Today’s Headlines

  • It Will Take NJ Transit a Long Time to Recover From Chris Christie (NYT)
  • NJT Board to Meet for First Time in Months (Bloomberg), New Director Expected (WSJ)
  • TA and Harbor Ring Committee Host Verrazano Bike Path Rally on Saturday (AMNY)
  • State Department of Labor Rules Former Uber Drivers Were Employees, Not Contractors (NYT)
  • Advocates for Disabled Say Uber and Lyft Helped Rudin on Access-A-Ride Report (Crain’s)
  • The NYC Department of Education’s School Bus System Is a Gnarly Mess (DNA)
  • Electeds Agree Tour Buses Are a Problem — Now What? (Voice)
  • Think NYPD Ticketed Driver of Oversized Rig Who Wreaked Havoc on Manhattan Street? (DNA)
  • Residential Development at Jamaica AirTrain Station to Come With 187 Parking Spots (DNA)
  • Gotham Gazette Long-Form Piece Looks at Efforts to Revitalize Downtown Far Rockaway
  • Device Meant to Keep Staten Island Motorists From Littering Straight Out of Wall-E (Gothamist)

More headlines at Streetsblog USA

  • Larry Littlefield

    Just remember, New Jersey Transit will be seeking an infusion of funds to recover even as the state as a whole is broke as a result of the richest generations of New Jerseyans robbing the future before passing on and moving away.

    Leaving current and future New Jerseyans to pay more and get less.

    Pay more with what money? According to American Community Survey data (I’ll write about it when I have time), the median annual earnings of New Jersey workers was 7.6% lower in 2015 that it was (adjusted for inflation) in 2005. That is worse than the U.S. decrease of 4.5%. And since these are comparable years, this is an over the cycle comparison, not top to bottom.

    New Jersey residents without HS diplomas were paid 14.0% less in 2015 than in 2005, compared with 16.5% less for HS Grads, 15.0% less for some college, 3.6% less for college grads, and 4.9% less for those with graduate degrees.

    These are the people Generation Greed New Jerseyans shifted debt, pension and infrastructure costs to. It is the same elsewhere, though generally not quite as bad.

  • ItsEasyBeingGreen

    Meanwhile, during yesterday’s bike blitz in the 79th Precinct (they were writing tickets on Navy Street for people who rode during the LPI at Willoughby on a block with multiple double parked cars in the bike lane), these idiots were parked for a chat. This block of the “Budnick bikeway” suffers from serious intrusion and could use a redesign, but will never get one.

    http://i.imgur.com/vVFmhkr.jpg

  • Danny G

    Re: S.I. Garbage: To be fair, I think there was an article years ago about optimizing the angle of trash cans along a greenway to allow cyclists to throw trash out more easily that didn’t get a dosage of Streetsblog sarcasm 🙂

  • Brad Aaron

    Hitting the garbage can while riding a bike = badass.

    Hitting the garbage can while sitting in a car = lazy ass.

  • mfs

    The jamaica development has, if I read the article correctly, 663 units. That’s a 1:4 parking:unit ratio, which is extremely low. that’s something to celebrate, right?

  • Vooch

    A 1 car storage to 4 units ratio might still be a trifle high given the location. You are correct that it is a success outcome compared to the tragic parking crasters of CO-OP city

  • gneiss

    Even when it’s a tree, NYPD can’t stop themselves from blaming the victim and DNA can’t stop themselves from printing uncorroborated twaddle.

    “A police officer at the scene said the tree may have been infested with termites. “The bottom of the tree was no good,” he said. “The tree just gave way.”

  • notsurprised

    “The firefighters were here in five minutes,” he said. “And it gave everybody something to talk about today.”

    smh

  • Jeff

    Also why is this being labeled as being near the “Jamaica AirTrain Station”? Surely the fact that it’s also near the second-largest LIRR hub is the real distinguishing characteristic here?

  • kevd

    Actually seemed pretty reasonable to me.
    As long as those who don’t want parking aren’t subsidizing those who do, it’s pretty good, I think.

  • kevd

    Or the E, J & Z? And just a few blocks from the F?

  • Jeff

    Yeah, basically one of the largest transit hubs in general. Weird that they would focus on the one kind of niche mode, unless they’re really doubling-down on marketing to frequent travelers.

  • stairbob

    The Crain’s piece appears to be a hit job on Rudin written by a taxi medallion company. I’m ambivalent about Uber et al., but IF they have the tech to improve paratransit services, it seems like a no-brainer.

  • kevd

    and air crews and ground staff??

  • stairbob

    Considering how much garbage I see just dumped on the ground next to car parking in places with no one to clean up after it (like Flatbush Avenue south of Grand Army), anything that gets a slob to be less selfish is a win.

  • JudenChino

    I find myself really admiring Bloomberg’s leadership when reading about NJ Transit.

    Like, we know why Christie did all the awful shit he did. He wanted to cut taxes and spending (Hi, I’m a Republican) and doing so in a blue state (Hi, I’m electable in the General Election).

    No further analysis is necessary. Had he said: (1) “here’s some real talk, we pay the lowest gas tax in the country, our infrastructure is falling apart, we need to raise the gas tax and put it into transit”” and (2) “we’re not spending billions for a 7 story underground stub station under Macy’s, let’s at least connect to Grand Central where many of my residents commute” — Feds were desperate AF at the time, and would’ve gone for ALT G had he pushed for it).

    Had he done all that — oh man, NJ Transit and our regional infrastructure would be flying. Instead, he appointed cronies (though, Bloomberg pointed an unqualified person to head Dept of Ed), and didn’t punish the fools who left millions of $$$ rolling stock in a flood zone ahead of a hurricane.

    I hate that I find myself saying what if . . . but man, had Christie done what he should’ve, he quite possibly could be the GOP nominee and . . . sadly, as it portends to us — I see Cuomo doing the exact same shit. Burnishing his bipartisan bona-fides — brandishing big projects with his name all over it. But those projects do absolutely nothing to fix the regions pressing capacity concerns. Just shiny expensive White elephants he can point to when he runs for pres in 2020/24.

  • Jesse

    Right. And sell the tax increase as an investment that pays off. Hey, NIMBYs, you want to increase your property values? Pay a little more taxes and invest in transit.

  • Jesse

    It’s particularly offensive because you’re essentially driving around in your living room. You have the space for a little garbage bag in your car. Just empty it when you get home.

  • ItsEasyBeingGreen

    My alternative Onion-style headline for this would be “Staten Islanders haven’t discovered passenger side floor exists, throw trash out car window”

  • Geck

    I have seem them ticketing bikes at Navy and Willoughby a few times recently. Willoughby runs one-way away from that intersections on both sides so that there is no cross traffic and pedestrians get a Barns dance signal. It is common for cyclists to follow the pedestrian walk signal on Navy even though their light is red (which avoids turn conflicts with motor vehicles). Ticketing cyclists there is like shooting fish in a barrel and, as long as no pedestrians are crossing, makes no one safer (while the southbound bike lane on Navy is usually blocked by double parked cars and trucks and get no police attention).

  • djx

    I was about to say the same thing. W T F is wrong with these people? Are they literally trained to protect drivers and blame victims in all cases? W T F.

  • Larry Littlefield

    From the NY Times:

    “Today, its trains break down about every 85,000 miles, a sharp decline from 120,000 miles between breakdowns four years ago. The region’s two other large commuter rail systems, the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North Railroad, are twice as reliable: Their trains travel more than 200,000 miles between breakdowns.”

    NYC Subway MDBF fell from about 160,000 miles five years ago to less than 120,000 today, and still falling.

  • AMH

    I cannot imagine that anyone who is such an asshole that they throw garbage out their window is going to bother to look for this thing.