Thursday’s Headlines: Bikelash Approacheth Edition

We were very sorry to hear that a 4-year-old was reportedly hit by a cyclist in Riverside Park on Monday.

The West Side Rag suggested that cyclists are a rogue element in Riverside Park, but the website also revealed that there have been only two prior reported crashes in the 20th Precinct portion of the park since 2017. Let's put that in context: Since 2017, on just the two avenues directly adjacent to the park, there have been more than 600 crashes involving cars reported to the 20th Precinct, city statistics show. Those crashes injured 24 cyclists and 33 pedestrians.

That said, cyclists have a responsibility to ride safely. Please do so. (CBS2 also covered, but cited very different statistics than the Rag. Streetsblog has been requesting bike-on-pedestrian crash reports from NYPD for months.)

The good news? The city is planning better infrastructure to keep pedestrians and cyclists safe.

In other news:

• The Times' Michael Kimmelman continues his hot streak by following Streetsblog in suggesting it's time to consider tearing down the BQE.
• Several outlets covered a $110-million jury award to a man who was paralyzed when a railroad tie fell on him from the elevated J train in 2016. But the Post and Patch failed to mention a key piece of context: The MTA should have been so chastened by the grievous injuries it caused cyclist Robert Liciaga that it fixed the problem. Alas, dangerous debris has rained down from the 7 train several times this year.
• City Journal was the latest to condemn congestion pricing exemptions.
• Cops say they arrested the woman caught on camera running down a 14-year-old girl and then cruelly fleeing. (ABC7)
• In case you missed it, Staten Island residents have been testing the new OMNY fare-payment system — but the video in this Staten Island Advance story suggest that it is going to be far too slow for New Yorkers! Meanwhile, Vin Barone, the soft-spoken humanist of amNY, will do a Reddit AMA today at 2 about the demise of the Metrocard. (Question 1: "Are you wearing flannel right now?")
• Gotham Gazette covered the City Council's response to Mayor de Blasio's budget.
• A group of transit workers says the Cuomo L-train fix will be unsafe. (NY Post, amNY)
• Also, in case you missed it, Politico's Dana Rubinstein had a subscriber-only scoop about the coming consultant-led MTA restructuring that might lead to layoffs.
• And, finally, the Daily News did a photo gallery on the old City Hall subway station.