Happy Tuesday. We hope you had a wonderful July 4th weekend. This week is looking like a mixed bag of weather with showers and humidity mixed with afternoons in the 80s. Tomorrow might break the trend and be sunny all day with temperatures topping 90.
As a follow-up to council member Erik Bottcher’s local discretionary funding of $1m in May, the city is giving over $8m in grants to the West Side. Trees are among the winners again — with $600k allocated to planting in the area. Read more…
In one of several unsettling weekend shootings, two unwitting taxi passengers were caught in a hail of gunfire early Saturday morning on their way home to Hell’s Kitchen. Read more…
What we’ve been reading
Frustrated business travelers are taking to the road to avoid air delays. (WSJ)
Have you spotted any UFOs over NYC lately? (Patch)
Since the age of 13, Mariah Lopez has been suing New York over transgender rights. (New York Times)
Hunting for a New York City rental is an “exquisite form of agony”. When will rents fall? (Brick Underground)
Coping with a New York heatwave in 1882 was not without its risks. (Ephemeral New York)
Freeze Frame
Although the West Side missed out on the big Macy’s Fireworks display again this year, we did get some local flourishes! This one caught our eye last night while enjoying a glass of wine on W52nd Street.
Happy belated birthday to Megan Nemeth.
