'Weaponization of 311' blamed for Brooklyn venue's shutdown

Plus: The Brooklyn crew that turned preppy fashion into a streetwear staple [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.]( [‘Weaponization of 311’: Speculation swarms after Brooklyn’s Saint Vitus shutdown]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ⛅ Partly cloudy, with highs in the lower 40s. It's Wednesday in New York City, were somebody filed more than a dozen near-identical 311 complaints about the Greenpoint music venue Saint Vitus, which was abruptly shut down mid-concert last Friday. Gothamist reached out to the email address associated with the complaints. [Here's what we learned](. And here's what else is happening: - The MTA plans to install those bright white LED bulbs in all [150,000 of its subway light fixtures](. - A new federal class-action lawsuit claims New York City child welfare investigators [routinely use "coercive tactics"]( that violate the constitution and traumatize families under scrutiny. - The U.S. Supreme Court is refusing to hear a pair of challenges brought by [landlords seeking to change New York’s rent stabilization laws](. - Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday said several incidents of violence at the Randall’s Island migrant shelter were a natural consequence of the federal government [failing to give migrants work permits](. - A Manhattan grand jury has indicted a Yonkers man on charges that he repeatedly [sexually abused an 8-year-old student]( at a Harlem after school program. - Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who announced his 2025 run for New Jersey governor earlier this week, told Gothamist that [creating affordable housing]( will be his top priority. - U.S. Senate candidate and New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy said she opposes a new natural gas plant in Newark, marking [her first break with her husband's position]( on an issue since he became governor. - The city plans to use raft-carrying drones to [assist lifeguards at Coney Island]( this summer. - A Manhattan mom is [suing the MTA, TikTok and Instagram]( for their alleged roles in her 15-year-old son's subway surfing death last year. - The vacant lot that replaced the former Hotel Pennsylvania could get temporarily turned into a corporate event space with [U.S. Open-themed tennis courts](. - So far, there's no evidence that New York City's crackdown on tens of thousands of Airbnb listings led to a bump in "gray market" short-term rentals — or newly-available apartments. So [what are those landlords doing with their empty units]( - Bayside, Queens got a new [legal weed store](. - Beyoncé has become the [first Black woman to top Billboard's country music chart]( with her song "Texas Hold 'Em." - Apple is warning people to stop sticking their wet iPhones [in rice]( because little grain particles will get in there. - We Xillennials see your Zoomer "aesthetics" and raise you our [SCENES](. - Have some time for a game? [Play]( our mini local news crossword. - Sign up for reminders when we publish new games [here](. [“Getting extreme ‘moved into the neighborhood and got mad’ vibes off of this.”]( - x user @coopercooperco on the recent [FLOOD OF 311 COMPLAINTS ABOUT SAINT VITUS]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [The Brooklyn crew that turned preppy fashion into a streetwear staple]( The Lo-Lifes, a group of kids from Crown Heights and Brownsville known for their obsession with Polo Ralph Lauren, created a fashion movement in the late 1980s that continues to echo into today's streetwear culture. [Beloved NYC bald eagle Rover, reported dead after vehicle collision]( Rover, the celebrity eagle, had been scavenging for food along the Henry Hudson Parkway when a driver allegedly struck him, according to a post by Manhattan Bird Alert. [We Rely On Your Support]( [Looking for an 'affordable' 2-bedroom apartment for a family? The odds are against you.]( A Gothamist analysis of city data shows nearly 70% of the roughly 24,000 subsidized, affordable units built or financed citywide since Mayor Adams took office are studios and one-bedroom apartments. [The best seats in the house: Where to sit in (almost) every NYC movie theater]( The city's theaters didn't just miraculously survive the pandemic — many of them have emerged with newer, better amenities, including options to pick your seats online before you go. [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.