Streetsblog

Friday’s Headlines: Yes, It’s Finally Spring Edition

The big news yesterday was that the Mets are clearly going all the way. The Yanks won, too.

By Gersh Kuntzman

1:09 AM EDT on March 29, 2019

The big news yesterday was that the Mets are clearly going all the way. The Yanks won, too.

In other news:

Lots of outlets covered the mayor’s sort of fake announcement that he was reducing the overall city vehicle fleet and would reduce the amount of fuel they burn. Like many, the Post pointed out that de Blasio dramatically increased the vehicle fleet since taking office. The Wall Street Journal called the move “a small dent.” Meanwhile, Streetsblog’s David Meyer is working on a second-day story that is going to be awesome. But first, he grilled the mayor about the Queens Boulevard bike lane — but the mayor refused to use the word “bike lane.”
Drivers who double-park in school zones caused serious injuries to a 12-year-old boy in Jackson Heights. (NBC4)
Mayor de Blasio’s obsession with ferries is really soaking taxpayers to the tune of $10.73 per ride, according to the latest figures. Ridership is paltry. (Gothamist, NY Post, NYDN)
Council Speaker Corey Johnson is obviously sick of the NYPD not taking placard abuse seriously that he’s created a new web portal with stats and maps and ways to contact authorities. It’s worth poking around.
And in case you needed a transcript of a recent community meeting on congestion pricing, the usually excellent West Side Rag is happy to oblige. Meanwhile, the Tribeca Citizen opines.
The Times is way late on the floating billboard story.
And, finally, sad news for anyone who covered the city in the 1990s — and for those of you who admired a Parks Commissioner who did weird stunts, created nicknames for everything, and had staffers walk his dog and register each time someone pet him: New York legend Henry Stern is dead. (NY Post, but the NY Times had the definitive Robert D. McFadden obit. Then again, amNY’s Lisa Colangelo definitely knew Stern back in the day. But did she get a nickname? Our editor was “MetroGnome” — and he still has the nameplate.)

Have a great, warm spring weekend, people.

Gersh Kuntzman

Tabloid legend Gersh Kuntzman has been with New York newspapers since 1989, including stints at the New York Daily News, the Post, the Brooklyn Paper and even a cup of coffee with the Times. He's also the writer and producer of "Murder at the Food Coop," which was a hit at the NYC Fringe Festival in 2016, and “SUV: The Musical” in 2007. He also writes the Cycle of Rage column, which is archived here.

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