Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesYum. Updated 6:32 a.m.
Good Wednesday morning to you.
As sure as the sap rises in the trees, water returns to the city’s drinking fountains this time of year.
Though not all of them just yet.
But plumbers are making their way to more than 3,100 fountains this month, clearing debris, checking pipes.
By May, they’ll all be spouting.
The city’s first drinking fountains were installed after the Croton Aqueduct began bringing down fresh water from the Catskills in the 1840s.
Touring the fountains, you can sip a bit of New York history.
The 1888 Temperance Fountain in Tompkins Square Park was a gift from a doctor who hoped it would encourage residents to drink less alcohol.
A fountain in Union Square from 1881 features a woman with a baby and a child to remind New Yorkers of the virtues of charity.
And the 1992 Friedel Memorial Drinking Fountain in Central Park features the likeness of a beloved dog.
Some fountains may be old, but the water is always fresh, said the city’s environmental commissioner, Emily Lloyd.
“New York City tap water is healthy, affordable and safe,†she wrote. “We perform more than half a million tests a year to confirm that.â€
Cheers!
Here’s what else you need to know.
WEATHER
A little morning rain, a little afternoon sun, a high around 60.
More of the same, if not in that order, tomorrow.
COMMUTE
Subways: No delays. Check latest status.
Rails: L.I.R.R. suspended between Port Jefferson and Huntington. Check L.I.R.R., Metro-North or N.J. Transit status.
Roads: B.Q.E. closed eastbound in Brooklyn near Atlantic Avenue. Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s or the 8s.
Alternate-side parking is in effect all week.
COMING UP TODAY
- A panel on breaking the cycle of homelessness for 22,000 New York City children at WNYC’s Greene Space in the West Village at 9 a.m. [Free]
- Mayor de Blasio visits a pre-K classroom at a school in Queens and makes a policy announcement there.
- A march and rally by the city’s building-service workers union, whose contract expires soon, from Fifth Avenue and 79th Street to Park Avenue and 83rd Street. 5 p.m.
- Help tidy up Brooklyn Bridge Park for spring. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. [Free]
- A Jim Jarmusch retrospective begins at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Today’s offerings include his first feature, “Permanent Vacation.†[$13 and up]
- A show of artwork by the composer and mushroom fan John Cage opens at the Horticultural Society of New York in Midtown. 6 p.m. [Free]
- A panel on the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark freedom-of-the-press decision in New York Times Co. vs. Sullivan, at N.Y.U. law school. 6 p.m. [Free, R.S.V.P.]
- “I Learn America,†a documentary about five immigrant high-school students in Brooklyn, screens at the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. 6:30 p.m. [Free]
- A lecture about the Internet by Reddit’s cofounder, Alexis Ohanian, at the School of Visual Arts. 6:30 p.m. [$5]
- Valerie Simpson, the surviving half of the singing and writing duo Ashford & Simpson, talks about songwriting at N.Y.U.’s Provincetown Playhouse in the Village. 7 p.m. [Free]
- For more events, see The New York Times Arts & Entertainment guide.
IN THE NEWS
- A review of the Port Authority’s troubles traces them to relentless expansion beyond the core function of aiding transportation. [New York Times]
- A Chinese-food deliveryman was fatally shot on a Staten Island cul-de-sac where residents say delivery drivers are often lured and mugged. [Staten Island Advance]
- U.P.S. fired 250 drivers in Queens after they walked out for 90 minutes to protest a colleague’s dismissal. [Daily News, Queens Chronicle]
- A former dean at a Manhattan high school who admitted having affairs with four students will serve three months in jail. [New York Times]
- A new book of photos of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, “New York Jackie,†celebrates her life in the city. [New York]
- Another new book showcases the city’s hidden oases of calm. [T magazine]
- Some New Yorkers are really into two-dollar bills. [New York Times]
- Scoreboard: Yankees open with a loss to Astros, 6-2. Nets blast Rockets, 105-96. Islanders corral Panthers, 4-2. Rangers top Canucks, 3-1. Sabres over Devils, 3-2, in a nine-round shootout.
Sandra E. Garcia contributed reporting.
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