Lawsuit says Adams-era NYPD chase policy led to fatal Bushwick crash

Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay

Weather: ⛅ Partly sunny, a chance of afternoon thunderstorms, highs near 90.

It's Friday in New York City, where, one evening back in 2024, a driver ran a stop sign in Bushwick, was chased by police for eight blocks and eventually crashed into Jessica Vidal and her 71-year-old mother.

Vidal was left with a collapsed lung and multiple broken ribs; her mother, Juanita, died.

This week, Vidal filed a federal lawsuit against the city and the officers involved in the chase, arguing that under Mayor Eric Adams, the NYPD adopted an aggressive pursuit policy that put members of the public at risk.

Here's what we know about her claim — and the changes the NYPD has since made to its chase policy.

And here's what else is happening:

• West Nile virus has been detected in nearly twice as many New York City mosquito pools compared to this point last year, according to the city's health department. 
• By next year, the MTA says it wants to have all buses outfitted with a spot for parents and guardians to park a stroller.
• Gov. Kathy Hochul's office said the state will wield New York City's pied-à-terre tax to identify cheats who live in the five boroughs but pay taxes elsewhere.
• Dozens of New Yorkers are in temporary housing — and unsure if or when they can return home — after a fire tore through their Bronx apartment building Wednesday, killing one man and injuring a dozen other people. 
• A Brooklyn man has been indicted on hate crime charges after allegedly hitting a 12-year-old boy with a belt and calling him “gay” at a Lower East Side playground earlier this year.
• More than 50 Harlem residents are suing New York City, its health department and several city contractors, claiming their negligence led to severe illness and death during the 2025 outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the neighborhood.
• On sale at your local New York farmers market: heirloom tomatoes, less-traveled lettuce, the fanciest apples — and now, legal weed.

• "People call with creative solutions, only to get angry when I say it doesn’t work": An accountant for wealthy individuals told the Wall Street Journal all the desperate things his clients are trying to do to get out of the pied-à-terre tax.
• The official gubernatorial portrait of Gov. Phil Murphy that's set to hang in Trenton will cost more than the portraits of New Jersey's three previous governors combined.
• The New York City casting call for "Love Is Blind" is now open.
• It can be stressful working in a pastry shop that goes viral and attracts a line every day.
• The New York City Marathon, which also has a long line of people wanting to run, changed one of the ways local runners can get in.
• Showtime dancers have turned pro.
• If you see a woman in a hot pink wheelchair that says "Princess" being pushed around Central Park, now you know.