Yesterday was all about New Jersey's day (or two) in court. Obviously, we had Dave Colon in Newark to capture every burp and spit from Garden State mouthpiece Randy Mastro, but our coverage, as good as it was, wasn't alone:
The hearing will continue on Thursday, so we're guessing that the main fireworks are primed to go off then.
In other news:
- We were happy to see The Times jump on that Department of Investigation report about placard abuse, which we've been covering for, like, years (no link, no love from The Gray Lady). We also covered the report hours earlier. So did Gothamist and Hell Gate, definitively.
- Transit crime is down. (amNY)
- On a personal level, the biggest news was my star turn on "The Daily Show" on Wednesday night. I agree with host Michael Kosta: I am the annoying snitch New York needs right now. Come for the criminal mischief, stay for me admitting that getting killed by an angry scofflaw driver would actually be "a great news story":
- Yes, the New York City Marathon will be charged to use the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge during the marathon. But the Times's headline — "The MT.A Wants Marathon Runners to Pay Bridge Tolls, Too — was needlessly sensationalistic (as the Post pointed out). Reminder: Citi Bike is forced to pay New York for lost parking revenue, so it's not surprising that the MTA would seek the same kind of deal from runners. That said, Nolan Hicks in the Post debunked that shit right up. So did Robbins in Hell Gate.
- Wait, now there are flammable batteries in the trash? (Gothamist)
- Let's give City Island a ferry stop! (NY Post)
- The Village Sun has been clear about its opposition to e-bikes, but this opinion piece by Michele Herman was well balanced and fair, raising issues about the delivery economy and whether mopeds (not "scooters," people!) really are getting people out of cars as they do in Europe. Komanoff liked the piece, too:
