Today is a big day for all us bike lane nerds at Streetsblog, for at 11:15, Gov. Cuomo himself will personally give us (and probably those anti-bike lane trolls like Marcia Kramer, too) a preview of the new bike and pedestrian path on the soon-to-open second span of the Kosciuszko Bridge.
Some news reporters have been having trouble spelling the surname of the Polish general honored with the bridge, but our grizzled old editor spent most of Monday saying, "I worked with Corky Siemaszko and Joe Dziemianowicz at the Daily News, so 'Kosciuszko' is no big deal." (He even pronounced it "Kah-SHUZ-ko.")
Editor Gersh Kuntzman and reporter Julianne Cuba will likely be live-tweeting every inch of the gorgeous view and every time Cuomo mentions how awesome he is. Until then, here's the news from yesterday:
- Must-read of the day: Justin Davidson offered a stinging rebuke of, well, everything wrong with transportation in New York City in one tight package. (NY Mag)
- It was apparently a day of mayhem in Central Park with one cyclist allegedly hitting a pedestrian (and injuring himself seriously), another cyclist hitting a cyclist, and a third cyclist falling off his bike while on the phone. As they used to say on "Hill Street Blues," let's be careful out there (NYDN). Thankfully, CBS2 avoided going full bikelash, as it normally does.
- A broken rail on the 7 train ruined virtually all of Western Queens' morning commute. (NY Post)
- Council Member Rafael Espinal and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams demanded on Monday that the MTA finally bring elevators to the busy Broadway Junction station (NYDN). Then, sure enough, later in the day, the MTA said it would make the main interchange fully accessible as part of the still-secret five-year capital plan (amNY).
- Like Streetsblog, Gothamist put up a post about yet another pedestrian killed on Coney Island Avenue.
- The owner of the floating billboard company fired back in a Daily News (no, not a Gothamist!) op-ed.
- Man in a clown costume rides the subway. Slow news day, NY Post?
- Still no news on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway reconstruction debacle. (Curbed)
- Fresh from his squeaker appearance on City & State's Brooklyn Power 100 list, our editor was summoned to offer a clarion call quote for the outlet's analysis this week on why cyclist deaths get so much attention. (City & State)
- And, finally, Streetsblog USA legend Angie Schmitt told the world what cities can do to help cyclists on NPR's 1A show.