I woke up Monday after ignoring the eclipse mania for weeks and realized I actually was interested in this once-in-a-generation phenomenon. So I started this week off with trying – and failing – to find glasses that morning. Thankfully both sides of City Hall (the council and the mayor’s office) came through, and my colleagues and I got to safely watch the eclipse from both the building’s steps and later the balcony of a senior center on the Lower East Side, where Mayor Adams angrily watched the moon cover up the sun for a little while.
We had team coverage over at THE CITY and I was reminded of how nice it is to have a positive and wholesome experience with so many friends and strangers in New York City.
Here are some photos from the big event. How was your eclipse day?
The rest of the week was consumed by a new Mayor Adams initiative that requires councilmembers and other elected officials to fill out a form to speak with his team and agency commissioners and others. This is a change from a more direct communication, and it outraged the council.
Based on the messages from folks who work for the mayor it’s hard to not believe it’s some sort of retaliation for the council overriding the mayor’s vetoes, especially on the “How Many Stops” act that requires police officers to fill out more information on civilian encounters.
You can read about that form here and here and here.
I also wrote this week about a proposal to sterilize rats using pellet birth control, which is more enticing than other forms of birth control tried previously. Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who sponsored the bill, said the city can’t kill its way out of the rat problem — especially as rodenticide often has unintended consequences when rats eat the poison and then wild birds eat the poisoned rats.
Flaco had high traces of poison in his body, and so did Barry, another beloved bird mourned by New Yorkers. I asked Robert Sullivan, a rat expert who wrote an excellent book on the rodents. His take:
“Politics often complicates birth control. As always, dealing with rats is really about running a city that cares about the people who make the city and how those people live.”
You can read the full story here.
🎧LISTEN🎧
🎛️ Show some love to Mister Cee’s Soundcloud, where he uploaded dozens of his radio broadcasts and more. The iconic DJ died this week.
🐠 Terre Roche of The Roches has a new album coming soon, her first in more than a decade. You can read about it here and listen to the first single, “Fish Out of Water.” [YOUTUBE]
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thanks for reading! I wont have a newsletter next week because I’ll be rehearsing for the Inner Circle show.