The NYC crimes that went up (and down) in 2023

Plus, the year of the congestion pricing debate. [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]( [Today's newsletter curated by Emily Nadal]( Please enjoy a “lite” version of Early Addition this week as we all recover from the holidays and prepare for a new year. We’ll be back to normal on Jan. 2, 2024! Here's a look at today's stories: - As 2023 winds down, police data shows crime in New York City has dropped a total of 4% in 2023 after climbing last year. [See the stats.]( - New Jersey Democrats are racing to pass a bill that would overhaul how the state makes towns responsible for accommodating affordable housing. [Read more about the legislation](. - A 16-year-old from Brooklyn was charged with weapons possession and menacing after police said he stole a French bulldog on Christmas morning. [Read more about the alleged theft.]( - The man accused of stabbing two teenage girls in Grand Central Terminal on Christmas faces re-arrest on Rikers Island after allegedly slashing another detainee yesterday. [Read more about the new charges.]( - Thousands descend to Times Square on Dec. 31 each year. We’ve got you covered on holiday-related street closures and subway service changes, and what to know about security. [Here's what you need to know.]( 2023 in review: Congestion pricing By [Stephen Nessen]( One of the most significant issues on my beat this year has been [congestion pricing](. The idea that drivers should pay a fee to drive in the busiest part of the city goes back decades, but this is the year that all the pieces have [fallen into place]( and the MTA is on the brink of actually doing it. For the past year, I’ve reported on the MTA’s plan, discussions behind the scenes, and explained what it could mean. I’ve interviewed international experts on [how it works in other cities]( what we can expect, and what advice they have for us. I’ve [spoken to drivers]( [business owners]( people living in the [congestion zone]( and people who commute from [outside the city]( to get all the perspectives. I can dedicate the time to explain this complicated story because our non-profit newsroom is committed to ensuring you’re informed. The stories you read on Gothamist are free, thanks to the financial support from readers like you. Now that we’re at the end of the year, your contribution is more important than ever. Your support today will help us produce the journalism you and your fellow New Yorkers will rely on in the year ahead. [Donate here.]( ICYMI: A few of our most read stories in 2023 [second image]( [A look inside Miss Piggy’s creator's art-filled Brooklyn duplex]( From November: A look at interesting New Yorkers in their interesting spaces. [In Greenpoint, a man with severe mental illness is harming neighbors. No one knows what to do.]( From October: Greenpointers face a difficult question: when someone with serious mental illness poses a threat, what’s the best way to keep both the person and the community safe? [We Rely On Your Support]( [A new tactic killed ‘nearly 100%’ of rats on an Upper East Side street]( From October: Councilmember Julie Menin says pumping carbon monoxide into rat burrows has been so effective she’s expanding it to other parts of the neighborhood. [Inside a Brooklyn housing complex, where a third of tenants face eviction]( From August: The owner of Flatbush Gardens has evicted 50 households since the start of 2022. The renters owed them $1.5 million. [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.