🌱 NYC To Open 24 Subway Bathrooms + Uber, Lyft Drivers Getting Raise

Good morning, New York City!

• Lots more subway bathrooms are opening this spring
• Speaker Adrianne Adams is putting "people over everything"
• Uber and Lyft drivers are poised to get a 2.5 percent raise

But first, today's weather: Mostly sunny and breezy. High: 48 Low: 32.

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

1. Twenty-four more bathrooms in subway stations will be reopened by May, the MTA announced, making 30 percent of all facilities reopened. People used the nine open restrooms 35,000 times since January, the agency added. Click here to see if a facility is opening near you. (New York City Patch)
2. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams made her first State of the City address on Wednesday, with the theme of "people over everything." She vowed to fill thousands of vacancies at city agencies, and floated the possibility of bringing back a once controversial plan to building housing on land owned by the New York City Housing Authority. (THE CITY)
3. An Upper West Side Community Board voted against a proposed charging hub for delivery workers' electric bikes that would have been located adjacent to a major subway station. Board members expressed concerns over the lithium-ion batteries' potential to start fires. (Gothamist)
4. Workers at bodegas across the city expressed mixed-to-negative reactions to Mayor Eric Adams' recent suggestion that customers remove their masks when entering shops to prevent robberies. One said he thought asking people to take off their face coverings could potentially mean asking for trouble. (New York City Patch)
5. Uber and Lyft drivers will get a 2.25 percent raise after a Taxi and Limousine Commission vote on Wednesday. The move was met with cheers from workers, and Uber said in a statement the amount was more "reasonable" than a previous increase they had opposed. (New York Daily News)

New York City pic of the day:

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Today in New York City:

• Municipal Art Society presents Jane's Walk NYC Information Session (5:30 p.m.)
• Salsa Thursdays at Time Out Market New York (6 p.m.)
• Young Gun Silver Fox Live at Bowery Ballroom (8 p.m.)
• Ravi Coltrane — Blue Note Jazz Club (8 p.m.)
• The Boss Bitch Show — The Comedy Shop (8 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Another "wintry mix" is possible on Friday and Saturday, but it's too soon to say exactly what that means. (NBC New York)
• Community groups and preservationists are concerned the city's Landmarks Commission is too controlled by the real estate industry. (Brownstoner)
• You can now buy Brooklyn's tallest tower... if you have around $600 million to spare. (New York Post)
• Here's how demonstrators marked International Women's Day outside of the United Nations yesterday. (AMNY)
• A new Black Studies curriculum is coming to New York City public schools next fall, at the same time that other states, including Florida, are moving to restrict similar programs. (subscription/The New York Times)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Thursday off right. I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow with another update!

— Dashiell Allen

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