In the Rockaways, Safe Swimming Is a Luxury, Not a Right

Chelsea: On 18th and Eighth, the out-of-place glassy condo that supplanted the beloved longtime restaurant named for that corner has put razor teeth on its ledge so schoolkids can no longer sit there. Feedback: “The kids can still sit there, they can just lay a large textbook on the spikes … I hope they do. Also, at night the gay guys can urinate in the space between the spike strips and the urine can pool there.” Fun ideas! [Curbed]

East New York: Police arrested a guy who for nearly a decade ran an illegal parking lot ($200 per vehicle!) on land that’s mostly owned by the city. But the guy’s lawyer is citing “adverse possession” to say that the land really should be the guy’s by now. So, uh, if we can keep a lemonade stand going for the rest of the summer in Central Park, can we have that land, too? [WNBC]

Rockaways: The beaches in the rich parts of the shoreline here are open, with four lifeguards apiece, while the beaches in the poor parts are closed, with no lifeguards, obviously. And some people are getting angry about this. [NYDN via Queens Crap]

Soho: The place where they used to make Tootsie Rolls will become a swank condo called, natch, The Chocolate Factory. And if you find a gold wrapper in your next Tootsie Roll, you and your kindly grandpa will get a free unit there if you can survive the fan blades on the ceiling. [Curbed]
Willets Point: Supporters and foes of the city’s plan to completely redevelop this 75-acre, sewer-less, sidewalk-less patchwork of auto businesses in Queens square off in a Planning Commission hearing today. The plan needs the City Council’s okay to go forward, but right now, half of all councilmembers oppose it. [NYS]
Windsor Terrace: This biker alleges that a teller at the Commerce Bank here wouldn’t let him use the drive-up window on his bike to make a deposit. And this is the bank that sponsors the Five Boro Bike Tour! [Streetsblog]