Is NYC haunted?

Plus: East Harlem library opens after years of renovations [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.]( [Is New York City haunted? Readers told us their close-to-home ghost stories.]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☀️👻 Sunny and seasonably cool this morning, with highs in the mid 60s later. It's Friday in New York City, which has been around for more than 400 years — surely some kind of spooky business has gone on in that time. We've been asking for readers' haunted New York City stories, and those stories have arrived. [Here are your tales]( of an Edgar Allan Poe encounter, the ghost of a 1920s soda jerk who doesn't appreciate new music, and a possibly cursed Williamsburg luxury tower. And here's what else is happening: - Prosecutors are asking a Manhattan judge not to let trial witnesses call Daniel Penny [a "hero" or "good Samaritan"]( during his trial for fatally choking Jordan Neely on a subway. - Gov. Kathy Hochul announced yesterday that New York high school students with grades and scores in the top 10% of their class [will be automatically accepted]( to one of nine SUNY campuses. - The New York Public Library is [reopening its 125th Street branch]( in East Harlem, more than three years after the building was shuttered for renovations. - Two "peaker" power plants in Sunset Park and Gowanus are only activated when there's high demand for electricity, like the hottest days of the summer. [Environmentalists want the facilities shut down for good](. - A 31-year-old man who coached baseball for a travel team and a Brooklyn Heights prep school has been indicted for allegedly [sexually abusing seven players]( ranging from 12 to 14 years old. - New York City [mistakenly handed out $6.5 million]( in tax breaks to the ineligible owners of hundreds of co-op and condo units over the past five years, according to a new audit. - One potential obstacle in New Jersey’s plan to create more housing vanished this week when officials in Bethlehem Township withdrew their legal challenge to [the state’s affordable housing law](. - The 30-day pilot for the NYPD's AI-powered weapons scanners in 20 subway stations did not result in any actual guns being detected, [but there were over 100 false positives](. - A new StreetEasy report says two out of three New York City Zoomers are having to [spend more than 30% of their income on housing](. - Police said a 13-year-old boy died in [an apparent subway surfing incident]( at the Forest Avenue station in Queens this week. - The very-expensive-to-stage "Back to the Future" musical is [ending its run on Broadway](. - New York Nico had [a cool party]( for his new guide book. - Usha Vance: [What's she about]( - The Netflix sitcom "Nobody Wants This" gives an accurate portrayal of Jewish life, [according to British rabbis](. - We [used to bake]( Election Cakes in this country. [“I’m not afraid of ghosts, but I’m afraid of driving.”]( - Amanda Melhuish on why [HER GHOST ENCOUNTER]( didn't scare her away from New York City More from Gothamist [second image]( [A comedy zine with a catch: It's hidden on your subway commute.]( Public Transport Magazine, a clandestine self-published comedy zine, is the brainchild of comedian Al Mullen, who taps contributors for each issue, prints and staples thousands of copies at home and plants them across the transit system. [Lin-Manuel Miranda's new album on ‘The Warriors’ brings salsa, hip-hop to the NYC film]( Like the movie, the album is about a Coney Island gang who must fight their way back from the Bronx after they are framed for the murder of a respected gang leader. In this new version, the Warriors are women. [We Rely On Your Support]( [A sea of seafoam: NY Liberty fans thrilled as thousands march up Broadway for championship parade]( Yesterday marked the city's first ticker tape parade since 2021's celebration of health care and essential workers in the COVID-19 pandemic — and continues a tradition that dates back to when the city welcomed home victorious soldiers with pomp and fanfare after World War I. [Newly discovered fault line explains why NYC shook so hard after earthquake]( The April earthquake rattled New York City doors, walls and windows, and caused minor damage to more than 150 buildings. But nothing much happened in Tewksbury, the small town at the epicenter. [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.