A great New York Story occurred August 17th, 1858, when New Yorkers celebrated the first successful transatlantic cable between The United States and England with a party at City Hall. So thrilled were the New Yorkers of yore, that they decided to illuminate City Hall with torches, then set off fireworks over the building. City Hall caught fire, but nobody could alert the fire department, because the fire bell was on top of the burning City Hall. Ultimately, City Hall was saved, but the building lost its cupola, which has since been repaired. Undeterred, New Yorkers had another party at City Hall two weeks later, and they set off fireworks again. That is the city we live in. No matter what, New Yorkers just keep partying. And Mayor Bill de Blasio was at House of Yes in Bushwick on Tuesday to make it even easier to get down in the five boroughs. De Blasio established an Office of Nightlife, and a Nightlife Advisory Board. A Night Mayor will soon be appointed, although Gerard McNamee, former Director of Operations at Webster Hall, is running for the unelected position.
The Office of Nightlife is being established just as the city has begun to throw its support behind a repeal of the archaic and discriminatory 1926 “Cabaret Law” which requires establishments open to the public, selling food and drink, to get a license to allow dancing. Last Thursday, the Mayor’s office said would support a bill to roll back the law.
New York’s feet might be flying, by but the subway was stopped dead this weekend. Following a major power surge at a ConEd substation in Redhook on Sunday afternoon, there were major delays on A, C, E, F, G, 4 and 5 trains. While the Mayor and the Governor have recently been at odds over who should take responsibility for the state of the Subway, Cuomo called the outage “unacceptable” and ordered the Department of Public Service to investigate the incident.
Speaking of suspended service, Curbed has “everything you need to know” about the L Train Shutdown.
But, the city isn’t just repairing the Canarsie Tunnel, it’s also looking for suggestions from the public about how to revamp the “Meeker Avenue Deadzone” the 15-block stretch of parking lot that runs under the BQE.
Of course, New Yorkers will make their opinions known whether the City asks or not. In fact, the FiDi got some unsolicited feedback last Thursday when Greenpoint resident Courtney Frances Fallon doused the Charging Bull with blue paint to protest the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.