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Wednesday’s Headlines: Tone-Deaf De Blasio Edition

Here’s why you can’t trust cops to do bike lane enforcement. File photo: Dan Miller

While Bill de Blasio was headed to Miami for his appearance at the first Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday night, his NYPD was not only cracking down on cyclists in the same area where a cyclist was killed by a truck driver on Monday, but also explicitly blaming the victim, too, Gothamist reported.

Meanwhile, Streetsblog kept the pressure on the mayor by pointing out that being a delivery cyclist might indeed be the most dangerous job in the city. Hat tip to Do Lee of the Biking Public Project for crunching the numbers.

There's so much outrage over the death of cyclist Robyn Hightman that delivery workers will hold a memorial ride on Thursday night (NYDN). Wheels down at 6:30 p.m. Will the cops get in the way? That's up to the mayor...

For now, here's the news from yesterday:

    • Gov. Cuomo's LaGuardia AirTrain project is getting so expensive people might confuse it with Mayor de Blasio's BQX streetcar. (NY Post)
    • Yes! The Port Authority wants to raise its bridge tolls (NY Times, WSJ). Meanwhile, Congress passed a bill to restore two-way tolling on the Verrazzano Bridge fee, which supporters believe will stop "bridge shopping" (Advance).
    • An Orangetown law requiring cyclists to ride single-file may be unenforceable because state law allows riders to ride in packs if there's enough room. It's also ridiculous. (LoHud)
    • A U-turn in Queens leads to death. (NY Post)
    • The (not so) Gray Lady weighs in on the MTA's censorship of a sex toy ad.
    • It was too close to call when we went to bed, but it looks like we might wake up to find that Tiffany Caban pulled off an upset win for Queens District Attorney. (NY1)
    • And, finally, don't miss your last chance to get tickets to our editor's panel discussion, "Whose Streets? Reclaiming NYC for Cyclists," at the Museum of the City of New York on Thursday night. The talk features activists Helen Ho, Judi Desire and Adam Mansky, plus Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez. Use the discount code BIKE1.
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