Thursday’s Headlines: Island Hopping (or Hoping) Edition

This morning, it’ll be cold and, eventually, rainy, but Streetsblog will start the day at Delancey and Allen, where the Department of Transportation says it has fixed the “Island of Despair” of its own making (remember our shocking video here). (Update: Story is here.) After that, we’ll go to the Board of Elections to watch them count the absentee ballots in the Andrew Gounardes-Marty Golden race (Democrat Gounardes has an almost-insurmountable lead, but ya gotta count every vote!). (Update: The Board of Elections has put off the count until Friday!)

Here’s the rest of the news:

• The mayor was on “Morning Joe” to defend his sweetheart Amazon deal — and made it sound way sweeter than it really is ($13.5 billion in tax revenue? Just yesterday it was only $10!). He also claimed that the city and state can go after Amazon when (oh, did we cheekily type “when” instead of “if”?) the company fails to hold up its end of the bargain.
• Meanwhile, in the hyperbole file, would-be Public Advocate Danny O’Donnell said Long Island City has started to look like Dubai.
• And lots more pols are hating on the deal. (WSJ)
• And, channeling her days covering the Atlantic Yards mega-project, Politico’s Dana Rubinstein evokes the Public Authorities Control Board as a potential stickler. Sorry, the PACB? Rubber, meet stamp.
• Half-priced Metrocards are coming (NYDN), but Streetsblog has a different take. So did Vin Barone at amNY.
• The Council will try to get a piece of the Amazon pie. (NY Post)
• The Citi Bikes are coming! The Citi Bikes are coming! (Bklyner)
• Religious leaders pledged to address road safety from the pulpit, a campaign organized by TransAlt. (1010WINS)
• Another taxi driver has committed suicide (NY Post), but the Council says it is trying to help. (NYDN)
• Many groups opposed to a fare hike had a big rally. (amNY)
• Lime and Jump bikes will stay in Staten Island for another three months. (Advance)
• In case you wanted the L-pocalypse in a sweet cartoon version, here’s how NY Mag’s Aude White inked it (based on interviews by Friend of Streetsblog Emma Whitford and future friend Rachel Bashein). (Spoiler alert: It’s good, but it’s a less-good version of what national treasure Bill Roundy does every week in “Bar Scrawl” in the Brooklyn Paper.)
• Watch how four Russians found an ingenious way around a ban on people crossing a bridge on foot. (Jalopnik)
• And, finally, Jacob deGrom won the Cy Young Award, which has nothing to do with livable streets, but everything to do with justice in general. (ESPN)