🌱 MTA Penn Station Access 'Back On Track' + How To Celebrate Purim NYC

Good morning, New York City!

Happy Purim to all who celebrate! Find a guide to the festivities below.

• The MTA's plan to bring train service from The Bronx on a Metro North line is back on track.
• Two men's deaths after leaving gay bars have been deemed "drug-facilitated homicides."
• The number of court transcribers in the city is dwindling.

But first, today's weather:

Sun followed by some clouds. High: 52 Low: 37.

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

1. Amtrak has agreed to give the Metropolitan Transit Authority more access for construction along the Hell Gate line between The Bronx and Manhattan, putting a suburban transit project to build four new stations in The Bronx and connect them with Manhattan's west side back on track to be completed by 2027. (THE CITY)
2. Two gay men's deaths after leaving nightclubs last year have been deemed homicides with “drug-facilitated thefts,” by New York City's Office of the Medical Examiner. They were perviously described as "“drug overdoses.” (Gay City News)
3. Seniors in New York City are lining up at food pantries following the end of emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (known as SNAP) allotments last Wednesday. In some cases, the amount of cash assistance for groceries a senior living alone could receive per month has now decreased from $281 to just $23. (New York Daily News)
4. The number of "court reporters" in New York City is dwindling with many opting to retire early during the pandemic, industry insiders say. They're the workers who transcribe legal proceedings across the five boroughs verbatim. Karen Santucci, who teaches the only court reporting program in the city, sees that as an opportunity to train the next generation. (New York Daily News)
5. Queens held its St. Patrick's Day parade on Sunday in The Rockaways, with bagpipes and schoolchildren ringing in the 48th annual celebration. (Queens Courier)
   • Another St. Patrick's Day parade in Staten Island, also on Sunday, was met with controversy due to its continued exclusion of LGBTQ+ groups from marching. A Staten Island Community Board had requested the city to withhold approximately $300,000 in funding that goes towards NYPD overtime and sanitation workers for the event. (SILive.com)

New York City pic of the day:

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Today in New York City:

• The Workers Circle Presents the History of The Purim Shpil with Motl Didner (1 p.m.)
• Open Mic Spectacular - EastVille Comedy Club (6 p.m.)
• African Dream Academy 2023 Spring Benefit - The Brick Church (6:30 p.m.)
• Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night at Farside Tavern (8 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• The Jewish holiday of Purim, a time when the community "likes to let loose and have a really good time," will begin tonight at sundown. Here's a guide to how and where to celebrate it in the city. (Gothamist)
• Speaking on Sunday, Mayor Eric Adams said he thinks Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's loss in her reelection bid is a sign that his focus on crime and public safety is popular. "I showed up at crime scenes. I knew what New Yorkers were saying and I saw it all over the country," he said on CNN's State of the Union. (Gothamist)
• Electric car ownership in the New York City area has more than doubled over the past two years, with about seven vehicles per every 1,000 people. (Subscription/The New York Times)
• The cost to ride the AirTrain at JFK Airport went up 25 cents on Sunday, to a total of $8.25–just one year after another increase. The Port Authority called it an "automatic inflation-based adjustment." (Spectrum News NY1)
• A hazmat incident in Midtown Manhattan on Sunday left one person dead and four people injured, according to reports. (New York City Patch)

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