Monday’s Headlines: Special Beach Blanket Fundraiser Edition

See that yellow logo on the right of this screen? It’s a reminder of our annual December donation drive — but before you click on it to make a nice gift to Streetsblog and our friends at Streetfilms, we’d like to sweeten the pot:

Remember how the Parks Department recently touted its super-cool COVID-19-inspired beach towels? (See tweet below):

Well, we obtained one of the towels and will send it to whomever makes the single-biggest contribution today, Dec. 28. (In case you need a gentle reminder of what a great year we had and how, er, deserving we are of a donation, check out our December Donation Drive kickoff story here.)

That’s right, starting at 12:01 a.m. and running until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, we’ll be taking donations as normal — but the single biggest donor in that 24-hour period will get the added bonus (beyond knowing how grateful we are for your support): the de rigeur beach accessory for 2021.

So go crazy today, knowing that your tax-deductible donation could win you a prize (a $30 value!). Operators are standing by (well, by clicking right here). It doesn’t matter when you give today, and if you want to spread your donation out over 12 months, we’ll count that as a single donation (times 12) for the purposes of this wild and wacky contest. Thanks.

Meanwhile, we always like to honor the previous days’ donors with a shout-out, so here’s who tossed us some coins since Friday: Thanks, Jessica F.! Thanks, Harold B.! Thanks, Brian H. Thanks, Jon T.! Thanks, Anne R.! Thanks, Adam B.! Thanks, Gary E.! Thanks, Gregory H.! Thanks, William M.! (Today’s top donor will get special acclaim in tomorrow’s headlines.)

Now for the news:

• Gov. Cuomo put out a press release saying that the long-delayed Moynihan Station would be completed by Dec. 31, 2020, with operations shifting into the new hall on New Year’s Day (does that mean we have to work on the holiday?) (Gothamist). Amtrak’s promo video below makes the whole thing look like a waste of hundreds of millions of dollars, but we’ll update you when we see it for ourselves.

• We appreciate Steve Cuozzo’s rare optimism for post-COVID New York, but we found his Post take a bit too focused on the future of Manhattan and wealthy people.
• The NYPD is seeking help identifying yet another hit-and-run driver captured on video hitting a pedestrian at Burnside and Jerome avenues on Dec. 7 (NYDN). Cops did say that the driver who caused a similarly horrifying crash last Monday in The Bronx turned himself in. That driver, Otello Rapini of upstate Mahopac, was charged with leaving the scene of a crash (NYDN).
• Two cops were hurt in a crash on Saturday night in Queens. Here’s guessing that we never get the details of this from official sources. (NY Post, NYDN)
• Guse at the Newsuh looked at the high numbers of people struck by subway trains, despite falling ridership due to COVID-19.
• More car destruction in Brooklyn (NY Post) and The Bronx (NY Post)
• Finally, friends of Adrian Santos have set up a GoFundMe page for the cyclist who was killed last week by an MTA bus driver. Friend of Streetsblog Elizabeth Orth sent over a picture of the impromptu shrine (below) that has taken shape in Williamsburg, where he died.