Thursday’s Headlines: The Wealthy Lose Round One Edition

We had a fun day biking around among three different courthouses in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday before opponents and defenders of the city's Central Park West bike lane plan finally got a hearing from Justice Lynn Kotler at 80 Centre St.

Kotler denied foes' bid to block construction of the lane (Streetsblog, NYDN, NY Post, amNY, Gothamist, but nothing in the NY Times), and ordered everyone back to court on Aug. 20 so she can decide the issue on the merits (hint: the suit, which argues that reconfiguring roadways with paint and pylons requires a full environmental review, has none).

The West Side Rag focused on what it suggested was unfair reclamation of car storage spots along Central Park West to create a safer public right of way.

For now, supporters of the protected lane will gather tonight at 6:30 p.m. at 25 Central Park West, the ritzy condo building that initiated the baseless suit. Transportation Alternatives' Tom DeVito explained why he wants everyone to come out and shame the uber-wealthy: "We see you. We know you want to endanger us for the sake of parking. We will not let you win."

And in other news:

• Our friends at Reinvent Albany did another survey of MTA board members — and didn't like what they look like (or what's in their wallet or where they live, either). (NYDN) (Streetsblog ran the group's report verbatim.)
• Council Member Mathieu Eugene put another nail in the coffin of his political career at a heated town hall meeting on Tuesday night. It was heated, it seems, because Eugene is just a terrible council member. The good news? It looks like the city will stick with its plan to speed up Church Avenue buses by removing parking. (Bklyner)
• No one has been covering the city's lax response to fatal doorings better than Gothamist. Sure beats the New York Post's take that cyclists who die had it coming.
• Here's what happens when people drive too fast. (NY Post)
• The Daily News joined Streetsblog in covering Queens Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer's bold plan for a full network of protected bike lanes in Long Island City. First, Western Queens — then, the city! (Meanwhile, the Post focused on the removal of parking to make the plan a reality.)
• The Post's David Meyer put a nice lede on a truly incredible video of a city bus being inundated with floodwaters. And, no, it's not a duck boat.