Reader support makes Gothamist’s local journalism possible. For our spring membership campaign, we’re looking for 250 new Gothamist members by the end of the month. Make a donation to support Gothamist and local news today.Nearly two dozen New York City public school parents are suing Mayor Bill de Blasio and his schools chancellor Meisha Porter in an attempt to force the full return of in-person learning before the end of the school year.The suit, spearheaded by a group of Upper West Side mothers, was in State Supreme Court on Tuesday night. It argues that the city’s COVID-19 restrictions...…Reader support makes Gothamist’s local journalism possible. For our spring membership campaign, we’re looking for 250 new Gothamist members by the end of the month. Make a donation to support Gothamist and local news today.Nearly two dozen New York City public school parents are suing Mayor Bill de Blasio and his schools chancellor Meisha Porter in an attempt to force the full return of in-person learning before the end of the school year.The suit, spearheaded by a group of Upper West Side mothers, was in State Supreme Court on Tuesday night. It argues that the city’s COVID-19 restrictions...WW…

AdvertisementWhen Ryo Nagaoka was hospitalized with coronavirus earlier this year, the landlord of his East Village apartment wasted no time changing the locks. After just three weeks, they hired a cleaning company to empty his apartment. His neighbors, assuming he’d passed away, erected a makeshift memorial outside.But Nagaoka, a 65-year-old restaurant worker, was not dead. On Wednesday night, he returned to his Avenue D apartment to find nearly all of his possessions — aside from his piano and his pet tortoise — were gone.“They thought he died,” neighbor Sierra Zamarripa, who’s for...…AdvertisementWhen Ryo Nagaoka was hospitalized with coronavirus earlier this year, the landlord of his East Village apartment wasted no time changing the locks. After just three weeks, they hired a cleaning company to empty his apartment. His neighbors, assuming he’d passed away, erected a makeshift memorial outside.But Nagaoka, a 65-year-old restaurant worker, was not dead. On Wednesday night, he returned to his Avenue D apartment to find nearly all of his possessions — aside from his piano and his pet tortoise — were gone.“They thought he died,” neighbor Sierra Zamarripa, who’s for...WW…

AdvertisementLike many New Yorkers, Rachelle Leconte has spent the last year trying to balance an impossible budget. Since losing her job as an overnight clerk at a Manhattan Hilton last March, the 38-year-old Brooklynite has been living off unemployment, coupons, and bulk food purchases. She’s calculated which bills she can put off paying an extra week, and how many times a month she can afford the subway trip to see her family.Despite her exacting efforts, Leconte fell behind on her $739 monthly rent at the end of last year. She now lives in near-constant fear of losing a rare affordable...…AdvertisementLike many New Yorkers, Rachelle Leconte has spent the last year trying to balance an impossible budget. Since losing her job as an overnight clerk at a Manhattan Hilton last March, the 38-year-old Brooklynite has been living off unemployment, coupons, and bulk food purchases. She’s calculated which bills she can put off paying an extra week, and how many times a month she can afford the subway trip to see her family.Despite her exacting efforts, Leconte fell behind on her $739 monthly rent at the end of last year. She now lives in near-constant fear of losing a rare affordable...WW…

AdvertisementRubiela Correa lost her primary job as a house cleaner at the very start of the pandemic, and her second job looking after an elderly couple a few weeks later. Unable to find work or make rent, the 44-year-old was forced to move out of her Queens apartment. She landed in the city’s shelter system, but didn’t feel safe. At her lowest point, she said, she slept inside JFK Airport.“I am surviving on favors,” Correa, who is now staying temporarily with a friend, told Gothamist through a translator. For the first time since arriving in the country nine years ago, she is not sending...…AdvertisementRubiela Correa lost her primary job as a house cleaner at the very start of the pandemic, and her second job looking after an elderly couple a few weeks later. Unable to find work or make rent, the 44-year-old was forced to move out of her Queens apartment. She landed in the city’s shelter system, but didn’t feel safe. At her lowest point, she said, she slept inside JFK Airport.“I am surviving on favors,” Correa, who is now staying temporarily with a friend, told Gothamist through a translator. For the first time since arriving in the country nine years ago, she is not sending...WW…

AdvertisementMany of New York City's most dominant real estate companies are illegally discriminating against low-income residents who rely on rental assistance, according to the findings of a year-long undercover investigation released on Monday.Led by the Housing Rights Initiative, the sweeping investigation identified 88 landlords and brokerages that allegedly discriminated against tenants seeking apartments with Section 8 vouchers, which provide federal financial assistance to help low-income residents cover part of their rent.The nonprofit watchdog deployed covert investigators as...…AdvertisementMany of New York City's most dominant real estate companies are illegally discriminating against low-income residents who rely on rental assistance, according to the findings of a year-long undercover investigation released on Monday.Led by the Housing Rights Initiative, the sweeping investigation identified 88 landlords and brokerages that allegedly discriminated against tenants seeking apartments with Section 8 vouchers, which provide federal financial assistance to help low-income residents cover part of their rent.The nonprofit watchdog deployed covert investigators as...WW…

AdvertisementThe iconic, wedge-shaped cigar store on the corner of Seventh Avenue South and Christopher Street in the West Village is on the market.In addition to the Village Cigars store itself, the parcel includes the city’s smallest piece of private land, , a two-foot-long tiled sidewalk mosaic that proclaims “Property of the Hess Estate, Which Has Never Been Dedicated for Public Purposes.”The property’s price tag is reported to be $5.5 million, .Jonathan Posner, who inherited the property from his father, said the pandemic made running the store financially untenable.“The income from...…AdvertisementThe iconic, wedge-shaped cigar store on the corner of Seventh Avenue South and Christopher Street in the West Village is on the market.In addition to the Village Cigars store itself, the parcel includes the city’s smallest piece of private land, , a two-foot-long tiled sidewalk mosaic that proclaims “Property of the Hess Estate, Which Has Never Been Dedicated for Public Purposes.”The property’s price tag is reported to be $5.5 million, .Jonathan Posner, who inherited the property from his father, said the pandemic made running the store financially untenable.“The income from...WW…

AdvertisementA Manhattan pickup artist with an interest in the far-right Qanon conspiracy was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly participating in the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol earlier this month.Samuel Fisher, an Upper East Side resident who appears to run a sparsely-watched YouTube channel devoted to "help[ing] men get high value girls," was taken into custody at his Yorkville home on Wednesday morning.FBI agents recovered a cache of weapons inside the apartment, including a semiautomatic rifle, one thousand rounds of ammunition, and a bullet proof vest, according to the...…AdvertisementA Manhattan pickup artist with an interest in the far-right Qanon conspiracy was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly participating in the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol earlier this month.Samuel Fisher, an Upper East Side resident who appears to run a sparsely-watched YouTube channel devoted to "help[ing] men get high value girls," was taken into custody at his Yorkville home on Wednesday morning.FBI agents recovered a cache of weapons inside the apartment, including a semiautomatic rifle, one thousand rounds of ammunition, and a bullet proof vest, according to the...WW…

AdvertisementThe politically-connected son of a Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge was among the band of Trump-supporting marauders who ransacked the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday.Dressed in fur pelts and a bullet proof vest, Aaron Mostofsky joined an early wave of rioters who swarmed the halls of Congress, before certifying Joe Biden's election victory. He can be seen in several photos outside the Senate chambers, holding a wooden stick and a police riot shield, alongside a man carrying a Confederate flag.The man's father is Shlomo Mostofsky, a prominent modern Orthodox figure in Brooklyn...…AdvertisementThe politically-connected son of a Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge was among the band of Trump-supporting marauders who ransacked the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday.Dressed in fur pelts and a bullet proof vest, Aaron Mostofsky joined an early wave of rioters who swarmed the halls of Congress, before certifying Joe Biden's election victory. He can be seen in several photos outside the Senate chambers, holding a wooden stick and a police riot shield, alongside a man carrying a Confederate flag.The man's father is Shlomo Mostofsky, a prominent modern Orthodox figure in Brooklyn...WW…

AdvertisementIn a year full of exerted on New York City’s wounded restaurant industry, it’s been a particularly unlucky winter for B&H Dairy. Over the last few months alone, the much-loved East Village kosher vegetarian diner has endured broken windows, unexpected electrical expenses, and a powerful storm that wrecked their (latest) outdoor umbrella.The onslaught took a biblical turn earlier this month, when a fire devastated the across 2nd Avenue, dredging up painful memories of the block’s . The church fire closed B&H for the weekend and forced them to trash a day’s supply of...…AdvertisementIn a year full of exerted on New York City’s wounded restaurant industry, it’s been a particularly unlucky winter for B&H Dairy. Over the last few months alone, the much-loved East Village kosher vegetarian diner has endured broken windows, unexpected electrical expenses, and a powerful storm that wrecked their (latest) outdoor umbrella.The onslaught took a biblical turn earlier this month, when a fire devastated the across 2nd Avenue, dredging up painful memories of the block’s . The church fire closed B&H for the weekend and forced them to trash a day’s supply of...WW…

Reader support makes Gothamist’s local journalism possible. For our spring membership campaign, we’re looking for 250 new Gothamist members by the end of the month. Make a donation to support Gothamist and local news today.The median asking rent for a Manhattan apartment is $700 less than what it was at the start of last year. In Queens, the average rent has dropped below $2,000 for the first time in eight years. And in Brooklyn, rents have fallen 10% since early 2020, the largest year-over-year drop in borough history.The findings, taken from StreetEasy's first quarter market released on...…Reader support makes Gothamist’s local journalism possible. For our spring membership campaign, we’re looking for 250 new Gothamist members by the end of the month. Make a donation to support Gothamist and local news today.The median asking rent for a Manhattan apartment is $700 less than what it was at the start of last year. In Queens, the average rent has dropped below $2,000 for the first time in eight years. And in Brooklyn, rents have fallen 10% since early 2020, the largest year-over-year drop in borough history.The findings, taken from StreetEasy's first quarter market released on...WW…