Thursday’s Headlines: The State of the City is Strong Placard Abuse

Mayor de Blasio will give his "State of the City" address today at City Hall, which is basically a bar mitzvah for the political establishment, minus your Bubbe slipping a $25 savings bond into your hand and whispering, "Don't tell your mother I gave you so much." Check back later to read our fact-check if Hizzoner talks about bikes, transit, Clear Streets, Select Bus Service or anything else related to livable streets. Maybe he'll talk about placard abuse (don't hold your breath).

For now, here's the news:

• Gothamist has quickly emerged as the definitive source for all that we don't know about the now-scrubbed L-train shutdown, posting excellent, detailed articles by Christopher Robbins and Aaron Gordon on Wednesday that were both comprehensive, but were ultimately full of sound and fury signifying nothing. (Gothamist also published a tribute to the MTA's Joralemon Street tunnel on its 111th birthday.) Crain's also wrote about Andy Byford promising an independent review of the new Cuomo plan.
• And while we were talking about MTA credibility, dozens of shiny new subway trains have been taken out of service with various "maladies," Dan Rivoli reported in the Daily News.
• Pay up, Andrew! Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez wants the city to be reimbursed for all the L-train prep work it did, the NY Post and Metro reported. But, hang on — Rodriguez told Streetsblog last week that he would fight with his council colleagues to keep all those street safety and transit improvements! And the Brooklyn Paper's Julianne Cuba found an angle on Grand Street.
• Rosa Goldensohn reported that private-carting and Morris Park Avenue street safety pariah Mark Gjonaj violated Council rules by steering money to a contractor who donated to his campaign. (Politico)
• It's always fun to read about the current fate of Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-political hermit Simcha Felder. Here's Ken Lovett's take. (NYDN)
• By the way, the Trump shutdown is going to hurt the MTA if it keeps up. (amNY)
• Mayor de Blasio said he won't bite on Corey Johnson's plan to seek city control of the subway system. Why not, Mr. Mayor? Too much work? (NY Post)
• The Department of Transportation has widened the northern sidewalk on the Roosevelt Avenue Bridge and finally created a shared space for cyclists and pedestrians — which means the NYPD won't be able to write ridiculous tickets to cyclists just trying to stay alive. Now, the Mets- and Chinese-food-loving team at Streetsblog has a further request: Fix the absurdly dangerous stretch of four-lane Roosevelt between Flushing and the Grand Central Parkway so that everyone is safe. (Facebook) The agency also took a well-deserved bow for a bus loading island on Cropsey Avenue. (@NYC_DOT via Twitter)
• And finally, in case you needed a reason to really dislike Andrew Cuomo, here's what you asked for — a flip comment about sexual harassment. (Jon Campbell via Twitter)