🌱 NYC To Make Times Square 'Gun Free' + Roomster Accused Of $27M Scam

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

• ⛔️ Times Square is about to be designated a "gun free zone."
• 🏠 A popular app for finding roommates is accused of scamming users out of millions.
• 🚕 A plan to relieve taxi drivers of some debt will go into effect next month.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny. High: 84 Low: 68.

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

1. The NYPD plans to place temporary signage around Times Square on Thursday, officially making it a "gun free zone." The plans could become permanent with the passage of a bill in the City Council that members discussed on Tuesday. (New York City Patch)
2. Roomster, a popular Manhattan-based app used to find roommates, is being accused of scamming low-income users out of $27 million, according to a civil suit from NY Attorney General Letitia James and the Federal Trade Commission. They allege the company created fake listings that lured users to the app, leading them to pay for monthly subscriptions. (New York City Patch)
3. A plan to relieve NYC taxi drivers of debt by restructuring their loans will go into effect next month, after union leaders and lenders reached a deal on Tuesday. This comes nearly a year after an initial agreement was first announced. (AMNY)
4. Mayor Eric Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander are urging major credit card companies VISA, MasterCard and American Express, to specify purchases made of guns and ammunition as a form of tracing their sale – similar to how they currently classify purchases from grocery stores. (NY Daily News)
5. NY Governor Kathy Hochul announced she's launching a new advertising campaign to help low-income Black and Latino New Yorkers access child care programs, noting that just twelve percent of eligible recipients are currently enrolled. She recently announced $7 billion in funding, as part of the state's budget. (Gothamist)

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Today in New York City:

• EmblemHealth to Host Virtual Monkeypox Town Hall (11:30 p.m.)
• May-lee Chai + Sequoia Nagamatsu: Tomorrow in Shanghai at The Strand (7 p.m.)
• Seaport dance nights - Latin night (7 p.m.)
• Fresh Towels - A Comedy Show at Moxy NYC, The East Village (8 p.m.)
• Summer HD festival - Met Opera (8 p.m.)

Crime and safety corner:

• The man who beat a dog with a stick in Prospect Park, ultimately taking its life, was also seen assaulting another dog in 2019, according to dog owners. (New York City Patch)
• The man accused of murdering a delivery worker in Forest Hills after a dispute over duck sauce back in April declared his innocence in a suicide note that was read in a courtroom this week. (New York City Patch)

From my notebook:

• The LGBTQ community that frequents a portion of Jacob Riis beach in The Rockaways on Saturday celebrated Ms. Colombia, a queer icon who drowned at the beach in 2018, as the city prepares to demolish a nearby empty hospital building. (The City)
• The Daffodil Project is planning to plant many more flowers across New York City to honor victims of 9/11 and COVID-19 this fall. (Time Out)
• A new study from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science finds that sharks appear to frequent populated urban areas (such as, perhaps, New York's coastline.) (New York Post )
• Yorkville, on Manhattan's east side, is not normally considered a "cool" neighborhood–but it could become marginally trendier with the opening of a new sneaker shop, Vaulted Laces. (New York City Patch)
• New Yorkers protested in Midtown yesterday against a plan to redevelop (and demolish) a portion of blocks around Penn Station, staging a mock funeral for buildings at risk of meeting the chopping block. (New York Post)

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Alrighty, you're all caught up for today! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow morning with your next update.

— Dashiell Allen

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