🚨Safe and Sound

Daylight savings time and another chance to get rich💲

March 08, 2024

⏰Good Morning. It's time to spring forward and adjust those clocks for daylight saving time on Sunday. The temperature is warmer, but it's still a bit soggy out there. Get ready for more law enforcement in the subway and have your bag ready for inspection. No one won the Mega Millions on Tuesday, and Friday's drawing is up to $687 million. Get your $2 ready!

The News
Stop & Frisk

👮🏻The Governor has had enough. Kathy Hochul, New York's Governor, is deploying the state's National Guard to the subway system. Riddled with a string of violent crimes in the last few months, New York is finally meeting the challenge head-on.

“For people who are thinking about a gun or knife on the subway, at least this creates a deterrent effect,” she said. “They might be thinking, 'You know what? It just may not be worth it, because I listened to the mayor and I listened to the governor and they have a lot more people who may be checking my bags.'”

The National Guard’s deployment is in addition to the increased police presence promised by Mayor Adams. Remember stop and frisk? That's making a bit of a comeback as well, because bag checks are being implemented once again. Additionally, more cameras are on the way to increase surveillance in the system. Crime has been falling since the start of the year but high-profile incidents continue to plague the city.

City Headlines

⚽Soccer is coming to Queens in Willets Point. A 25,000-seat stadium next to Citi Field got the go-ahead and will likely open in 2027. It’s not just a stadium but a whole neighborhood being developed. I didn’t think the 7 train could get any more crowded but it looks like they can!

🏦New York Community Bancorp has had a wild ride in the stock market these last few weeks. While the bank is headquartered in Hicksville, New York, it has a significant presence in the city. It's also one of the largest banks in the country. Remember Queens County Savings Bank? That's one of the many banks they consolidated under their current brand, Flagstar Bank. If you have money there, you may want to think about moving it somewhere safer.

🔌You can now charge your fancy electric car in just a few minutes. Gravity has a new charging facility at 401-471 West 42nd Street that can give you 200 miles in 5 minutes. The Google-backed EV startup looks to roll out more super fast charging stations in NYC and across the country.

🍌Whole Foods is opening smaller quick-shop stores in the city. The smaller store format will allow Amazon to gain a foothold in higher-density areas where it may be difficult for them to open a full-size Whole Foods Market. Expect more grab-and-go items like sandwiches, smoothies, and pre-pack meals at these smaller venues. The first one is opening later this year and will be at 1175 Third Avenue on the Upper East Side. Great news for Amazon Prime members who can get an additional 5% off by using their Amazon Visa card at any Whole Foods store.

Things to do

  • Whitney Museum has free entry every second Sunday of the month. March 10th happens to be that day this month!

  • Maya Lin has a book reading at the Skyscraper Museum. She is the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

  • Tiffany’s has a free exhibition featuring artworks from Peter Marino, the architect behind the store’s interiors.

  • It’s Oscars weekend and 230 Fifth Rooftop has a viewing party.

Let’s Eat

  • Eataly has arrived in SoHo and has a new Italian brunch menu available on Saturdays and Sundays.

  • Lucky Rabbit Noodles is a tiny unadorned noodle shop in DUMBO. It’s a little hidden gem right near NYC’s most popular Instagram spot.

  • BonBon, the Swedish candy store is always busy and extremely popular on social media. It’s constantly selling out but if you can grab some of their Swedish Fish, it’s worth waiting for in line.

  • Win Son is a red-hot Tawainese restaurant and bakery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Fans can't get enough of their red date cake, mochi donuts, and egg sandos.

The Hood
Just a Few Stairs

Image: Douglas Elliman

🏨For $3,995, you can live in a two bedroom penthouse on 46th and 10th avenue. It’s in a busy area but has lots of good and relatively inexpensive restaurants. The apartment also has a washer and dryer in a pet friendly building. You and Fluffy will be so happy!

Disney’s New Home

Image: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Disney’s New York headquarters is nearly complete. The 22-story building located at 137 Varick Street will likely be ready this fall. This area is officially known as Hudson Square and has been a relatively quiet neighborhood in the past but things are about to change.

Google has recently moved into 550 Washington Street at the north end of Hudson Square. The two media giants will likely bring cafes, restaurants, and lots of shopping to this formerly sleepy area of the west side.

The Escape
AI Travel

✈️Kayak is introducing two new AI tools to help you travel better and cheaper. You can now upload a screenshot of your airfare from any website into their new PriceCheck tool which will conduct a search that will help you find the lowest price available.

The other new tool is a chatbot that will answer questions and help plan your vacation. It's built to answer questions like, "How much does it cost to fly to Rome from JFK in July?" You'll never need to talk to anyone again!

Mount Fuji

🗻Looks like there are too many tourists in Japan now that it has reopened for visitors. Japan has voted to charge 2,000 yen, approximately $13, for anyone who wants to climb Mount Fuji. Japan was a popular destination before covid and the pent up demand seems to have reached a boiling point where there’s just too many tourist.

The Deals

The Numbers
Bike Rides

Daily Bicycle Rides

Image/Source: NYC DOT

🚲The hardest bridge to ride over is surprisingly the one with the highest growth in crossings. Cycling over the Queensboro is one tough ride. It’s pretty steep and quite long but it grew from just under 5k daily rides in 2019 to a bit over 7k last year. Rides over the Williamsburg in that period have been about the same. I guess there’s so much to do there, they don’t need to come to Manhattan.