🌱 Solitary Confinement Ban Before NYC Council + Fire Dept. Harassment

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

• The City Council is considering a bill to ban solitary confinement on Rikers Island.
• A firefighter speaks up about harassment within the FDNY.
• Rachael Ray will be designing menus for New York City school children's lunch.

But first, today's weather:

Periods of sun. High: 70 Low: 54.

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

1. The City Council will hold a hearing today on a bill that would ban solitary confinement on Rikers Island. Sixteen inmates have died in the troubled jail so far this year, including two last week. The hearing comes right after The New York Times reported that the city's jail boss Louis Molina sought to release a detainee suffering from cardiac arrest to take him "off the Department's count." (New York City Patch)
2. Eight-year veteran Crown Heights firefighter Anita Daniel joined colleagues in testifying to rampant harassment and discrimination within the FDNY at a recent City Council hearing. According to Daniel, the Department's culture encourages bad behavior that almost always goes unreported. The Council is considering a bill that could diversify the FDNY's largely white and male ranks. (New York City Patch)
3. New Jersey and New York respectively had the two lowest suicide rates in the United States in 2020, a new analysis from the Violence Policy Center found. The study cites low gun ownership rates and strong gun control laws as the main reasons. (Gothamist)
4. New York City Mayor Eric Adams indicated on Tuesday that the city's long-standing right-to-shelter rule will not apply to his administration's planned tent camp on Orchard Beach for asylum seekers arriving from Texas. While details on the camp are still vague, work appears to have begun in earnest on Tuesday. (New York City Patch)
5. A Flatbush landlord will spend 6 months in prison and 5 years on probation after a 70-year-old woman died in 2019 in a building he owned. Landlord Evener Leon didn't pay for heating, instead providing space heaters for tenants. One of the space heaters led to the fire that killed the resident who jumped from the burning building. (THE CITY)

New York City pic of the day:

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Today in New York City:

• New York's 22nd Annual Diversity Employment Day Career Fair — Times Square (11 a.m.)
• MindTravel Silent Walking Meditation on NYC's High Line (6 p.m.)
• Alex deSuze To Present “Late Bloomer” — Don't Tell Mama (7 p.m.)
• Zain Khalid and Sarah Thankam Mathews: Evening with authors of two debut novels — Revolution Books (7 p.m.)
• Celebrate Oktoberfest with a Stein Hoisting Contest at Clinton Hall (7:30 p.m.)

Crime and safety corner:

• A man and a woman are expected to survive after being shot in the leg on 125th Street in broad daylight on Tuesday, according to police. (New York City Patch)
• It took more than 100 firefighters to respond to a blaze in a 6-story Washington Heights building on Tuesday, which caused no injuries. (New York City Patch)

From my notebook:

• Celebrity chef Rachael Ray will join a panel of cooks developing healthy plant-based lunches for New York City public school students. (New York City Patch)
• If you'd like to learn more about the quality of public-school lunch in NYC, look no further than this student-run Instagram account. (Instagram)
• The Upper West Side's Trinity School was named the sixth best private high school in the nation in a new ranking. Here's where some of the city's other elite schools stand. (New York City Patch)
• New York City isn't planning to enforce its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for police officers while appealing a judge's ruling scrapping it, according to the Police Benevolent Association. (New York Post)
• New York City doled out $127 million in matching funds to candidates during the 2021 election season, in an extremely crowded primary field. (THE CITY)

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Events:

• Speyer School Virtual Tour (September 28)
• Zain Khalid and Sarah Thankam Mathews: Evening with authors of 2 Debut Novels: (September 28)
• Speyer School Virtual Tour (September 29)
• Madison Avenue Men's Style Month Late Night Shopping Block Party (September 29)
• Italian Cooking Class and Dinner with Tiramisu Finale, NY (September 30)
• Jewel Yacht Dance under the Moonlight NYC Midnight Yacht Friday Party (September 30)
• West 44th St ANNUAL GARAGE SALE (October 1)
• 32nd Annual West 104th Street Yard Sale (October 1)
• Adelphi Orchestra — Love Letter to Humanity (October 1)
• Jewel Yacht Hip Hop vs Reggae® NYC Saturday Midnight Yacht Party 2022 (October 1)
• Sturbridge Ma Summer Doll, Bear & Miniature Show & Sale (October 2)
• The Evil Queen's Halloween Drag Brunch: NYC / Brooklyn / Bushwick (October 2)
• My Name Is Marina: A Jazz Suite Celebrating Russian Poet Marina Tsvetaeva (October 2)
• What Everyone's Talking About with Abigail Pogrebin: Marc Shaiman, Award-Winning Composer (October 3)
• City Gate Productions Presents: Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire (October 14)
• Uptown Riders Street Art Bike Tour (October 15)
• Dracula. Theater at St Jeans Oct. 18-19 (October 19)
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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Wednesday! I'll be 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