••• “Heavy smoke across West Street following manhole explosion [last night] at West & Harrison in Tribeca.” (Thanks to J. for the photo.) —Tribeca Trib

••• “There are now nearly 294,000 full-time city employees, more than at any point in the city’s history. The growth under Mayor Bill de Blasio comes at a time of record revenues in a booming city, and has been across the board; nearly every city agency now employs more workers than it did in 2014, when the mayor took office. The hiring has allowed the de Blasio administration to restaff agencies that were cut back by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg after the economic downturn of 2008. But Mr. de Blasio has gone far further, expanding the work force beyond its pre-recession peak, a costly investment that is not without risk: the city could be vulnerable to an economic downturn.” —New York Times

••• “Starting [last] Friday at 11:45 p.m., 2 and 3 train services will shut down between Manhattan and Brooklyn as the MTA begins repairs to the Clark Street tube under the East River that was damaged during Superstorm Sandy. […] The project, which will be in effect every weekend until 5 a.m. Monday, is expected to be completed by Spring 2018.” —DNAinfo

••• More thefts in the Tribeca Trib police blotter.

••• “The city has finally agreed to establish written protocols specifying how and when schools should be notified of emergencies in response to public outrage after a shooting that occurred near numerous Downtown schools that police never warned.” —Downtown Express