Beach Reforms Are Made in Winter
Plus car boots, contractor issues for a prominent immigrant non-profit, and cottage fries!
Issue #20
On Thursday, there was an all-hands meeting at the Chelsea Recreation center for every year-round lifeguard in the city, which closed all of the indoor pools for a day. This may seem like a standard thing for city employees, but this was the first type of meeting for these lifeguards — and some think it could usher in a new way of doing business in the Parks Department.
Commissioner Sue Donoghue and other bosses met with guards, some of whom have worked for decades as lifeguards but had never been orientated to all of the different parts of the agency. It’s just further proof of the way their union, controlled by the powerful Peter Stein, is the one calling the shots when it comes to how city beaches and pools are staffed and protected.
Everyone I spoke with who understands the dynamic between the Parks Department and the lifeguards – especially the year-round guards – said it felt like a power move. The Parks Department said it was just a new way of doing things, and something the commissioner does with many facets of the agencies.
But could there be a new Boss of the Beach? And will it finally be the person in charge at the Parks Department?
This week I also wrote about issues with the new Queens office for Make the Road, with the contractor alleging they owe more than $4 million. Construction appears to be stalled and it’s unclear when it will open.
And yes, there are more boots than ever on cars across the city. My colleague Sam Rabiyah did an amazing job crunching the numbers and visualizing just how much more enforcement is going on. If you owe money, pay! Read more here.
READ
The cottage fries are back, I think [GRUB STREET]
A giant H Mart is opening in Sunnyside [PATCH]
The mayor finally released his taxes [THE CITY]
When’s the last time you thought about a calzone? A few weeks ago, while inside Little Italy on Park Place with a colleague, we ran into someone else from City Hall who told us he was getting a calzone. And that’s what started a weeks-long fixation on calzones, just like Ben on “Parks & Rec.”
This week us reporters bought Little Italy out of calzones, which we stuffed with pepperoni and sausage. I had one half for lunch and saved the rest for the next day. I ate it cold, too; it was still delicious.
I hadn’t had a calzone from a regular pizza place* in years. If it’s not pizza I’m getting at a pizza place, it’s usually a roll. But there’s something about that doughy little pocket that was pretty satisfying, especially when you can fill it with toppings
*the calzone at Nick’s in Forest Hills is the exception here because I don’t consider Nick’s a regular pizza place
I think this counts as a sandwich?
Little Italy Pizza, 11 Park Pl, Manhattan
Thanks for reading! Enjoy this week’s flowers from Queens Perennial.