NY hospitals are paying big penalties for understaffing. Nurses hope that leads to change.

Plus: More rain and wind [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.]( [NY hospitals are paying big penalties for understaffing. Nurses hope that leads to change.]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ⛅ Partly sunny today, with highs in the upper 40s. Tonight: [rain and 50 mph winds](. It's Friday in New York City, where hospitals are being forced to pay extra to nurses working in chronically understaffed units. The New York State Nurses Association and the Federation of Nurses/UFT — which have recently secured penalties from hospitals in the Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NYU Langone networks — said they [hope the payouts lead to greater enforcement](. Here's what else is happening: - Mayor Eric Adams has canceled his own proposed budget cuts that [would've removed 9,000 litter baskets]( and eliminated the jobs of 1,400 seasonal parks staffers. - This comes after the mayor [also backtracked on proposed cuts]( for the NYPD and FDNY. - The city has issued an [emergency work order and several vacate orders]( for buildings near the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in Crown Heights, where a group of young worshippers dug an illegal 60-foot tunnel. - At a town hall in Midtown East last night, locals [railed against a pitch to build a casino]( in the neighborhood. - A federal grand jury [indicted a husband, wife and five others]( for two brutal kidnappings and a sexual assault that took place last year in Queens. - An immigration expert at NYU law school told Gothamist that the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants in New York — and [the ways Mayor Adams and President Joe Biden have handled the situation]( — could actually lead to real immigration reform at the federal level. - "The Inconvenient King: Was MLK Woke?", WNYC and the Apollo Theater's 18th annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will be [available via livestream on YouTube on Sunday, January 14 at 2 p.m. ET.]( - For two Broad Channel kids, this week's rain and subsequent flooding meant they had to get [towed in a kayak]( part of the way to school. - A Bronx woman who [threw a pumpkin at a Metro-North conductor‘s face]( back in 2021 has been sentenced to two years in prison. - Bally’s Corporation has officially [changed the name of the old Trump Links]( in the Bronx to Bally's Links at Ferry's Point. - The 18 chonky little horse sculptures that were removed from an Upper West Side plaza in 2021 have finally been [restored and placed back](. - The Brooklyn Bridge got a new $2.4 million [LED lighting system](. - Cast members of "The Sopranos" gathered at a restaurant in Little Italy last night to [celebrate the 25th anniversary]( of the show's premiere. - Pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, his co-pilot and some of the passengers from their "Miracle on the Hudson" plane reunited yesterday to mark the 15th anniversary of what's regarded as [the greatest emergency water landing in the history of aviation](. - Have some time for a game? [Play]( our mini local news crossword. - Sign up for reminders when we publish new games [here](. “As a result of these restorations, New Yorkers will continue to see fewer rats.” - Mayor adams on his decision [NOT TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON HIS OWN PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS]( for trash cans More from Gothamist [second image]( [Why the Whitney Museum went from 'pay-what-you-wish' to 'free' on Friday nights]( "'Pay-what-you-wish' could be confusing to people. Everyone knows what 'free' means": From 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday nights, the Whitney Museum is now simply free to enter. [New Jersey is down to about 1 migrant bus arrival a day, Gov. Murphy says]( Gov. Phil Murphy said on WNYC's "Ask Governor Murphy" this week that the number of buses from Texas transporting migrants to the Garden State has dropped considerably. [We Rely On Your Support]( [NY election officials set to take up Trump ballot eligibility Feb. 6]( The New York Board of Elections is poised to decide Feb. 6 whether Donald Trump is qualified to appear on the state’s 2024 presidential primary ballot, two days before the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on his eligibility. [People are losing it over this $10 hot chocolate on the Upper East Side, so I tried it.]( Before the hot chocolate went viral, Glace by Noglu on Madison Avenue would sell maybe 60 of them on a given day. Thanks to TikTok, that figure can pass 1,000. [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.