We spent yesterday at the annual auto show at the Javits Center, which is why we were in such a bad mood yesterday.
In just a few hours, we exposed ourselves to the full catastrophe of auto eroticism: a new GMC pickup truck whose front hood was higher than a 10-year-old ("I swear I never saw a pedestrian, officer!"), a Dodge Charger marketed for its "sinister looks," a Subaru greenwash partnership with the National Park Foundation that urges park visitors to "leave no trace" even as they leave emissions everywhere, endless loops of car commercials featuring blissful speeding drivers and nary a pedestrian or traffic jam in sight, and hundreds of parents passing along the car culture to yet another generation as they pose their kids in front of the latest sleek killing machines.
Check out a few pictures below, but first, the news:
- The Daily News's Clayton Guse had a nifty exclusive: Apparently, the repairs to the L train — which were expected to be undertaken over the next 18 months of nights-and-weekends work — is already half done. Nonetheless, the Post predicts "chaos" this weekend as the work that is halfway done finally begins. At amNY, the term was "high alert." NY1 offered a "survival" guide.
- We definitely enjoyed Amy Chester's op-ed in the Daily News yesterday. It called not only for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway portion under Brooklyn Heights to be torn down, but for the city to ensure equity for other highway-riven neighborhoods.
- The MTA is going to look at all that overtime it's been paying out. Um, isn't that supposed to happen when the supervisor approves the overtime? (NY Post)
- The state is finally kicking in some money for bike and pedestrian improvements — and we don't like to look a gift Cuomo in the mouth, but wouldn't the money be better spent on high-crash corridors rather than on Roosevelt and Randalls islands? (Crain's)
- Activists are calling for a fully electric city fleet by 2040. (amNY)
- The delivery industry is pushing back on a city plan to try to tighten — just a teensy-weensy bit — rules about double-parking by the likes of UPS, FedEx, Fresh Direct and all them other truckers. (WSJ)
And now, as promised, a few photos from the auto show:
