🌱AG: BK Real Estate Blacklisted Tenants + Housing For Asylum Seekers

Good morning New York City! Here's what's going on:

• ⚖️ A Brooklyn real estate company may have discriminated against prospective tenants with housing court records.
• 🏩 Amid a shortage in shelter space, NYC plans on renting thousands of hotel rooms to house asylum seekers sent from Texas.
• 💰 Special interest groups are weighing in with large sums of money in several NYC State Senate races.

Don't forget to check out the night market today in Chelsea!

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny and warmer. High: 84 Low: 70.

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Here are the top five stories today in New York City:

1. Clipper Equity, LLC, a Brooklyn-based real estate company, "blacklisted" prospective tenants that had history in housing court, according to a settlement announced by New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday. The settlement is part of a larger crackdown on the illegal practice. (New York City Patch)
2. New York City is planning to rent as many as 5,000 hotel rooms to house migrants arriving in the city from the southern border in Texas, amid a shortage in shelter beds. (New York Daily News) Meanwhile, city officials are working to help get at least 40 children of asylum seekers enrolled in school before classes start. (NY1)
3. Large super PACs, with ties to Wall Street and the real estate industry, have spent over $1 million this election cycle on Democratic State Senate primaries, in most cases backing moderate candidates that are challenging more progressive opponents. In one Bronx race, a PAC has spent more than the two leading candidates combined. (Gothamist)
4. Thirty-nine families, primarily Chinese-speaking and Spanish-speaking, have been displaced from their apartment building in Sunset Park since a fire in May. Now they are scattered across the city at shelters in Brooklyn and The Bronx. They've said their landlord has been too slow in repairing their building. (Documented NY)
5. There's good news for train commuters from Long Island and Upstate New York. The MTA now has a new application that combines Long Island Rail Road and Metro North train schedules and tickets into a single platform. Previously, you had to use three separate apps. (AMNY)

New York City pic of the day:

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Today in New York City:

• Night Market - Free - Asian Street Food & Festival (5 p.m.)
• Bar Moxy Music: Momentum featuring Joy (6 p.m.)
• Parker’s at Thompson Central Park Live Summer Jazz Nights (6 p.m.)
• Battery Dance Festival 2022 in Wagner Park (7 p.m.)
• Lincoln Center hosts Ukrainian Free Orchestra (7:30 p.m.)

Crime and safety corner:

• The NYPD recently seized 19 trucks selling cannabis without a permit. It's legal to smoke marijuana recreationally in New York, but selling it is a little more complicated. (New York City Patch)
• Three electrical contractors stole $1.7 million in workers' wages for work on schools and NYCHA projects, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. (New York City Patch)
• A synagogue in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, was defaced with graffiti reading "Hitler," first observed on Wednesday morning. (Brooklyn Paper)

From my notebook:

• Check out this kaleidoscope–inspired public art installation in west Manhattan through September 5th if you've felt you could use more color in your life. (Time Out)
• Reports of polio spreading in New York — and possibly within the five boroughs — may have some New Yorkers anxious to check if they were immunized against the disease as a child. Here's how you can find out, and what to know about polio. (Gothamist)
• Here's a comprehensive guide written in partnership with ProPublica, that shows New Yorkers how to apartment hunt "like a reporter." (THE CITY)
• The owners of a historic Upper West Side church that has been seeking permission to be demolished, are suing its nonprofit tenant, the Center at West Park, which wants to "foil" their plans. (New York City Patch)
• The storied Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem is getting a multimillion-dollar "face lift," according to an announcement made Wednesday. (New York City Patch)

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You're all caught up for today. I'll see you around!

— Dashiell Allen

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming New York City Daily? Contact me at patchnyc@patch.com