Thursday’s Headlines: All Fed Up and No Place to Go Edition

Every day, it seems, someone else is completely fed up with the increasing bloodshed on New York City streets and publishes a screed in his or her publication or website, even if the media outlet isn’t even devoted to the battle for livable streets like we are (good morning, all!).

A few weeks ago, it was Aaron Gordon in Jalopnik. Then it was Ginia Bellafante in the Times. Then it was Peter Maass in the Intercept.

On Wednesday, it was Liena Zagare of Bklyner, who penned an editorial on the website that homed in on so many of the frustrations that New Yorkers have with Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero, including, but not limited to, the NYPD’s horrendous reporting and record-keeping, the administration’s countless failures to make basic road improvements, and driver entitlement. It’s a must-read — on your laptop and on Mayor de Blasio’s.

Beyond that, here’s the rest of the news from a soggy Wednesday:

  • The Times broke it, but Gothamist fixed it: After the Paper of Record basically described the sale of amNY as “scrappy community media players buy an important city daily,” Gothamist reported the sale for what it is: low-talent, pay-to-play media shysters buying a once-quality daily and gutting it. Meanwhile, the amNY website is still down, depriving us of our daily dose of Vin Barone.
  • A hit-and-run driver fatally struck a 65-year-old woman on Ocean Avenue in Sheepshead Bay. (NYDN, Streetsblog, NY Post)
  • Politico’s Dana Rubinstein did a deep dive on Corey Johnson’s “Streets Master Plan” bill (subscribers only, darn).
  • Queens Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to force municipalities to reduce parking and encourage going carless by withholding federal transportation money from anyplace that requires on-site parking at housing developments. (Sightline)
  • Connecticut wants to put some money into improving Metro-North. (WSJ, Hartford Courant)
  • Wired looked at how difficult it is proving to quit cars once and for all.
  • The MTA is testing subway infrastructure to help the visually impaired. (NYDN)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Tuesday’s Headlines: New Prescription for Vision Zero Edition

|
Today's action will be at City Hall, where Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets will demand more focus from Mayor de Blasio on his signature issue, Vision Zero. Road fatalities are up 30 percent this year over last, and everyone (well, Streetsblog and amNY, at least) is asking why. Click the headline above for the full news digest.

Council Calls on de Blasio to Double “Great Streets” Redesign Funds

|
The City Council wants Mayor de Blasio to double funding for DOT capital projects to overhaul the city’s most dangerous streets and save more lives, faster. At a council budget hearing last week, transportation chair Ydanis Rodriguez called for additional funds in the executive budget for the “Great Streets” program. As of now the mayor’s budget proposes $250 million […]