As NYPD cracked down on quality-of-life violations, nearly half its 98K civil tickets got tossed

Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay

Weather: ⛅ Partly sunny, highs in the mid 70s.

It's Monday in New York City, where the NYPD's crackdown on quality-of-life violations has a serious administrative flaw.

Data reviewed by Gothamist shows that roughly 46,000 civil tickets issued by NYPD officers over the last fiscal year for things like public urination and open container violations were thrown out by hearing officers.

According to city officials, there's one major reason for this: The NYPD still writes tickets by hand, and when they're illegible or contain typos, which is common, the summonses don't pass muster in court. 

Here's why critics say this is further evidence that the NYPD's quality-of-life crackdown is a big waste of everyone's time and resources.

And here's what else is happening:

• COVID-related hospitalizations are on the rise in New York City. Here's how to protect yourself.
• A cooling tower at Yankee Stadium was among 10 in the South Bronx that preliminarily tested positive for Legionella bacteria amid an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that has killed one person and sickened eight others, city health officials said yesterday.
• Mayor Zohran Mamdani, now eight months into his term, is still waiting to be approved for a high-level federal security clearance for receiving classified briefings on serious threats.
• Prosecutors said a Central Harlem man is facing murder and other charges in connection with the strangulation death of a woman inside her Washington Heights apartment last week.
• Parts of North Jersey are cleaning up after experiencing a ”once-in-a-generation” rainfall yesterday morning.
• The NYPD said a police officer accidentally fired their gun inside a Bed-Stuy subway station last Thursday and fragments of the bullet struck both a second officer and a bystander.
• Two City Councilmembers are proposing an overhaul of admissions at New York City's specialized high schools, citing a persistent lack of Black and Latino students.
• The inaugural Grove & Pines Film Festival, a three-day event spotlighting queer movies, kicks off on Fire Island on Sept. 18.
• Correction: Last Friday's Early Addition newsletter misstated who three New Yorkers spoke with shortly after 9/11. They were all interviewed by WNYC.

• New data shows the AI boom has been great for New York City's tech industry overall, but horrible for young computer science grads looking for entry-level jobs.
• AI will never be able to replace rappers, according to one 10-year-old from Atlanta.
• Donald Trump's childhood home in Jamaica Estates has sold for $1.93 million to an anonymous buyer after a total gut renovation. 
• More and more, detainees in American prisons are using contraband phones to allegedly commit fraud.
• There were some great costumes at the Battle of Brooklyn reenactment. 
• Should high schoolers be allowed to bring a cup of coffee to class?
• The Jets have a winning record!