Thursday’s Headlines: Think Warm Thoughts Edition
You don’t need us to tell you what you already know: Wear the longjohns.
On the agenda? TransitCenter will demand more accessibility in subway stations today at 11 a.m. And the Department of Transportation will show off its reconstruction of the Unionport Bridge in the Bronx, which is only on our radar screen because it features a protected bike lane and will be built by Blackridge Construction, a local minority-owned business. (Memo from the assignment desk: Both events are indoors.)
And now, the news:
- So remember when we all saw Lyft as the “nice” version of nasty old Uber? Well, the company (and Juno) sued to block the city’s minimum wage law for taxi drivers. Nice. (NYDN, amNY) But a judge refused to stay the wage policy. (NY Post)
- If you missed it, Streetsblog’s David Meyer live-tweeted yesterday’s Assembly Transportation Committee hearing — all six hours of it. Either read the entire tweetstorm here — or enjoy what Meyer told us were his six favorite moments. Meanwhile, the Post ran with the angle of MTA President Pat “Bridgegate” Foye apologizing for the lousy service. He also reiterated one really important thing: We need congestion pricing! (WSJ)
- Also in case you missed it, outgoing NY Post ace Yoav Gonen showed off what the Brooklyn Bridge footpath will look like during the rebuild of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Great lede, too: “It’s a kill to a view.” (NY Post)
- We enjoyed reading Anne Kadet’s column in the Wall Street Journal about professional parking ticket fighters because it was a reminder that Mayor de Blasio does a horrible job of pricing the curb so that delivery truckers can have space to do their job without blocking the roadway for the rest of us. Reminder: Virtually all congestion is caused by a double- or illegally parked motor vehicle in the public right of way.
- Teachers will get parking spaces — at the expense of their students’ open space — at the historic Erasmus Hall high school complex. (NYDN)
- Aaron Gordon put a human face — and it has a grimace — on the bus crisis in the Bronx. (Gothamist)
- Amazon continues to do a bad job selling its HQ2 to New Yorkers. (amNY) Queens Council Member (and latter day progressive) Jimmy Van Bramer led the charge.
- And, finally, our French is a bit rusty, but we believe this tweet is saying, “Bonjour, Mayor de Blasio — feast your eyes on real protected bike lanes, not the merde you build that can be parked on.” (We’re paraphrasing, of course.)
Avenue des Champs-Élysées, le REVe (Réseau Express Vélo) progresse ! Les pistes cyclables apparaissent, dont de nombreux cyclistes profitent déjà. Les zones de livraison et places de stationnement sont réorganisées. Les pavés sont traités pour être davantage cyclables. ???????? pic.twitter.com/jpVeU72Pyx
— Christophe Najdovski (@C_Najdovski) January 30, 2019