Well, we told you it would be a busy day, with a big bill passing at City Hall (amNY had it, too) and a big motor scooter expansion, and it was, even with the TLC “dialogue” ride canceled by rain and the Vision Zero trial postponed by a judge’s unannounced illness.
So let’s just get to the news:
- That was a hell of a throwback community board meeting at Brooklyn CB1, which is under fire for using $26,000 in taxpayer money to buy an SUV. The public rightly berated the board for its misplaced priorities, the board chair berated back — and the district manager, a guy out of central casting, argued he’s underpaid at $125,000 a year! (The City)
- We thought the Times went a bit too easy on Uber and Lyft in its massive, Pulitzer-ready takedown of the taxi medallion scam, arguing that the disruptive app-based taxis haven’t hurt yellows and greens that much. Well, thank you, Clayton Guse for confirming our suspicions that the Times underestimated the damage (NYDN). Guse was too nice to point it out, but the Times's story said yellow revenues were down only 10 percent, but it's more like 36 percent.
- In other Times news, Emma Fitzsimmons did the broad overview of the e-scooter debate, built party on some great and uncredited Streetsblog reporting by David Meyer.
- We really enjoyed the transit town hall on NY1, though the only light it shed is that no one bothers to even ask what happened to the MTA capital plan that Cuomo still owes $7.3 BILLION on.
- Now you know why street safety advocates hate the private carting business. (NYPost)
- Chaos on the 1 train. (Gothamist)
- Gothamist also covered the mini-motorcycle expansion.
- And finally, do not watch this video of a pole-dancing subway rat. (You’re gonna watch, right?) (Gothamist)
