Nassau police held in contempt of court over $100k phone directory

Plus: Beach season is back. What about sharks? [View this email in a browser.]( Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( [Nassau police held in contempt of court over $100k phone directory]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☁️ Cloudy, chance of thunderstorms and [hail]( (!), highs in the lower 80s. Nassau County and its police department were held in contempt of court this month for ignoring an order from a panel of appellate judges to hand over a document it has spent four years fighting to keep secret. The closely guarded document? The police department’s phone directory, which a Gothamist reporter has been trying to obtain since 2020. [Here's what this saga reveals]( about the length to which some government agencies will go to keep even mundane public records hidden. Here's what else is happening: - MTA Chair Janno Lieber said Wednesday he's running out of patience with farebeaters — and considering the "maximal option" of requiring commuters to [show proof they paid the fare before leaving a station](. - Antonio Ginestri, a daredevil 19-year-old driver who goes by "Squeeze.Benz" on YouTube and posts videos of himself escaping police, [has been arrested]( and faces charges in both New York and New Jersey. - Yesterday marked the first time adult migrants who've reached the end of their 30- or 60-day stay limits could be [legally evicted from New York City shelters](. - Police yesterday were looking for two young men who [allegedly attacked a gender nonconforming person]( in Brooklyn in what officials are calling a hate crime. - City Council members yesterday criticized Mayor Eric Adams’ proposed budget cuts to early childhood education, pointing to some 2,500 families who [did not receive offers to the city’s free 3-K program]( last week. - Memorial Day weekend car traffic in and out of the city is expected to be miserable. Here's what MTA toll data suggests are [the best and worst times to hit the road](. - Thanks in part to a large donation from the head of a private equity firm, all New York City 8th graders at public and charter schools will soon take [field trips to the Museum of Jewish Heritage]( to learn about antisemitism. - THE CITY, The Guardian and Documented published a long investigation about a Queens hotel owner who raised a ton of money for Mayor Adams — and then secured [millions of dollars in contracts with the city](. - Shout out to [Donald Grupski and his guys]( for repairing the Coney Island-Brighton Beach boardwalk. - The New York Young Republican Club has been hard at work soliciting bodega and grocery store shoppers to attend [Donald Trump's rally]( in the South Bronx today. - A New Jersey gym owner who faced 80 charges for [opening his facilities during early COVID lockdowns]( in 2020 has now had all those charges cleared. - State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said New York City's tourism tax revenue from 2023 [surpassed pre-pandemic levels](. - Scientists have discovered that microplastics are [making their way into human testicles](. - [Feeling down]( Dig a hole. - The dogs at the Pet Gala [got some fits off](. [“It's an admonition or declaration of not following the law, which our whole American society is really based on. If you can't get a phone directory from the police department, just imagine when you need an arrest report.”]( - Joseph Aron, one of the attorneys arguing against [NASSAU COUNTY'S REFUSAL TO RELEASE ITS POLICE DEPARTMENT PHONE BOOK]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [NYC beach season is back. But what about the sharks?]( The true risk of encountering a shark is miniscule, according to an expert from the New York Aquarium, who added that the presence of sharks is a sign our oceans are getting cleaner. [Some NYC beaches may not open this Memorial Day weekend due to lifeguard shortage]( The Parks Department said it's expecting all beaches to be open this weekend, but some sections may be closed for swimming based on lifeguard staffing levels. [We Rely On Your Support]( [Jim Parsons and Jessica Lange on their new Broadway show 'Mother Play']( “Mother Play: A Play in Five Evictions" is the newest work from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel and is running now at Broadway's Hayes Theater. [64 office buildings in NYC could become new housing]( The office conversion plan aims to produce thousands of new apartments, but none so far will be within reach for low-income New Yorkers who bear the brunt of the city’s housing shortage. [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.