🌱 West Village Bookstore Closes Down + NY State Curbs Crypto Mining

Happy Saturday New York City! The state legislative session ended this week, with a two-year moratorium on crypto mining and smaller class sizes for NYC, meanwhile a 30-year-old bookstore in the West Village is closing and the City Council wants to prevent apartment building fires. Don’t miss the Greek Independence Day Parade and Queens Pride this weekend.

First, today’s weather:

Mostly sunny and pleasant. High: 81 Low: 58.

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

1. Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Books, a beloved 30-year-old bookstore in the West Village, is set to close at the end of June due to a massive rent hike. It’s one of the last bastions of “old” New York in the neighborhood. The store’s owner is optimistic that, with the help of the community, he can reopen soon in a new location. (New York City Patch)
2. The NYC City Council passed a bill to mandate a minimum of 300 proactive inspections per year of buildings with self-closing doors, hoping to prevent further tragedy like the fire in The Bronx this January that took 17 lives. (New York City Patch)
3. New York State’s legislative session ended this week. One of the bills to pass at the last minute would prevent power plants from being converted to cryptocurrency mining hubs for the next two years. It now heads to the governor to sign. (Associated Press)
   • The state also passed a bill to reduce class sizes in NYC schools, despite misgivings from Mayor Adams. (New York City Patch)
   • And in the wake of recent mass-shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, the state passed “sweeping gun control legislation” that would raise the minimum age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle to 21 and strengthen background checks, among other measures. (New York City Patch)
4. One of the bills that didn’t pass the state legislature this year is ‘good-cause’ eviction, which would have prevented unregulated tenants from receiving monstrous rent hikes or from being evicted without, as the name suggests, a “good cause.” (Gothamist)
5. An Astoria, Queens Community Board rejected a 5-block rezoning proposal, dubbed Innovation QNS, despite the developer making last-minute concessions including lowering building heights and adding a sports and recreational facility. The massive project would remain at only 25% of affordable housing, the minimum required under the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing. (New York City Patch)

New York City pic of the day:

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Your guide to the weekend:

• There’s live music and free ice cream on the East River Esplanade this Saturday (1 p.m.)
• Five Boroughs Music Festival Presents the Harlem Chamber Players on Saturday (3 p.m.)
• The MoMA Presents Performances of “May Amnesia Never Kiss Us on The Mouth”: Hiro Kone on Saturday (7 p.m.)
• Queens ‘New Pride’ is happening Sunday in Jackson Heights (noon)
• There’s a Greek Independence Day parade on Sunday on the Upper East Side (1:30 p.m.)

See the full guide here! (New York City Patch)

There’s also a West Village theater festival showing off the work of immigrant artists running through June 12th.

And if you’re looking for a good bite to eat…

• Might we suggest checking out Tastes of Brooklyn’s first-ever Park Slope food crawl featuring 19 local restaurants–today starting at 2 p.m. (New York City Patch)
• There’s a new Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side, Il Gradino, that will make you whatever you like–even if it’s not on the menu. (New York City Patch)
• Emilia by Nai, a seafood and vegetarian dig from a self-trained chef, is opening in the East Village next week. (Time Out)

Crime Corner:

• Records show that the man accused of killing a delivery worker, Zhiwen Yan, in Queens had a history of harassing the restaurant where he worked. (New York City Patch)
• An ex-NYPD officer was arrested on Friday outside of the U.S. Capitol sporting body armor and gun magazines. (NBC New York)
• Two lawyers that are accused of throwing Molotov cocktails during protests over the murder of George Floyd pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges, in an agreement with prosecutors who had hoped to treat them as terrorists. (New York City Patch)

From my notebook:

• This super cute bodega cat wants you to enjoy your weekend. (Twitter)
• Not as planned: the truck hit the car so the man hit the truck and the car hit a trash can. (Instagram)
• “Fabrications, conspiracy theories and outright lies are becoming commonplace from radical fringe groups as well as from people who you would hope would know better — and you know who they are,” said Dr. Anthony Fauchi, speaking at a CUNY graduation ceremony on Friday. His comments appear to have been a jab at former President Trump. (New York Post)
• Watch: a brave woman from Alaska single-handedly carries an opossum out of a Greenpoint bar as onlookers cheer. (New York City Patch)

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Events:

• National Croquet Day with The New York Croquet Club (June 4)
• Acing ALS Tennis Tournament & Mantoloking Yacht Club Dinner (June 4)
• Jazz By The Water™ Celebrating Jazz Yesterday and Today™ (June 4)
• Dance the Wave NYC Booze Saturday Sunset Cabana Yacht Party 2022 (June 4)
• Hip Hop vs Reggae® Saturday Midnight NYC Cruise Skyport Marina Jewel 2022 (June 4)
• “The Gay Agenda” – Drag Brunch – New York / Brooklyn Pride 2022 (June 5)
• OPEN HOUSE ! Fully Renovated Forest Hills Gardens Gem (June 5)
• The Arthritis Foundation, New York 2022 Women in Motion Awards Luncheon (June 7)
• Screening “Dreaming: The Burning of Black Wall Street” + talk w/ filmmaker (June 7)
• Standardized Testing in the COVID Era (June 8)
• Special Screening of UPHEAVAL, Menachem Begin documentary (June 8)
• Visul Arts and Jazz Day™ –A Free Community Celebration of Visual Arts and Jazz (June 10)
• Dance under the Moonlight NYC Jewel Yacht Midnight Friday Party 2022 (June 10)
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Now you’re in the loop and ready to start this Saturday. I’ll see you around!

— Dashiell Allen

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