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| It's Monday. |
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| Weather: The week starts cool. Today will be dry and sunny, with temperatures in the low 80s. |
| Alternate-side parking: In effect until Sunday (Eid al-Adha). |
 Sarah Blesener for The New York Times |
| It seems inevitable that New York City's buildings will keep getting taller faster. By the end of the year, several of the highest towers in the city will be residential high-rises. |
| On the Lower East Side of Manhattan, developers had been planning three luxury buildings, one of which would stand over 1,000 feet. |
| Then a judge stepped in and ruled the developers could not continue. |
| What happened? |
| In 2016, a city agency approved a project known as Two Bridges. |
| The project would add three luxury waterfront apartment towers with some affordable units. Its 1,000-foot skyscraper would soar above a neighborhood dominated by low-rise walk-ups. |
| The agency's approval had allowed the developer to avoid seeking permission from local lawmakers, and residents objected. |
| So did some lawmakers. |
| City Council members filed a lawsuit to block the project, saying the largest tower was too tall for the area. They also said the Council needed to approve the plans. |
| Last week, Justice Arthur F. Engoron of State Supreme Court agreed. He blocked the development from moving forward as planned and gave opponents of mega-development a rare victory. |
| Why was the development blocked? |
| "The irreparable harm here is twofold," Justice Engoron wrote in his opinion. |
| [Why plans for a supertall tower looming over the Lower East Side were halted, for now.] |
| "First, a community will be drastically altered without having had its proper say," he wrote. "Second, and arguably more important, allowing this project to proceed without the City Council's imprimatur would distort the city's carefully crafted system of checks and balances." |
| The developers — the JDS Development Group, Starrett Development and a joint venture between the CIM Group and L&M Development Partners — said they would appeal the ruling. |
| Why are buildings getting taller? |
| One reason is technology. Stronger concrete, sophisticated computer modeling and faster and more efficient elevators let builders make taller, skinnier towers on a smaller footprint. |
| Another reason is money. The ultrarich apparently want rooms with a view. |
| Opponents of these kinds of developments say the towers displace less wealthy residents. |
| What happens now? |
| Justice Engoron said the developer must begin a public review process to seek community input on the Two Bridges project. |
| The Manhattan borough president, Gale A. Brewer, and the City Council will have the final say on the complex. |
| What are the tallest buildings in Manhattan? |
| Here are the loftiest commercial and residential skyscrapers, based on data from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a nonprofit based in Chicago that tracks high-rise construction. |
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| My colleague Stefanos Chen also has written about how a boom in luxury residential development is reshaping New York's skyline. |
| From The Times |
 Rick Loomis for The New York Times |
| An algae bloom has fouled the largest lake in New Jersey, and residents are clashing over remedies. |
| He has 17 transit arrests. This time it's a subway "surfing" charge. |
| A nanny and the owner of a comedy club were killed at a home in Maplewood, N.J. |
| Dean & DeLuca has sunk further into debt. Four cafes have recently closed, including the company's new showpiece in the meatpacking district. |
| [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 |
| About one-third of the 900 children separated from their families at the border with Mexico were sent to foster homes and shelters in New York, according to Catholic Charities Community Services. [WNYC/Gothamist] |
| Mayor de Blasio's security detail helped move his daughter out of an apartment in Sunset Park. [Daily News] |
| A Billie Holiday statue is coming to Queens. The city wants to put it in Kew Gardens; some residents want it in Southeast Queens. [Patch] |
| Students in Inwood created a no-nonsense newspaper, and their teacher is looking to expand student-run media. [amNew York] |
| Coming up today |
| Join a talk with Jia Tolentino, the author of "Trick Mirror," at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn. 7:30 p.m. [Free] |
| Attend the Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon with the International Alliance for Women in Music at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in Manhattan. 4 p.m. [Free] |
| The Savage! comedy show is at Fawkner in Brooklyn every Monday. 8 p.m. [Free] |
| — Melissa Guerrero |
| 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: They make Brooklyn look good |
 Antonio Brown, the owner of Mi Montuno.
Stephen Speranza for The New York Times |
| The Times's John Leland reports: |
| The photographer Stephen Speranza, 27, who owns one suit — off the rack — started venturing into tailor shops in Brooklyn almost as an archaeology project. They looked so dated and forgotten. |
| But inside their doors, he found vibrant cultural scenes with virtuosic artisans and conversations like those in barber shops. "Everyone's path into the tailor business was different," Mr. Speranza said. "They all had their own niches." |
| Some tailors agreed to be photographed, but others turned him away, fearing that rival tailors would use the photos to steal their designs. |
| [Handcrafted: Inside Brooklyn's best tailors.] |
| One said he had made suits for Jay-Z; another said his business boomed during the crack era but contracted when the neighborhood became gentrified — the newcomers came only for quick alterations, he said, not custom suits. |
| "I look at myself as an artist," said Antonio Brown, 60, who runs a shop called Mi Montuno, named for a traditional shirt in his native Panama. "I like to mix colors and fabrics to make one-of-a-kind garments." |
 Franco, left, and Ercole Petrungaro of Franco Ercole Bespoke.
Stephen Speranza for The New York Times |
| At Franco Ercole Bespoke, in the Dyker Heights neighborhood, a visit begins with an espresso with Franco Petrungaro or his father, Ercole, and might include some gentle nudging: Put a little pleat in your trou, and consider English wools over Italian; they're sturdier. |
| Custom suits average about $3,500 and take 70 hours to make. |
| It's Monday — whatever you're doing, do it in style. |
| Metropolitan Diary: Dreamland |
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| Dear Diary: |
| The Q clattering through Brooklyn had lulled my 7-year-old to sleep. Her red curls were spread across my lap, and her legs were piled onto the adjoining seat. |
| It was hot and humid, and she was wearing her pale pink shorts with silver butterflies. The train was air-conditioned, and her bare legs caught the eye of an older woman sitting near us. |
| The woman looked at me and motioned to a sweatshirt in her bag. She pantomimed spreading it over my daughter's exposed legs. I smiled and pantomimed back: "Thanks, I think she's O.K." |
| A moment passed. The woman looked over again and gently took my daughter's feet and brought them to the seat next to hers, allowing the scrunched little legs a nice stretch. |
| Satisfied, the woman covered her eyes with her hand and joined my daughter in dreamland. |
| — Jamie Roth |
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