GOP candidate keeps low profile in race to replace George Santos

Plus: It'll snow again [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.]( [GOP candidate keeps a low profile in race to replace ex-Rep. George Santos]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: 🥶 Sunny and cold, with highs in the upper 20s. Watch out for ice! It's Wednesday in New York City, where the special congressional election to replace George Santos is less than a month away — and the Republican candidate has hardly shown herself in public. Mazi Pilip, a member of the Nassau County Legislature, has appeared at private events with party officials, but has largely declined to debate her Democratic opponent, former Rep. Tom Suozzi, or to meet with undecided voters. [Here's how Republicans in Queens and Long Island are responding to their candidate's strategy](. And here's what else is happening: - The FDNY recorded [increased fires and deaths]( caused by faulty lithium-ion batteries in 2023 — even as lawmakers introduced new safety measures. - With the $109 billion budget Mayor Eric Adams announced yesterday, he [backed off many previously announced cuts]( to key services, including schools, libraries, social services and programs for older New Yorkers. - Gov. Kathy Hochul's state budget proposal includes [$2.4 billion in funding for housing and legal costs]( for asylum-seekers and other migrants. - A Tennessee massage therapist filed a federal lawsuit accusing Madison Square Garden CEO James Dolan of [trafficking her for his own sexual gratification]( and turning a blind eye when his friend, former film producer Harvey Weinstein, sexually assaulted her. - Police said a 52-year-old woman was [fatally struck by a pickup truck driver]( in a Dyker Heights intersection Tuesday night. The driver remained at the scene; no arrests have been made. - The MTA is considering shutting down the G train for signal upgrades this summer, which would leave some Greenpointers [without close subway access for six weeks](. - Students, faculty and family members are mourning the death of Richard Henderson, 45, a beloved school crossing guard who was [fatally shot on a Brooklyn 3 train]( last weekend. - Gilgo Beach serial murder suspect Rex Heuermann was charged yesterday in [the death of a fourth woman]( more than a decade after the recovery of her remains. - The snow got gross ... but it's [going to get fun again]( later this week! - Michael Bloomberg, crypto influencer Brock Pierce and Ukrainian-British oligarch Leonard Blavatnik are among [the rich people who've raised $732,000]( for Mayor Adams' legal defense fund as his campaign faces federal scrutiny for its possible ties to Turkey. - "We want to show what happens when Jews and Muslims work together": Meet Shlomo Weinstock and Mohammed "Mo" Elgaly, co-owners of Staten Island's [first legal weed shop](. - The president of District Council 37’s Local 1549, the union representing public sector clerical workers, was fired for expensing [$30,000 worth of black car trips]( from his Rockland County house to his office in the city. - [Guinness is launching an investigation]( into whether Bobi, the Portuguese dog who reportedly died at 31, was actually the oldest dog to ever live, since the Portuguese dog registry allows the owner to say whatever age they want. (Pictures also show Bobi looking overweight, which isn't a recipe for living to 31.) - [Restaurants]( are trying to make breakfast happen. - Federal regulators are banning "funny" highway signs that say things like "Don’t drive star-spangled hammered" because they don't help, [they're just distracting](. - Have some time for a game? [Play]( our mini local news crossword. - Sign up for reminders when we publish new games [here](. [“I think she has spoken maybe three or four times, no exaggeration, during the last two years and that is not what we need right now.”]( - Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, a democratic nassau county legislator on [HER COLLEAGUE MAZI PILIP'S SILENCE]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [Most New Yorkers try to avoid rats. 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And a few others walked it, too.]( At the end of 2022, Jason Girouard, 28, stepped out of his Lower East Side apartment and kicked off a personal endeavor to jog every street on the island. About one year and 750 miles later, he all but completed the task. [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.