New York Today: Catching Up

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/nyregion/new-york-today-labor-day-weekend-news.html

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Updated, 8:44 a.m.

Good morning on this temperamental Tuesday.

While you had your toes in the sand and sun in your face (we hope), the holiday weekend in New York was one of reversed expectations.

• After bloodshed at last year’s J’ouvert festival, the Police Department and city officials promised a safer iteration of the event on Monday.

That didn’t happen.

Despite a huge police presence, two people were killed and at least two others were wounded during the predawn celebration near Prospect Park.

• The storm known as Hermine (psst — it’s pronounced “her-MEEN”) initially threatened to wallop our city as it made its way up the East Coast.

Beachgoers were urged to leave Fire Island on Sunday and the city’s beaches remain closed to swimming and surfing today, but the storm has moved farther east leaving the tristate area largely unscathed.

It should linger off the coast of Long Island near Montauk until Wednesday morning.

Labor Day weekend also had its fair share of peculiar news.

• A West Village man hid an excavation next to his house by installing a fake backyard on top of it.

• The police are asking the public for help in identifying four people suspected of having stolen approximately 1,249 cartons or bars of ice cream since at least November.

• A bicycle deliveryman is suing David N. Dinkins, claiming the former mayor hit him with his car. Mr. Dinkins has said he was unaware of having hit anyone.

• A con artist is sending out letters requesting $120 fees for vermin violations.

Here’s what else is happening:

It may or may not rain today. And it may or may not rain tonight.

But one thing’s for certain: It doesn’t feel like fall yet, and it won’t all week.

Expect highs near 80 today and on Wednesday, and highs near 90 through the weekend.

Oh, the dog days of summer.

• All eyes are on Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey as the trial resulting from the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal begins. [New York Times]

• Relatively little attention has been focused on the role religion played in shaping the personality of Donald J. Trump. [New York Times]

• A new “food-to-institution” hub in the Bronx aims to expand access to high-quality vegetables and fruits. [New York Times]

• The Department of Health will spray pesticides in Queens on Wednesday to eliminate mosquitoes that may carry West Nile or Zika viruses. [CBS]

• ... And it’ll start in Staten Island today. [Staten Island Advance]

• A reconstructed 79th Street pier, largely wrecked by Hurricane Sandy, has opened to the public. [West Side Rag]

• Judges elected in New York will change lives. [WNYC]

• Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn is becoming pricier — here’s why. [DNAInfo]

• A look at the 2016 New York Air Show. [Epoch Times]

• Beyoncé has postponed Wednesday’s concert at MetLife Stadium under “strict doctor’s orders for vocal rest.” [NBC]

• Today’s Metropolitan Diary: “Eating Lobster Tails at Gage & Tollner”

• Scoreboard: Yankees mock Blue Jays, 5-3. Mets boil Reds, 5-0.

• For a global look at what’s happening, see Your Tuesday Briefing.

• The New York Clown Theater Festival continues with comedic performances at the Brick Theater in Williamsburg. Show times and prices vary.

• An art exhibition called “Dreams of Color” celebrates dancers of color in the world of ballet at Poe Park Visitor Center in the Bronx. 9 a.m. [Free]

• Stargaze with members of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York at the High Line at 14th Street. 6:30 p.m. [Free]

• The author Jonathan Safran Foer presents his new novel at Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope. 7:30 p.m. [$10]

• Bring a blanket to a screening of “Cinderella” at the Park House in Yellowstone Park in Queens. 7:30 p.m. [Free]

• Yankees host Blue Jays, 7:05 p.m. (YES). Mets at Reds, 7:10 p.m. (SNY).

• For more events, see The New York Times’s Arts & Entertainment guide.

• Subway and PATH

• Railroads: L.I.R.R., Metro-North, N.J. Transit, Amtrak

• Roads: Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s or the 8s.

• Alternate-side parking: in effect until Sept. 12.

• Ferries: Staten Island Ferry, New York Waterway, East River Ferry

• Airports: La Guardia, J.F.K., Newark

Our ship is coming in.

This week, the S.S. John W. Brown will be docking at Pier 36 on the East River.

The arrival is a homecoming of sorts for the World War II freighter.

In 1946, after serving in invasions of Italy and the south of France, the steamship was transferred to New York City’s Education Board and used as a floating high school for teaching maritime trades.

It spent around 35 years docked in the East River and is one of only two Liberty Ships still in operation.

Beginning on Saturday, the ship, now run as a museum by a nonprofit group, will be open daily for tours starting at 10 a.m.

Or you can sign up for a 1940s-themed cruise on Sept. 18, complete with re-enactors and World War II-era aircraft flying overhead.

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