A Round and a Roundy: Bullies Are Destroying Sleepy de Blasio’s Open Streets ‘Program’

Cartoon: Bill Roundy
Cartoon: Bill Roundy
Editorial cartoon of Bill Roundy by editorial cartoonist Bill Roundy.
Editorial cartoon of Bill Roundy by editorial cartoonist Bill Roundy.

It’s pretty clear that Mayor de Blasio’s open streets program is in a death spiral.

In North Brooklyn, neighborhood vigilantes vandalized and then stole barricades, forcing the cancelation of the Driggs Avenue car-free street.

In Queens, open streets opponents are organizing and getting the ear of the Department of Transportation, which is right now drawing up a “compromise” proposal for 34th Avenue — the open street that the agency itself calls “the gold standard.”

And countless open streets created during the COVID-19 pandemic have simply fallen off the map.

Our national treasure cartoonist knows what’s going on: the mayor is not only asleep at the switch, but he’s also turned his back to the real problem.

All of Bill Roundy’s cartoons are archived here.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG