Sunday edition: Let's go to the movies

Plus lotsa links! #90

I usually send this on Friday, but I spent my morning at the Verizon store (hell) and then visited my friend Irene at Mama’s of Corona (heaven) and then fell asleep on my couch watching “Pee Wee’s Playhouse” (also an ideal afternoon.) We’ve had more than 20 heat advisory days in the city this year, and dreaming under the AC and a fan felt nicer than getting up and writing this.

But there was still things I wanted to share, like this story that almost feels like parody but instead is a true telling of the nation’s largest school district up to their eyeballs in apples, many of them rotting. The New York Post story includes quotes like:

“Students are looking for a piece of watermelon, or a tangerine, but now it’s ‘Nope, we have to give you apples,’ and if students don’t want them, they go in the garbage.”

A supervisor griped: “You order one case of oranges, you get two cases of apples. You want bananas, you get two more cases of apples. We’re getting apples up the nose.

Here was another amazing story from this week. Where the hell is Happy the elephant?

I started this week with a preview of the new ACC facility in Queens, something that was first approved more than 20 years ago. I was in high school when the council approved a bill to build public animal shelters in every borough. And although I still feel like I’m a teenager I do know it’s been a long, long time. I’m debating getting another cat, so hopefully will be visiting again.

I also write about the mayor’s emergency order delaying the implementation of a ban on solitary confinement, in whatever name is used, with my colleague Reuven.

And I also wrote about a judge siding with the mayor on the expansion of a housing voucher bill. We also talked about the mayor on FAQ.

But the story I loved the most was this little story on the independent movie theater operators keeping the experience affordable for New Yorkers. I love going to the movies, sitting in a dark theater and letting something unfold in front of me. As Noah Elgart, whose family owns a few theaters including Kew Gardens (my favorite) and Cobble Hill, seeing a movie in a theater is nothing short of magical.

“There’s all different types of people sitting next to each other in a shared space experiencing something and that is not as common as it used to be,” Elgart, 38, told THE CITY. 

“And it’s at a smaller scale than it used to be. But it’s still a magical experience.”

Here’s a secret I found out about Kew Gardens. For years I thought the warm cookies they sold at the concession stands were some family recipe; Noah broke the news that it’s the Otis Spunkmeyer family’s, not his. But there’s still nothing better than a warm cookie at the movies, wholesale or not.

It’s about to rain as I write this, so here are some more stories you might want to read this Sunday:

Brad Lander made his run for mayor official. Read all about who else is challenging Mayor Adams. [THE CITY]
The CCRB is investigating a police raid at a Staten Island pot shop [THE CITY]
Some Edgemere residents want their beach back from plovers [NYT]
A houseboat plays a big role in Brooklyn politics [THE CITY]
There was fourth lawsuit filed against Tim Pearson, the mayor’s longtime friend, and the mayor did not like any questions asked about it last week — even “joking” about getting security on a reporter. Interesting! [THE CITY]

A beautiful essay about grief and love.

Sausage and peppers and love, from a new film camera and a roll of Kodak 200. Thanks for reading!