We’re really going to miss Tish James in the gubernatorial free-for-all … if only because her departure will likely encourage Mayor de Blasio to run for an off that, even if you like the guy, you know he can’t possibly win.

Everyone covered the departure of James from her quest to succeed the man she helped oust — NY Times, Daily News, NY Post, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post — but Ross Barkan had a solid analysis of the day Kathy Hochul locked it all up.

In any event, Jumaane Williams is the progressive. Hochul is the pragmatist, that guy from Nassau County is the centrist, and de Blasio is out of room.

In other news:

• First, again, we like to honor our benefactors from the previous day, who gave from the heart during our annual donation drive. Thanks, Principal Consulting! Thanks, Brandi! Thanks, Dom and Jean! Thanks, Stephen! Thanks, Laura! Thanks, Eileen! Thanks, Luke!
• Like us, the Daily News covered the death of pedestrian Ramon Pena-Fernandez, who was struck by an SUV driver. But unlike us, they didn’t report how dangerous roadways are in that section of The Bronx.
• The MTA is no longer working with the transportation company Curb on Access-a Ride. (NYDN)
• Amtrak is in trouble. (NYDN)
• In a contentious debate, the City Council voted to give hundreds of thousands of non-citizens the right to vote in municipal elections. (NY Times, Gothamist) Brooklyn Council Member Laurie Cumbo said some of the most contentious stuff.

Laurie Cumbo is voting against legislation allowing non-citizens to vote in NYC because, she said, Latinos voted in greater numbers for Donald Trump in 2020. She believes it will empower Latinos at the expense of Black voters.

— Ross Barkan (@RossBarkan) December 9, 2021

Just heard a sitting CM say she doesn't support the bill to allow non-citizens to vote because (1) it will cut into political power of Black voters, (2) African immigrant community in NYC is negligible compared to other immigrant communities, (3) Some latinx ppl voted for Trump.

— Jenny (@jennyaction) December 9, 2021

• The NYPD is finally taking crime against delivery workers seriously. (NYDN)
• Wasted space under the Brooklyn Bridge, long used for cars, is now a park. (Brooklyn Paper)
• Gov. Hochul’s version of Gov. Cuomo’s Penn Station boondoggle is also under fire. (Gothamist)
• In a related story, Workers Justice Project leader Hildalyn Cohen Hernandez was chosen by incoming Manhattan Borough President Mark Levin for his transition team:

@workersjusticep / #LosDeliveristasUnidos Dir. of Policy & Strategic Partnerships Hildalyn Colon-Hernandez has been named to incoming Manhattan Borough President Mark D. Levine’s Transition Committee, joining a diverse group of advocates, labor leaders & policy experts.Congrats! pic.twitter.com/Drt0XQlRgp

— Workers Justice ???? (@workersjusticep) December 9, 2021

• And, finally, we enjoyed Doug Gordon’s slice-of-life thread about a crazy honking car driver on his block, but read to the end when that shot meets an incredible chaser:

https://twitter.com/BrooklynSpoke/status/1468987031837679620