🌱 Trump Org. To Pay $1.61M For Tax Fraud + NYC's Bed Bugs Make List

Good morning, New York City!

• The Trump Organization has been ordered to pay $1.6 million, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg announced.
• A soccer stadium in Queens could cost tax payers hundreds of millions, despite city promises that it wouldn't.
• What to do and how to volunteer on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (this Monday).

But first, today's weather:

Breezy and colder. High: 39 Low: 27.

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

1. The Trump Organization was ordered to pay $1.6 million in a sentencing on Friday, after being convicted for 17 tax crimes, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced, stating the amount was largest legally permitted under the law. “I want to be very clear: we don’t think that is enough,” he said. (New York City Patch)
2. Mayor Eric Adams' budget proposal includes cuts to many city agencies, including libraries and public schools, that would need to cut spending without reducing staff or services. Meanwhile the NYPD's budget includes $454.8 million — just about half the amount of overtime spending that it uses in a given fiscal year — raising questions from observers that it could spend far over that amount. (THE CITY)
3. The new soccer stadium that is planned to be built in Willets Point, Queens could cost taxpayers $516 million over a 49-year period, an analysis by the city's Independent Budget Office found. That's because, while the city isn't directly subsidizing the stadium's construction, no property taxes would be generated on the site, as it is being rented, rather than sold, to developers. (Subscription/The New York Times)
4. Some NYC lawmakers are concerned that Lunar New Year, celebrated in the city's East and Southeast Asian communities, won't come with a day off from school this year, given that it falls on a Sunday. (Spectrum New York 1)
5. Ick! New York City was the second-most bed bug-infested city in 2022, beaten only by Chicago, a new ranking found. The data comes from the metro areas where the pest control company performed the most bed bug treatments but contradicts self-reported city stats which show infestations per dwelling unit decreased last year from 17,000 in 2021 to 6,900 in 2022. (New York City Patch)

New York City pic of the day:

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Today in New York City:

• Saturday: Frosty 4K & Icy 8K — Forest Park, Queens (10 a.m.)
• Saturday: An activism tour of Central Park (11 a.m.)
• All weekend: Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day — Brooklyn Children's Museum (10:30 a.m.)
• Sunday: BagelFest Winter Games (9:30 a.m.)
• All weekend: Thunderbird American Dancers Pow-Wow and Dance Concert (3 p.m.)

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

• Here's Patch's guide to what's open and closed around the city.
• Click here for volunteer opportunities with Hunger Free America, and here to volunteer with city parks.

From my notebook:

• An East Harlem Assemblyman wants to rename his neighborhood's Thomas Jefferson Park and is putting the decision in the hands of his community. Local students have already proposed Frederick Douglas and names commemorating New York City's original Indigenous residents as alternatives. (New York City Patch)
• Mayor Eric Adams wants the state government to open an emergency shelter for 500 migrant families, according to a statement, which says that is just an "initial request." Hizzoner put the number of asylum seekers the city has provided food and beds to since last spring at 40,000. (Gothamist)
• The subway's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 42nd Street Shuttle trains will shut off their countdown clocks for 12 hours on Sunday, temporarily taking passengers back to 2006, when they were first introduced. (New York City Patch)
• Ads promoting Gov. Kathy Hochul's pick for chief judge of the New York State Supreme Court, Hector LaSalle, are being run by a group formerly called Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware. (City & State)
• The owner of the Saks Fifth Avenue department store chain wants to place a casino in the top three floors of its flagship store, featuring a red carpet-lined entrance. (Subscription/The New York Times)

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Events:

• Massive Furniture Warehouse Liquidation Sale (January 14)
• New Habits Brunch (January 14)
• Open House (January 15)
• Marble Church to Present ‘Justice and the Church: Women and the Social Gospel’ (January 15)
• Introduction to Judaism (January 18)
• Berkeley College Honors Program Information Session (January 18)
• High School and Middle School Admissions Workshop (January 19)
• Author A.J. Jacobs in Conversation with Freakonomics’ Stephen J. Dubner (January 19)
• Empire Beats LIVE at Silvana Harlem Fri Jan 20, 2023 (January 20)
• Organic Cold Process Soap Making Class NYC (January 28)
• Add your event

You're all caught up for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— Dashiell Allen

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