters Wednesday morning [battled a five-alarm blaze]( that started at a Bronx deli. - New York [will redraw its congressional map]( ahead of the 2024 elections after the state’s top court ruled that a bipartisan redistricting panel, which deadlocked in 2022, should get a second chance at drawing new lines. - Police said [an 11-year-old boy was pronounced dead]( this week after being found at an Upper West Side hotel that’s currently being used as a migrant shelter. - The Queens bus network would get 15 new routes and see shorter wait times under [a major redesign plan]( released by the MTA on Tuesday. - Part-time faculty at the New Jersey Institute of Technology say they’re [prepared to go on strike]( if adjuncts don't get boosts in pay and benefits. - New Jersey progressives are asking candidates for the state's U.S. Senate seat to [support changes to most counties' primary ballots]( which they say have layouts that unfairly benefit those endorsed by party organizations. - Tammy Murphy, the wife of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, is one of those Senate candidates — and some progressives are saying her long list of endorsements reeks of nepotism. We'll ask Gov. Murphy about that, congestion pricing and more, tonight on "Ask Governor Murphy," [live at 7 p.m. on WNYC](. - New York City migrant shelters have been throwing out more than $1 million a month worth of (allegedly disgusting) [meals that don't get eaten](. - Several Democratic state senators are trying to get New York's Board of Elections to keep Donald Trump's name off the 2024 ballot on the grounds that [the former president violated the Constitution on Jan. 6 2021](. - Defense attorneys want lawmakers in Albany to ban detectives from [interviewing people under 18 without a lawyer in the room](. - In the end, the parties at the COP28 climate summit failed to agree to "phase out" fossil fuels, but they did shake on [a non-binding pact to "transition away from" fossil fuels](. - Joro spiders, an invasive species that happens to eat spotted lanternflies, is making its way north and [will likely reach New York]( soon enough. - [This Upper East Side parking garage]( has an impressive holiday decoration display. - The former Greenpoint headquarters of Kickstarter is being turned into [a high-end hype house](. - Congrats to future [girl mom]( Bhad Bhabie. - Have some time for a game? [Play]( our mini local news crossword. - Sign up for reminders when we publish new games [here](. “[Long term projections was that the next generation might not buy as many, [but] every person in Williamsburg got a baby and everyone wants a tree]( - Gregory “Big Greg” Walsh, a christmas tree seller, [ON THE CURRENT PRICE HIKE]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [By women, for women: A new exhibit at The Met highlights women fashion designers]( “Women Dressing Women,” a new exhibit from The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, highlights how women’s creative contributions and labor in the fashion industry have gone largely unrecognized. [TikTok food influencer Keith Lee is in NYC — and his video reviews are stressing New Yorkers out]( The salmon chopped cheese at a Queens deli received a mixed review: "I’m not mad at this, but I’m also not crazy about it: 7.5 out of 10." [We Rely On Your Support]( [NYC parks set for dramatic reductions in staffing, cleaning under Mayor Adams' budget cuts]( The cuts would likely leave the city’s 1,700 parks dirtier and less safe, with bathrooms in worse condition and summer pool openings delayed, according to advocates. [NYPD is ticketing more 'ghost cars,' but congestion pricing could drive a surge in new toll dodgers]( Experts warn that without stricter enforcement, congestion pricing could spark a surge in vehicles that illegally dodge tolls and speed cameras by using phony, dog-eared or defaced license plates. [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.