NYC car thieves are getting more sophisticated. So are the cops hunting them.

Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay

Weather: ☀️ Mostly sunny, still smoky, highs in the upper 80s.

It's Friday in New York City, where car theft — out of the city's seven major crime categories — is the one the NYPD has been least likely to solve, according to police data.

Thomas Burke, a former auto crimes investigator for the NYPD, said car thieves back in the '80s and '90s were often young people who'd use screwdrivers to break into vehicles and take them for joyrides.

Those thieves, he said, were easier to catch compared to today's sophisticated crews, who can quickly steal cars or their parts and resell them around the world.

Here's how the NYPD is trying to catch up to these organized car theft networks.

And here's what else is happening:

• WTF? This was supposed to be a joyous summer. What happened?
• The engineering firm that designed the structural plans for the office-to-housing conversion project at 235 East 42nd Street said reinforcing steel meant to support the weight of a 14-story addition to the building was never installed before a pair of columns collapsed there last Tuesday.
  • Gothamist reviewed designs for the buckled Midtown high-rise. Here's what we noticed.
• Amtrak’s plan to reconstruct Penn Station could increase rush hour service between New Jersey and Midtown by 33% without expanding the train hub’s footprint, according to a preliminary study released by the Trump administration.
• Federal investigators yesterday searched the home of former New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda, an appointee of former Mayor Eric Adams, as part of an ongoing investigation, according to city officials and a law enforcement official.
• Former FDNY firefighter Michael Pena, who fatally hit a 23-year-old last year while driving drunk in East Elmhurst, was sentenced yesterday to four to 12 years in prison.
• New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and President Donald Trump both support nuclear power development, but it's unclear if New Jersey will get the federal dollars it needs to make this transition affordable for consumers.
• Newly released federal investigative records suggest a bird strike may have played a role in last year's fatal Hudson River sightseeing helicopter crash.
• A Gothamist review of New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s latest periodic transaction report shows he was trading stocks in June while he was absent from Congress.
  • Rep. Kean announced on the House floor last month that his prolonged absence came after he was hospitalized for depression. 
• Elected officials in Queens are calling on local prosecutors to investigate a self-described “real estate advisor” named David Michael after a Gothamist investigation uncovered a pattern of fraud allegations from renters who accused him of stealing their deposits for apartments.
• Affordability has been the defining issue in recent local elections, and 2026 is no different. Join "All Things Considered" host Sean Carlson on July 21 at BEM Books & more for a free live event discussing how shoppers and grocers are handling the food affordability crisis.

• Bruce Blakeman's gubernatorial campaign told the New York Post he'd raised $11 million. City & State says the Republican's direct contribution total is closer to $4 million.
• A state judge has issued a temporary restraining order on the construction of protected bike lanes on West 72nd Street after residents with disabilities sued to block the project.
• Everyone's flocking to the AMC Lincoln Square to see "The Odyssey" because it has the world's second-largest IMAX 70mm theater behind one in Melbourne, Australia. 
• Flavor Flav's grandson is a college lacrosse star from Long Island.
• Taco Bell said it's switching lettuce suppliers after fears that its food may be responsible for the explosive diarrhea outbreak in several states.
• Here are some New York City teens showing off their rooms.