5 Stories You Need to Pay Attention to This Week

NEW YORK, NY — Barring any naked statues of presidential candidates, here's a look at some of the stories you'll be talking about this week.

1. Aug 22-25: Comfortably cool — This is downright shocking to say, but temperatures are expected to be in the low-80s with low humidity and sunny skies almost all week (Friday could be humid). There's nary a heat advisory or thunderstorm watch to be had right through the weekend. Dare I ask, is summer over?
2. Aug. 22: Hudson Square redevelopment — It's been a long time since the public has heard anything about the development at 550 Washington Street in Hudson Square. It's been almost a year in fact. But we'll learn more on Monday when the City Planning Commission meets to discuss the massive, three-block redevelopment of a former railroad distribution center. It's not particularly controversial — no one's fighting to save the old industrial building — but it is an early step in making way for the planned 1,596 residential units and 255,000 square feet of retail space. There will be a time for public comment on the redevelopment on Aug. 24 beginning at 10 a.m. at Spector Hall (22 Reade St.).
3. Aug. 23: Come yell at the MTA — OK, so maybe it's officially called a Public Hearing, but we all know what is really going to happen at Tuesday's meeting. It's time for the MTA to reap a bit of what they sow. The Public Hearing will allow you to hear about and sound off on Capital Projects for the end of fiscal year 2016 and for fiscal year 2017. What does that involve? Well, practically everything, including the Second Avenue Subway construction, East Side Access for the LIRR, the new subway cars and station overhauls, expanded Select Bus Service, the new "contactless" fare payment technology, and on and on. (It accounts for $7 billion in spending.) If the MTA is working on it, this is your chance to comment on it. The hearing will be held at 4:30 p.m. at 2 Broadway, 20th floor.
4. Aug. 27: Snoopy Bowl — It's hard to believe it's football season again, but the only meaningful preseason game kicks off Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Teams generally play starters only for a series or two except for the third game of preseason, and as it's been recently, that game will be Jets vs. Giants again this year. If you've been ignoring the first couple weeks of preseason in favor of the Rio Olympics, here's a chance to see where your team — whether it be green or blue — stands heading into the season.
5. Aug. 27: AfroPunk Festival — The year's biggest concert in Brooklyn gets underway on Saturday with four different stages and an insane amount of acts to catch at Commodore Barry Park. AfroPunk continues to grow in size each year, since starting in 2005. Some of the acts to catch this year are Ice Cube, Tyler the Creator, Janelle Monae, Kelsey Lu, TV on the Radio, George Clinton, Bad Brains and Ceelo Green. But AfroPunk is more than just the music, it's a huge cultural happening.

Photo Credit: MTA