Well, today was supposed to be the first day of the rest of 14th Street bus riders' lives — thanks to a city plan to get cars off 14th Street — but the transit improvements were scrapped by a state judge on Friday, putting everything in limbo for at least a month.
All the major outlets were on the surprise victory by Arthur Schwartz and his West Village/Chelsea NIMBYs, who claim (perhaps rightly, we must point out) that the city support for bus riders would likely send a lot of drivers onto local streets. But as Gothamist and Streetsblog pointed out, it's hard to call yourself a Village progressive yet sue the city in hopes of blocking a transit improvement.
The next court date is in August, but supporters of the "busway" plan will be out in force this morning to stand up for the long-suffering bus riders who got screwed in the legal battle.
The Times played it straight (though Azi Payvbarah's New York Today added a bit more attitude).
Meanwhile, here's the rest of the news:
- Activists will rally tonight to mourn Ernest Askew, a cyclist who was killed last week in Brownsville. It's an important vigil for a neighborhood that Vision Zero has forgotten (if it ever even knew it in the first place). (Streetsblog)
- Clayton Guse had a nice scoop on Sunday, reporting that Gov. Cuomo may finally succeed in forcing NYC Transit President Andy Byford to quit — by taking away half his job and cutting his oversight over major construction. (NYDN)
- The Times offered an overview of the city's beefed up speed-camera system (though why reporter Winnie Hu quoted someone advocating for the right to drive 35 in a 25 mile-per-hour zone is beyond us).
- Move over, @placardabuse! There's a new way to crowd-source anger over blocked bike lanes! Meet the new Instagram account, @onthebikelane. (amNY)
- Former Streetsblog Senior Reporter David Meyer continues to make a big splash for the NY Post, albeit this time just by being his wonderful old self.
- It takes a long time to fix a cracked sidewalk in this town, Comptroller Scott Stringer found. (NY Post)
- Car carnage in the Bronx. (NY Post)
- It looks like Gothamist is getting closer to solving the mystery of the Keano ads on the subway (though it's odd that reporter Paula Mejia didn't just visit the address on the ad!).
- Apparently, more debris fell from an elevated train. (NY1)
- Morris Park Avenue now has its crosswalks back — even as the legal case against a city road safety plan continues. (The City)
- In case you missed it, it’s hard for cyclists even in Berlin! (The Guardian)
- And, finally, Friend of Streetsblog Brian Howald had an epic Twitter thread that is worth reading about his experiences as a cyclist on Atlantic Avenue after he participated in a memorial ride in honor of Asif Raman, who was killed on Queens Boulevard in 2008.
