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On NY1 Tonight: The New John Liu vs. The New Broadway

Lately, you may have found yourself doing double takes at the words coming out of Council Member John Liu's mouth. The transportation committee chair, running for comptroller in a crowded field that includes two other candidates from Queens, has turned into a go-to source for quotes that disparage safety improvements for pedestrians and cyclists. (Liu prefers to make his point indirectly, couching his criticism in attacks on "process".)

By Ben Fried

3:05 PM EDT on May 28, 2009

Lately, you may have found yourself doing double takes at the words coming out of Council Member John Liu‘s mouth. The transportation committee chair, running for comptroller in a crowded field that includes two other candidates from Queens, has turned into a go-to source for quotes that disparage safety improvements for pedestrians and cyclists. (Liu prefers to make his point indirectly, couching his criticism in attacks on “process”.)

During the MTA funding debate, Liu was also a vocal opponent of bridge tolls, a stark about-face given his early support for congestion pricing. Tonight you can see the new John Liu in action, when he makes an appearance on NY1’s Road to City Hall at 7 p.m. The topic: Broadway’s new pedestrian spaces, a transformation Liu pounced on as soon as the plan was announced.

If you’re going to tonight’s BRT workshop in the Bronx instead, you can catch the NY1 show again at 10:00 p.m.

Ben Fried

Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.