Audit Faults New York City for Not Using Vacant Lots for Affordable Housing
There are more than 1,000 city-owned lots that have been sitting vacant for decades and could be used to build affordable housing. An audit released by the comptroller criticized the city for not being fast enough in transferring land to developers. The city called the comptroller's report "false and misleading" saying most of the buildings are in flood zones, already been assigned to developers, or better suited for other projects like parks. [NYT]
So, Can Your Boss Really Track Your Future Pregnancy?
Vox tackles the truth, half-truths and frankly, scary implications, of a Wall Street Journal article that implied certain third-party data companies could track the health status of employees — including, how likely it was that female workers were looking to get pregnant by tracking whether or not they are filling birth control prescriptions. Turns out, no company can track an individual’s data. But the technology is there. [Vox]
GoFundMe Campaign Launched to Help Raise $53 Million for Kanye West
After hearing rapper Kanye West’s claim to be $53 million in debt, one man created a GoFundMe campaign to help the celebrity through his struggles. The fashionista had previously reached out to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg for some cash, but fan Jeremy Piatt took matters into his own hands, writing, “We must open our hearts and wallets for Kanye today. Sure he is personally rich and can buy furs and houses for his family, but without our help, the true genius of Kanye West can’t be realized.” [Mashable]
You and Your Roommate Will Develop Similar Immune Systems
Researchers have shown that the immune systems of couples living together are more similar than those who aren’t co-habitating. The similarity stems both from habits that the couple begin to share over time, including exercise, eating and drinking, as well as the bacteria and microbes, which make up what’s known as their microbiome. [Quartz]
People Are the Worst: Mass Selfie Kills Rare Baby Dolphin
All in the name of a “selfie,” a rare La Plata dolphin at an Argentine beach died after being out of the water for too long while a mass of people passed it around for a photo opp, according to the Mirror. A disturbing video shows the mob stopping the dolphin in the water and placing it on the sand as children pet it and adults take selfies. A photo shows a man holding the dolphin up above the crowd. [Mirror]
The Challenges Humans Must Overcome to Continue Exploring Space
If you want to geek out (and/or freak out) about space exploration, Wired takes you through 12 of the greatest challenges for heading deep into the cosmos — and how us humans are hoping to overcome them. [Wired]
A Baltimore Man Who Helped Inspire Several Characters on “The Wire” has Died
Nathan “Bodie” Barksdale, a former gangster in Baltimore who inspired multiple characters on HBO’s show “The Wire,” passed away on Saturday at age 54 in a North Carolina federal medical prison. He was a notorious criminal in 1980s Baltimore who later worked with Safe Streets, an anti-violence program. Two major characters in “The Wire” bear his name: drug kingpin Avon Barksdale and dealer “Bodie” Broadus. Although creator David Simon said that Avon Barksdale was not specifically based on him, he did inspire aspects of some characters on the show. [Washington Post]
Robert Caro on Robert Moses, Luxury High-Rises and the New York Public Library
The famed biographer and “The Power Broker” author sat down for an interview with Gothamist, where he discussed his career, Robert Moses’ racism and what it was like to write a book in the NYPL’s Frederick Lewis Allen Room. [Gothamist]
Preservationists Call for Study of Historic Site With Ugly Past
An unassuming lot at Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street, where a 70-story hotel-condo tower is planned, is also the site of one of New York’s ugliest chapters, where an anti-draft mob burned down an orphanage for black children during the Civil War. Nothing remains of the orphanage, but some preservationists believe an archeological dig should precede any construction there. [NYT]
Watch a Washington Square Park Chess Hustler Get Unexpectedly Schooled By a Grandmaster
Chess grandmaster Maurice Ashley sat down at one of the notorious chess tables in Washington Square Park and ended up catching a cheating chess hustler off-guard. The best part, as Ashley notes on the YouTube posting of the video, is that he learned to play chess at those very same tables. [GQ]
Parmesan Cheese You Sprinkle on Pasta May Contain Wood Pulp
That Parmesan cheese you use for your spaghetti may not be what it seems. According to a report from Bloomberg, some products which companies said were “100% Parmesan cheese” contained no actual Parmesan at all. Instead, they were made up of trimmings of other cheeses, like Swiss and cheddar. Some also contained cellulose, an anti-clumping chemical made from wood pulp. [Bloomberg]
