Friday’s Headlines: Laissez Les Bons-Temps Rouler Edition

Our editor flew to New Orleans last night and could not believe that there is no public transportation option after 9:20 p.m. from Louis Armstrong Airport to his scheduled appointment with a Sazerac and Brice Miller at the Spotted Cat on Frenchmen Street.

There will obviously be more on this story as the weekend develops.

For now, here’s the news:

• The MTA Board postponed consideration of a fare hike at Thursday’s monthly meeting. Vin Barone of amNY reminded us that the agency loses $30 million every month that there’s no fare hike, creating an ongoing “existential crisis.” The Post focused on rider outrage over a higher fare for declining service. And Politico‘s Dana Rubinstein highlighted called attention to Cuomo-generated chaos of the current moment.
• At Gothamist, Aaron Gordon added more details to Streetsblog’s scoop from Wednesday about late night and weekend service under Governor Cuomo’s proposal to repair the L train tunnel. The prospects for riders are terrible: Because of overcrowding, 20-minute headways may become 40 minutes or more, and agency officials fear above-ground overcrowding, which could prove disastrous on narrow streets like Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue.
• Meanwhile, MTA board members are flat-out calling the decision to cancel the long-awaited L train shutdown “a mistake,” the Post reports.
• Speaking of the board, the Times’ Emma Fitzsimmons did a nice MTA board explainer yesterday, pointing out how unaccountable it is to millions of New Yorkers who can’t name a single member.
• Up in Albany, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie did not sound optimistic about passing congestion pricing on WCNY’s Capital Pressroom. He also voiced concerns about Governor Cuomo’s desire to have more control over the MTA. For those who can’t or don’t want to listen to the whole show, the Post ran a summary of Heastie’s comments.
• Speaking of congestion pricing, the governor’s proposal to toll drivers enter Manhattan below 60th Street is actually polling better than ever. Quinnipiac is out with new numbers that show 54-percent of city voters support the plan. Statewide, however, voters are split, with 45-percent in favor and 44-percent against. The poll follows similar results from Siena earlier this month.
• Governor Cuomo wants stricter penalties for drivers who disobey school bus stop signs, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports.
• And back here in New York City, Mayor de Blasio was at the NYPD’s West 32nd Street Tow Pound feting his already-announced plan to create tow truck units dedicated to bus lane enforcement. ABC 7 and WPIX covered it. So did the Daily News.