Today’s Headlines

  • Post Wants Stringer to Get Behind East Midtown Rezoning; Times Does Not
  • Bloomberg Makes Hard Sell for Rezoning Plan in Daily News; Says Infra Fund Would Get Fast-Tracked
  • East Village Crash Driver Allegedly High on PCP and Meth Pleads Not Guilty (News, Gothamist, DNA)
  • Outer Boroughs Clamoring for Citi Bike; Lander Says He’d Use Discretionary Funds (News)
  • DOT Implements Safety Fixes at LIC Intersection Where Tenzin Drudak Was Killed (News, DNA)
  • Enrique Peñalosa: “Today, New York Buses Are Almost a Joke…Because of Traffic” (City Atlas)
  • Post-Sandy Rockaways Ferry Adds Sunset Park Stop During R Train Outage (Post, News)
  • More on IBO Fare Hike Report: WSJ, News, Post, CapNY, AMNY, WNYC, Advance, Times Ledger
  • NYC Dollar Vans Get Backing of Koch-Funded Documentary Film (Next American City)
  • Astoria’s Shore Boulevard to Go Car-Free on Sundays in August for Shore Fest (DNA)
  • If You Fell for This One, I Have a Bridge to Sell You (Gothamist)

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

  • I know the bus crash in West New York seems like it’s out-of-bounds, but it happened just 15 minutes outside of Midtown and just a mile and a half away, closer than Williamsburg: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/nj-baby-killed-crash-article-1.1413067

  • James Reefer

    If we get Citibike in Queens I will lose my damn mind. Jackson Heights to Astoria in 10 minutes? Hell yes.

  • carma

    the queens tribue/tribute rags are playing a cruel joke on us by publishing false reports.

    why cant we just get the damn bikes funded so we can hop into jackson heights, (a premier foodie destination) easily.

    waiting for subways and relying on buses in queens is utterly painful.

    and forget about driving to JH, there is essentially no parking in the entire nabe.

  • carma

    its crashes like this that scares the bejeezus out of me with my own 2 kids.

  • Ari

    The whole dollar van issue is really frustrating.

    We need just enough regulation to prevent negative public impact but not so much to stifle competition. For example: DOT creates curbside locations for pickups, to prevent double parking on major corridors. TLC (or likely someone else) determines the right number of vans and auctions licenses, to prevent too many vans from flooding the market and causing congestion. Then let the free market take over.

    Yes, the MTA and livery cabs may lose market share. Too bad for them. Better for NYC.

  • Bolwerk

    Bloomberg really will be remembered as the “too little too late” mayor.
    The phrase “from Queens Plaza to Times Square” really shows the limits
    of his perspective.

    The Koches are authoritarian trolls, but I
    think the city’s position on dollar vans is absurd too. These are things
    that could actually feed the buses and subways, to the TWU’s benefit.
    More options is better, and without dollar vans some of these people
    would have to drive or leave the city, neither outcomes that benefit the
    TWU or the public. (It would also be nice if nextcity.org would use
    the proper label for these Randian groups. They are nearer to “fascist”
    than “libetarian.”)

  • Bolwerk

    The MTA might gain market share. Transit depends on other transit. The TWU is really no different than rent-extracting capitalist ideologues in this way. They shouldn’t be allowed to limit other people’s choices.

    The anti-dollar van thing is also indefensible on environmental impact grounds. I get that buses are probably better for the environment than dollar vans, but either is to be preferred to livery cabs.

  • James Reefer

    There really aren’t any good transportation options out here – the buses are infrequent, trains are far between, and curbside parking is dominated by curb cuts. Bikes are the perfect solution, but we need to A. get Citibike, to encourage spontaneous trips, and B. build an 8-80 bike infrastructure network.

  • carma

    agree. i mean, there are trains. the main trunk of the Queens Blvd line runs “okay”. and the 7 has very frequent service.

    however, most of queens requires you to take a Bus to transfer to the subway. making the trek to a very good transit hub like jackson heights with rich mass transit STILL very painful.

    bikes in general make perfect sense in queens as it fills that gap of “how to get to the subway”

  • James Reefer

    Denver outright acknowledges that bCycle is their ‘last mile’ transit solution.

  • Ian Turner

    MTA losing market share might be worse than you think. The private operators would pick off the choicest (most profitable) routes, leaving the MTA to provide service only on the unprofitable ones. The dent in the MTA’s finances could be outsized.

  • kevd

    Here’s what needs to change regarding dollar vans…..
    Enforce traffic laws.
    Enforce insurance laws.

    That’s it. If you’ve seen Flatbush Avenue in Flatbush, you’ll know that dollar vans are alleviating congestion and that they are providing a transit option for 10s of thousands of people. Many of whom connect with subway service in Downtown Brooklyn. People wouldn’t pay 2 fares if service wasn’t far superior to the bus.

    Have you ever waited for the B41? typically, 10-20 dollar vans will pass before a single MTA bus.

    Oh, the incessant honking is annoying, too.

  • Anonymous

    Streetsblog: it might indeed be worthwhile for you to follow this story of the charges the driver is facing, to compare it with how he might have been charged or not in NYC. Check out what *NJ* charges he’s facing according to the NY Times: “The bus driver…was charged on Tuesday night with death by auto, reckless driving and using a cellphone while operating a vehicle.”

  • Andrew

    Death by auto? That’s a thing?

    I mean, it makes perfect sense, but why haven’t I heard of it in New York?