🌱 NYC Teens Welcome Migrants With Chess + NY Mass-Shooting Definition

Good morning, New York City!

• Lawmakers want to change the definition of a mass-shooting after recent incidents in the city.
• Amazon is facing a lawsuit over its alleged use of facial recognition technology.
• Two New York City high schoolers are welcoming asylum seekers through chess.

But first, today's weather:

Sunny and milder. High: 53 Low: 38.

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

1. “We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York,” wrote Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in a message to his staff, after it was reported that former President Donald Trump might be indicted this week. Trump told his supporters on Truth Social that they should "protest" if he is arrested. (Gothamist)
2. Some New York State lawmakers are pushing to change the definition of a mass-shooting to include any shooting where four or more people were either killed or injured. That's following a Brooklyn shooting inside an apartment building last week that left one person dead and three injured. (New York Daily News)
3. Amazon is facing a lawsuit alleging that it didn't disclose if its Amazon Go contactless stores were collecting personal "biometric identifier information," in violation of a 2021 New York City law that requires it notify shoppers. The New York Times published a story earlier this month on the Manhattan businesses using facial recognition technology. (CBS News)
4. Nearly four million people rode on New York City public transit on Thursday, March 16–represented the highest amount recorded in three years and breaking a pandemic record, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced. In comparison, 4.1 million people rode the trains on March 12, 2020. (AMNY)
5. Twin sophomores at Stuyvesant High School are taking it upon themselves to bring the children of recently-arrived asylum seekers a sense of community–through a chess club they founded in a theater space beneath St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Hell's Kitchen. "It’s not just a chess program ... But also a family that we’re trying to build," said Kaleb Lancman, 15. (New York City Patch)

New York City pic of the day:

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Today in New York City:

• Free Concert at Marble Church, Featuring Theodore Cheng on Pipe Organ (12:30 p.m.)
• Introduction to Photography (4 Sessions): Mar 20-Apr 10 (5:30 p.m.)
• Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night at Sek'end Sun (7 p.m.)
• Rejoice Resist: BIPOC Films and Filmmakers (7:45 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Ten Carmelite nuns have decided to leave Cyprus Hills, Brooklyn, after the loud parties and celebrations in nearby park became too much for them. (Subscription/The New York Times)
• Patch was on the ground at the St. Patrick's Day parade last Friday! (New York City Patch)
• It's a "long process" to a full recovery for Godzilla, the alligator that was found in Prospect Park last month and is currently resigning in the Bronx Zoo. (Bronx Times)
• City officials say they're cracking down on illegal license plate covers, that can block toll readers, cops, and red-light cameras. (New York Daily News)

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• SRFF 2023 - 10th anniversary edition Closing Awards Night (March 23)
• Water Week Boat Tour: Ocean Stewardship from the Bronx to Brooklyn (March 24)
• Humanist Happy Hour at Ethical (March 24)
• Miss Bomba Claudie, The Jamaican Talk Show Host (March 24)
• NYC Spring Market (March 26)
• The Kalief Browder Story: Talk and Screening w/ Akeem Browder (March 26)
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You're all caught up for today! See you all tomorrow for your next update.

— Dashiell Allen

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