🌱 NY To Ban Sale Of Dogs, Cats, Rabbits In Pet Stores + Free Buses?

Good morning, New York City!

• 🛑 The city is cracking down on illegal cannabis shops ahead of licensed ones opening.
• 🐱🐶🐰 Pretty soon pet stores will be banned from selling cats, dogs and rabbits.
• 🚍 Lawmakers have a plan to make MTA buses free.

But first, today's weather:

Rain tapering off. High: 46 Low: 36.

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

1. The Brooklyn subway station where a mass shooting took place in April had a security camera outage for four days that went unnoticed for 24 hours, a report released by the MTA Inspector General found. The report sites "staffing shortfalls" in maintenance positions as a problem plaguing the entire transit agency. Twenty-three people were injured in the shooting. (New York City Patch)
2. Mayor Eric Adams is cracking down on illegal cannabis stores, with a joint task force that he said has already compensated 100,000 illegal products. The city is making a distinction in its enforcement between "unlicensed smoke shops" and dealers who sold weed before it was legalized, who are encouraged to transition into the new industry. (Gothamist)
3. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill on Thursday that will ban the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in New York's pet stores starting in December 2024. Aimed at ending the "puppy mill pipeline" from breeders to stores, the new law would encourage New Yorkers to adopt from animal shelters instead. It faced stiff opposition from the pet store industry. (Subscription/The New York Times) (Free/Spectrum New York 1)
4. Two progressive state lawmakers are proposing a plan to make all MTA buses free four years from now and capping metro card fares at $2.75. In total the plan would cost over $3 billion annually, but the legislators said some of that funding could come from increased revenue generated by higher amounts of passengers. (AMNY)
5. A former aide to NY Attorney General Letitia James is suing her past employer for allegedly cover up sexual assault and harassment by her past chief of staff Ibrahim Khan who resigned recently. She is accusing James of making "misleading" statements to describe his leave of absence while an investigation into his actions was ongoing. (New York Post)

New York City pic of the day:

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Today in New York City:

• "A Very Merry Brooklyn Holiday Concert" — St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church (7 p.m.)
• Live at W83 featuring Musicians from the New York Philharmonic with pianist Eileen Buck (7 p.m.)
• Live Music Fridays! Kerry Kearney & Friends — Bar Marseille Rockaway (7 p.m.)
• Alias Smith & Jones @ The Shrine featuring THE BUTTON MEN! (8 p.m.)
• TarantinosNYC @ Pete's Candy Store (10 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• The world's largest menorah is now standing outside of the Plaza Hotel next to Central Park ahead of the first night of Hanukkah on Dec. 18. (Subscription/New York Daily News)
• A new map from the parks departments will show you how many trees are in your neighborhood. (Time Out)
• The fire at an NYPD warehouse storing evidence from past cases was put out on Wednesday evening, with its cause still under investigation. A decade ago, the police department had said it would move evidence to another facility after it was flooded during Hurricane Sandy. (New York City Patch)
• The Metropolitan Opera's website, box-office and call center services have been restored following a cyberattack. (Gothamist)
• Plans to demolish Wagner Park at the southern tip of Manhattan have been put on hold after a community group filed a lawsuit. (THE CITY)

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Events:

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• Death in New York Walking Tour (December 17)
• "Christmas In The New World": A Holiday Concert With The Western Wind (December 17)
• Children's Christmas Pageant & Artists' Boutique at Marble Collegiate Church (December 18)
• Angelica Women’s Chamber Choir presents “Nowel: Out of your sleep arise” (December 18)
• An Evening of Community Christmas Caroling, Tree Lighting & Year End Holiday Celebration (December 18)
• OY GEVALT Comedy Night: Holiday Edition (December 21)
• Posada y Parranda — A Celebration of Holiday Traditions & Community with Los Pleneros de la 21 (December 22)
• Holiday Lights At The Bronx Zoo (December 23)
• Baby Shark Live!: The Christmas Show (December 30)
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Thanks for following along and staying informed. I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow morning with another update!

— Dashiell Allen

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