Tuesday’s Headlines: Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye Edition

The calendar seems to be on everyone’s mind right now. Perhaps it was inevitable, but someone created the “Goodbye Bill de Blasio” app, which has one purpose: to count down the days left in the current administration.

Check it out here, and click back every day until Dec. 31,2021.

Meanwhile, the governors of seven northeast states, including Big Dog Excelsior Car Guy, are also looking at the calendar, muttering that the “worst is over” and are already moving to open up the economy (NY Times). No one wants New York’s social life to return more than our bar-crawling, bluegrass-hunting, foul-ball-stalking editor, but even he thinks we need to table that talk for a few more weeks.

So until mid-May at least, here’s the news:

  • Fifty Education Department employees have died of COVID-19, a figure that is already too much to bear, but will likely get higher (NYDN). Meanwhile, the NYPD toll rose to 23 (NYDN) and the MTA toll rose into the 50s, thanks to the death of the first Metro-North worker (NY Post).
  •  Gothamist did a deep dive on why your local Chinese restaurant — a staple of the take-out business for decades — is probably closed.
  • Delivery companies are not seeing the expected uptick in business. (NY Post)
  • The Post has shown a lot of interest in following our coverage of the speeding epidemic right now, but Monday’s story clanged like a Kevin Knox jumpshot. Yes, crashes are down, but as Streetsblog reported, they’re causing even more motorists’ deaths — because drivers are speeding out of control. Melanie Gray’s story didn’t connect the dots.
  • Reminder: We’ve been covering the speeding epidemic, but this is what happens when drivers think they can drive recklessly (reminder: this is not an “accident”). (NY Post)
  • Curbed followed our story on how Mayor de Blasio is an impediment to pedestrianizing Broadway, which is the easiest thing he could do, yet won’t. (Oddly, Curbed did not do its own song parody of de Blasio’s failures, as Streetsblog did.)
  • Terri Carta from the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative is demanding that the city create a temporary protected bike lane through Red Hook to help essential health workers. (amNY)
  • Gothamist and the Post covered the weekend dirt bike terror attack on the Upper East Side.
  • And, finally, it’s time for the inevitable “rat army” story in the Post. Never change, Tabloid of Record. Never change.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

De Blasio Talks Vision Zero on WNYC

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WNYC’s Brian Lehrer started off his Friday “Ask the Mayor” segment with Bill de Blasio by taking questions about Vision Zero. No earthshaking news came up, but it’s always interesting to hear how the mayor conveys messages about street safety and urban mobility to the public. The first call came from a woman upset over the city’s focus […]
Gross. Photo: Rolls-Royce

Tuesday’s Headlines: State Pols Crack Down on de Blasio Edition

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Many outlets — including Streetsblog! — covered the legislature's expected passage of a bill legalizing e-bikes, which have long been the bane of self-styled progressive Bill de Blasio. Looks like Hizzoner will have to find a new target than poor delivery workers. Click on the headline for that story, plus a look at a gross $350,000 car (pictured).