🌱Ex Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin Bribery Charges Tossed + NYC Murders Rise

Good morning, New York City!

• A federal judge has dropped bribery charges against former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin.
• A Brooklyn City Councilman is switching from the Democratic to Republican Party.
• Meet Mayor Eric Adams' closest advisor.

But first, today's weather:

Morning drizzle, then rain. High: 56 Low: 52.

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

1. A federal judge dropped three out of five charges against former New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, who resigned last spring after being arrested on bribery charges. The judge ruled there wasn't an explicit 'quid-pro-quo' between Benjamin and a Harlem developer, although he kept two counts related to making false entries in a record to impede an investigation will remain. (New York City Patch)
2. Crime in New York City decreased overall by 1.2 percent in November, despite a 20 percent rise in murders, according to newly released NYPD data. There were 30 murders over the past month, compared to 25 in November 2021. (New York City Patch)
3. Brooklyn City Councilman Ari Kagan announced on Monday that he is switching his party membership from Democratic to Republican, citing his former party moving too far to the left for his liking, and will be challenging his colleague Councilman Justin Brannan in next year's election. This follows changes to Kagan's district in the redistricting process. (AMNY)
4. A "master plan" introduced by former Mayor Bill de Blasio to provide free or low-cost high-speed internet to over 1 million New Yorkers has been quietly canceled by Eric Adams' administration, city officials confirmed. (Gothamist)
5. The federal government has once again delayed the deadline to obtain a REAL ID in order to board a domestic flight by two years, to 2025, in part due to slow downs in issuing driver's licenses across the country due to the pandemic. New York State has been issuing the IDs, which require four pieces of identification, since 2017. (New York City Patch)

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Today in New York City:

• Nou Pap Bliye Ayiti — Never Forget Haiti (9:00 AM)
• Free Coffee At Épicerie Boulud To Celebrate New Lavazza Cafe Opening (10:00 AM)
• We Didn't Start The Friars — Comedy and Karaoke at The Friars Club (6:00 PM)
• New York City's Gilded Age — 92nd Street Y (6:30 PM)
• AAWW & The Strand Present: Sabrina Imbler + Rachel E. Gross (7:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Farmers are saying the rising price of labor and fertilizer, among other factors, could make Christmas trees up to 20 percent more expensive this year in New York City. (WABC-TV)
• A petition signed by families and teachers is asking the Department of Education to eliminate New York State's Regents exams as a graduation requirement, calling them discriminatory. The requirement had been lifted for the past two years due to the pandemic. (Subscription/New York Daily News)
• TikTok influencers in NYC are struggling to find housing in New York City, even with their hundreds of thousands of followers and incomes as high as six-figures. (New York Post )
• Santa Claus was rescued from the roof of the New York City Fire Museum over the weekend in front of a cheering crowd. Here's pictures from the monumental occasion. (AMNY)
• Meet Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Mayor Eric Adams' closest advisor, who has been with him for the past 17 years since he was a police captain, and who tends to stay out of the media's eyes. (City & State NY)

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• Cristina Fontanelli's 19th-annual "Christmas in Italy®" (December 17)
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