[Want to get New York Today by email? Here's the sign-up.]

It’s Friday. We’re off Monday for Presidents’ Day.

Weather: A hint of spring, with highs in the mid-50s, but overcast today with a chance of rain. Sunny but cooler over the weekend.

Alternate-side parking: In effect until Monday (Presidents’ Day).

One of the biggest deals in New York City’s recent history went down in flames on Thursday when Amazon announced it was no longer going to open a major office in Queens. The news highlighted a debate over what kind of welcome, if any, we should roll out when a rich company comes to town promising new jobs.

Here’s everything you need to know about the deal that died:

The deal: The state and city offered nearly $3 billion in public subsidies in exchange for the company bringing at least 25,000 jobs and other investments. Amazon agreed to make some local hires and to fund some tech education. It did not agree to change its longstanding opposition to unionizing its work force.

[Read about Amazon canceling the plan.]

The money: Supporters of the plan said New York would eventually reap more than $27 billion in tax revenue. Critics questioned that number and said the money spent on subsidies should have been spent on improving housing and mass transit.

The upset: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came to power by unseating a high-ranking incumbent in a congressional district that includes parts of Queens near Long Island City. So when she opposed this deal, lawmakers took notice. Her supporters helped organize protests of Amazon’s project and helped block one of the biggest companies in the country.

The blame: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, both Democrats, are longtime rivals. But they joined forces to support this deal. When Amazon pulled out, they went back to feuding. Mr. de Blasio blamed the company for leaving. Mr. Cuomo blamed Senate Democrats, whose leadership questioned the deal.

[Read about the political fallout.]

The people: A majority of Queens residents supported the deal, according to a Quinnipiac University opinion poll in December. The owner of a popular restaurant in Long Island City, Giana Cerbone of Manducatis Rustica, said: “I know the people who actually needed these jobs. And I know the businesses who are going to suffer because of this.”

The future: Lawmakers from Staten Island to Dutchess County said they’d welcome Amazon. Mr. Cuomo’s honeymoon with Senate Democrats seems finished. And Mr. de Blasio is trying to put Amazon behind him and recoup his image as a progressive leader.

What’s taking so long to pick an M.T.A. leader?

The Times’s Emma Fitzsimmons reports:

It’s been 99 days since the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Joseph J. Lhota abruptly resigned as chairman. The subway is still limping along. State lawmakers are taking a hard look at congestion pricing to pay for repairs.

So why doesn’t the M.T.A. have a new permanent leader?

Governor Cuomo, who controls the system, is waiting until after the state budget is approved on April 1 to pick a new leader, according to officials in his office. The governor first wants to see whether his push for congestion pricing and other transit changes are successful.

His choice must be approved by the State Senate.

For now, the M.T.A. has a temporary leader: Fernando Ferrer, the former Bronx borough president who has served in the role before. Mr. Ferrer told reporters last month that it’s not an easy gig.

“This is the third time I will have done it,” he said, “and I guarantee you the last.”

Tell us who you want to see lead the M.T.A. Email us or leave a name in the comments section.

Best of The Times

Art of the steal: The famed art dealer Mary Boone of Manhattan was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for offenses connected to a tax fraud.

Alleged abuse by priests: Roman Catholic bishops named nearly 200 priests in New Jersey who have been found credibly accused of abusing children.

Trump and Gotti: Victoria Gotti said the future president once told her: “Your dad and I, we’ve been in each other’s company. We know a lot of the same people.”

The Carters eat meat: Beyoncé and Jay-Z encourage people to eat plant-based diets, but they are not vegan.

[Want more news from New York and around the region? Check out our full coverage.]

The mini crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.

What we’re reading

Tearful apology: Corey Johnson, the City Council speaker who is openly gay, said he was sorry he gave a committee chairmanship to the Rev. Rubén Díaz Sr., a city councilman, who recently said the “homosexual community” controls the City Council. [New York Post]

Reducing ferry fares: Students should pay $60.50 for a monthly pass, not $161, Councilman Mark Treyger said. [BKLYNER]

Impeachment? Representative Jerrold Nadler, who refused to hold impeachment hearings under President George W. Bush and opposed them for President Bill Clinton, said this week that “my perspective is exactly the same, then and now.” [West Side Rag]

Neighborhood of singles: People who were born outside New York and are single often move to Manhattan. [StreetEasy]

Coming up today

Sunrise tai chi at Conference House Park in Staten Island. 8 a.m. [Free]

Michelle Agins, a photographer for The Times, reflects on her career during a live podcast recording at Adorama in Chelsea. 11 a.m. [Free]

The New York Public Library’s main branch opens its “Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50” exhibition with trivia, music and special guests. 7 to 10 p.m. [$15]

Saturday

The Great Backyard Bird Count at Wave Hill in Riverdale. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. [Free]

Tips on writing your memoir at the Poe Park Visitor Center in the Bronx. 1:45 p.m. [Free]

Bring the kids to a Haitian Tea Party during Family Day at the Wyckoff House Museum in Brooklyn. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. [Free]

Dance Theatre of Harlem, a 50th anniversary show about the elements of dance, at the Apollo. 1 p.m. [$20]

“Walden: Diaries, Notes and Sketches,” by the avant-garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas, at Light Industry in Greenpoint. 7 p.m. [Free]

Sunday

The Lunar New Year parade in Chinatown. 1 p.m. [Free]

Make decorations for the Lunar New Year at the Museum at Eldridge Street on the Lower East Side. 2 to 4 p.m. [Free]

Celebrate the Year of the Pig at Flushing Town Hall’s temple fair. 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. [$5]

A mental health first-aid course at the People’s Forum in Manhattan. 9 a.m. [Free]

Explore mating rituals — wedding attire optional — at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture. 5 p.m. [$10 donation]

Opening night of “Viel Feind, viel Ehr,” a collaboration of artists from Berlin and New York at Peninsula Gallery in Brooklyn. 6 to 9 p.m. [Free]

— Elisha Brown

Events are subject to change, so double-check before heading out. For more events, see the going-out guides from The Times’s culture pages.

And finally: Matchmaking with pets

Eye contact is important.

Younger is not always better.

And size doesn’t really count.

“It’s really about finding the right match for you and your lifestyle,” said Elizabeth Jensen, the northeast regional director for the Best Friends Animal Society, an advocacy group.

She said that finding a pet is like finding a partner, which makes her a Cupid of sorts. “We do counseling and matchmaking,” she said.

And this is a busy time of year for matchmakers like Ms. Jensen.

“There’s such a correlation with a holiday about love and adopting and animals,” she said. “There have been studies that have shown that a dog and a person looking at each others’ eyes mutually release what is called the love hormone, which is oxytocin.”

[Read about one study from 2015.]

So how do you find that perfect partner?

First: Don’t think of species. Some people may have long ago declared themselves cat people or dog people. Those labels are not as immutable as you think, Ms. Jensen said.

“Love knows no shape or size, and it doesn’t know any species either,” she said. “We even sometimes find people who think they want a dog who leave with a cat.”

Second: Think lifestyle.

Ms. Jensen said pet shelters may ask prospective adoptees questions like: Do they want a pet to go jogging with them? Are they looking more for a snuggle buddy? How much time are they going to be with that pet?

Third: Younger is not always better.

Older pets “will often come with an understanding of what it’s like to be in a home environment more readily than a puppy or kitten,” Ms. Jensen said.

“It’s like the difference between taking a newborn into your house and an 8-year-old,” she added. Puppies and kittens require a lot of attention and training, and “they are not for everybody.”

And last: The size of your home or pet should not be a deal-breaker.

“Size of the apartment, surprisingly, is not as much of an issue as we think,” Ms. Jensen said. “There are certain large dogs that all they want is a couch to sleep on.”

It’s Friday — have a “pet”acular day.

Metropolitan Diary: Truck and tree

Dear Diary:

I was walking along Henry Street in Brooklyn. A blind man with a white cane was walking toward me. To my right, a truck was backing into a parking spot.

Just as the man with the cane passed me on my left, I heard a bang. I turned and saw a young man poke his head out of the truck to assess the damage to the tree that had just been hit.

The man with the cane stopped and turned his head.

“What was that?” he asked.

I took a couple of steps back.

“A truck was just backing up and hit a tree,” I said. “Don’t worry. Nobody’s hurt.”

“So it’s O.K.?” he said.

“Yeah, the truck looks fine. I don’t see any damage.”

He cracked a grin.

“Not the truck,” he said. “The tree.”

— Laura Lim

New York Today is published weekdays around 6 a.m. Sign up here to get it by email. You can also find it at nytoday.com.

We’re experimenting with the format of New York Today. What would you like to see more (or less) of? Post a comment or email us: [email protected].

Source: Read Full Article