See NYC's new modular outdoor dining sheds

Plus: Democrat-drawn congressional map could shake up key primary [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.]( [New modular outdoor dining sheds coming to NYC streets]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☔ [Rainy and breezy]( with highs in the lower 60s. It's Wednesday in New York City, where outdoor dining sheds are about to look more uniformly handsome — and hopefully less rat-infested. The Department of Transportation yesterday [showed off four examples of the new up-to-code modular dining structures]( which are wheelchair accessible, easier to clean and will need to go in storage from November through April. Here's what else is happening: - The FDNY said at least 17 people were injured yesterday afternoon after several vehicles, including an MTA bus, [collided in Brooklyn](. - [A new bill in Albany]( aims to halve the amount of plastic packaging New York City consumes over the next 12 years. - A newly proposed congressional district map drawn by New York Democrats would make [key changes on Long Island and in central New York]( that could help the party in its efforts to win control of the U.S. House of Representatives later this year. - One of the most significant proposed changes is in a heavily Democratic district in the northeast Bronx, and [would seem to benefit Rep. Jamaal Bowman]( a progressive who's locked in a bitter primary race with Westchester County Executive George Latimer. - The city is expanding its program to deliver free meals to older adults at home, citing a post-pandemic [rise in isolation and poverty among seniors](. - [Roughly 70 people believed to be migrants]( were discovered this week living illegally in the basement of a Queens commercial building. - Meanwhile, a new audit from Comptroller Brad Lander says the city is wasting millions of dollars on no-bid emergency contracts for migrant services, including [overpaying by $50 million for personnel at a single shelter in Midtown](. - Since Mayor Eric Adams threatened in December to sue bus operators if they don't give prior warning about bringing migrants to the city, [exactly three buses have complied](. - New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he wants to [raise taxes on corporations]( making $10 million or more in profits in order to fund NJ Transit. - Federal prosecutors have [convicted two men]( of murdering hip hop legend Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell at his Jamaica, Queens recording studio in 2002. - Mayor Adams said yesterday he wants law enforcement to be able to [deport migrants accused of serious crimes]( before they're convicted. - The orange pylons put in place on a Harlem subway platform with the intent to protect train operators have an apparent flaw: [Conductor cabs don't always line up with the barriers]( when trains pull into the station. - Two MTA bus riders said fare enforcement officers kicked them off a bus and gave them a $100 ticket because [these cops couldn't figure out that they'd tapped the OMNY reader]( with their phones. - NYCHA said it'll try to [recoup some of the money it overpaid]( for small repair services (e.g. a $708 lightbulb replacement) tied up in a current bribery probe. - A swanky pizzeria has opened [inside the 50th Street 1 train station](. - Nikki Haley, who lost yesterday's Republican presidential primary in Michigan, admitted "it is very possible"[the GOP now aligns with Donald Trump's views]( and not hers. - [Other countries]( have old presidents, too. - Drea de Matteo, who played Adriana on "The Sopranos," said she paid off her mortgage debt [after "five minutes" of posting on OnlyFans](. - In the three years since someone named Carl92 posted a 17-second clip of a catchy '80s-sounding pop song online, [no one has been able to name that tune]( - Correction: Tuesday's Early Addition newsletter mischaracterized the latest development on congestion pricing exemptions. The MTA announced details on how [drivers with disabilities]( — as well as the Access-A-Ride service and for-hire car companies that transport people with disabilities — can apply for congestion pricing exemptions that have already been approved. - Have some time for a game? [Play]( our mini local news crossword. - Sign up for reminders when we publish new games [here](. [“Sidewalk cafes are going to go back looking like what sidewalk cafes essentially looked like before the pandemic.”]( - Andrew Rigie of the New York City Hospitality Alliance on the [NEW MODULAR DINING SHEDS]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [Pawty on: Popular NYC dog café will reopen, owners say]( Dog-friendly café Boris & Horton, which has locations in Alphabet City and North Williamsburg, said it will reopen after customers rallied to bring in $250,000 in donations following its sudden closure earlier this month. [Most New Yorkers can’t afford childcare, driving young families out of the city, report finds]( More than 80% of New York City families can’t afford childcare even as providers are struggling to survive and closing in increasing numbers, a think tank report finds. [We Rely On Your Support]( [New Yorkers of color far less likely to live near pedestrian plazas]( A report from the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives found that residents of City Council districts where a majority of the population is non-white are 37% less likely to live within a half-mile of a car-free plaza than the citywide average. [Central Park's Flaco had a family. Conservationists fear other owls will become targets for release.]( Flaco's death last Friday is the realization of many conservationists’ fears about his safety in an urban environment — and about the safety of other birds at sanctuaries and zoos across the country. 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