Catching up on some indictments
Plus HERO WORSHIP! #57
I was on vacation for the last 8 days or so, spread out over two work weeks. I booked it this way because the flights were cheapest but it gave me a lot of anxiety, since I was sort of missing two whole weeks of work. What is this, maternity leave? (I’m working on my work/life balance.)
I still had fun – and I’ll talk about that later – but for now let me catch up on some of the news from the last two weeks. Let’s start with this indictment.
My colleague Greg Smith has been all over this story, writing that the former buildings commissioner never completed his background check. The other folks wrapped up in the indictment helped raise a lot of money for Mayor Adams, and the owner of a tow truck company tried to woo the mayor and a top aide to get his license back, Greg also reported.
Among those people indicted is Joseph Livreri, who I reported last year worked in the council office previously held by Eric Ulrich. He and his brother Anthony own Queens pizzerias Mr. Bruno’s and Aldo’s – which they claim was the mayor’s favorite restaurant in Queens when it was shut down by health inspectors. With Ulrich’s help, prosecutors allege, it quickly reopened.
Speaking of Mayor Adams, my colleagues wrote about the Campaign Finance Board’s attempts to get his 2021 campaign to disclose hundreds of donations totaling $300,000. The campaign repeatedly ignored them, and the mayor did the same to me Friday as I asked him about it at a robocop press conference at a Times Square subway station.
🌟Other interesting stories 🌟
How to get the latest COVID vaccine in New York City [THE CITY]
The best authentic Chinese restaurants in the city [DOCUMENTED]
A former New Jersey governor is eyeing the role of mayor of Jersey City [NYT]
The TLC has missed its deadline to make half of all taxis wheelchair accessible – again [THE CITY]
The mayor gets hit with a rat complaint, again [NYDN]
An update on the city’s trash habits [THE CITY]
Oh, and speaking of THE CITY, we need money. Years ago a friend and former colleague told me the most important thing in journalism is having the freedom to write what you want. That’s what I have at THE CITY — the freedom to pursue the New York City stories that interest me. Sign up for our newsletter, give if you can, and tell all your friends about us too (even better if they’re very wealthy and generous.)
I was in Spain this week and last week, where I spent my time walking around, looking at cool shit, reading a lot, and eating. I even got swimming time in. It was an ideal vacation. One of the many great things about Spain is the food — olives and anchovies everywhere, and markets selling cones of freshly-sliced meats. And of course, the bocadillos. This edition of HERO WORSHIP is dedicated to the humble sandwiches, filled with jamon or fried calamari or tuna or manchego or a piece of a tortilla.
Two standouts (also, the bocadillas I bought from an airport vending machine but I won’t share photos of those)
Some more photos from the trip:
thanks for reading!