🌱 NYers Vomiting Could Be Related To Norovirus + E-Bike Battery Bills

Good morning, New York City!

• Today we take a look at why more New Yorkers appear to be vomiting
• The City Council passes a set of bills to curb e-bike battery fires
• A subway station in Bed-Stuy had more fare evasion arrests than anywhere else in the city at the end of last year

But first, today's weather: Windy; a little a.m. rain. High: 46 Low: 34. Beware of possible coastal flooding!

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

1. More and more New Yorkers are going to the emergency room for vomiting — at least 400 per day in mid-February. With 48,000 complaints registered since November, the uptick appears to coincide with a rise in norovirus cases, sometimes referred to as a "stomach flu." It's hard to know for sure, because it's not tracked as closely as COVID-19. (New York City Patch)
2. The City Council this week voted to pass a series of bills aimed at curbing e-bike lithium ion battery fires, by restricting who could sell the batteries used by delivery workers, as well as other measures like banning "second-use" batteries. The Workers Justice Project said the bills are lacking a "comprehensive plan" to help workers transition to safer e-bikes. (THE CITY)
3. Nearly all categories of crime fell in February compared to in 2022, except for felony assaults and grand larcenies of autos and assaults on cops, according to the NYPD's latest stats released on Friday. (New York City Patch)
4. Mayor Eric Adams is promoting a little-known tax break for low-income working New Yorkers, known as the Earned Income Tax Credit. It's a federal program, but the city has more than doubled its contribution to it annually from $100 to $250 million. (Gothamist)
5. It's looking more likely that a version of a "good cause eviction" bill could make it into the New York State budget this year, according to Democratic assemblymember and housing committee chair, Linda Rosenthal. The controversial proposal would limit evictions without a "good cause" and establish automatic lease renewals. (Spectrum News NY1)

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This weekend in New York City:

• Saturday: New York Family Fun Day & Camp Fair — Brooklyn (12 p.m.)
• First Saturdays at the Brooklyn Museum (5 p.m.)
• Sunday: Purim Carnival — Staten Island (11 a.m.)
• Sunday: GatherNYC concert at Museum of Arts & Design (11 a.m.)
• Saturday & Sunday: Outsider Art Fair New York 2023 — Chelsea (11 a.m. - 8 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• The average rent in New York City has fallen for the fifth consecutive month, a new study found, although it's overall still pretty high. In February, a typical one-bedroom apartment cost $3,550. (New York City Patch)
• Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's famous "tax the rich" dress is at the center of a House ethics investigation, over whether she "allegedly accepting impermissible gifts as part of her Met Gala attendance in 2021." (Gothamist)
• Here's renderings of what a casino in Coney Island might look like. (New York Daily News)
• As the shoe shining business takes a hit from remote and hybrid work, one Penn Station stand worker shines on. (NBC New York)
• The Broadway Junction A/C stop in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn was where the most people were arrested for fare evasion in the last three months of 2022, police data shows. Of 63 people arrested, just two were white. (Bedy-Stuy Patch)

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You're officially in the loop for today! I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow morning with a new update.

— Dashiell Allen

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