Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Carnage

Thursday’s Headlines: RFK Freedom Riders Edition

The Triboro Bridge pedestrian path, which cyclists aren’t allowed to use per MTA rules. Photo: Google Street View/Samuel Baumel

 Months after Streetsblog demanded the legalization of cycling and the end of ticketing on Robert F. Kennedy Triboro Bridge, Astoria Council Member Costa Constantinides and State Senator Michael Gianaris Alternatives will rally today at the base of the bridge with Transportation Alternatives activists,

The goal of the  lawmakers, per a press release, is "to reopen the  southern pathway to create separate lanes for cyclists and pedestrians as well as install protective fencing along the entire strip."

TransAlt activists also said they would seek the lifting of the cycling ban on the bridge — although there was no sign of that demand in the official media advisory.

That's backward. Free the path — that is, stop the ticketing of cyclists — and the fixes will follow.

"Outlaw Biker' Steve Scofield, who penned the clarion call for sanity and an end to harassment on the bridge, told Streetsblog that the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority "needs to accept that biking across the bridge is not just a recreational activity — it’s a vital link in the bike network, and that those of us who do it aren’t scofflaws. They need to start planning a few alternatives as to how to install a bike lane and, in the meantime, decriminalize biking on the bridge."

We hope that  Constantinides and the other pols can keep those priorities straight.
Yesterday was a busy news day — with Streetsblog publishing an exclusive story by Dave Colon, which The Post followed, on how staffers of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie had been caught on camera speeding through school zones an astonishing seven times in the last couple of years.
In other news:
  • The family of the 10 year-old boy mowed down by a motorist in Midwood grieved. (NYDN)
  • Streetsblog reported details of the crash investigation. Gothamist pinned the crash on the motorist's seizure.
  • New York is among the best cities for e-bike and e-scooter trips, because half of all trips are under 3 miles. (Curbed)
  • Transit honcho Ronny Hakim will leave the MTA (NYP, AMNY)
  • A group of miscreants slashed a young man in the subway. (NYP)
  • The Transport Workers Union decried a jump in assaults on transit worker. (NYDN, Politico)
  • The New Yorker went to London to profile how cycling activists are working for climate justice. The Great Charles Komanoff tweeted that the reporting was "solid," although he wondered why, in 20 years of subscribing,  he could not recall that the publication had published any such positive coverage about cycling in New York City.
  • The Council looks for answers to the travails of the taxi and ride-share industries. (CityandState)
  • The Post Editorial Board wants stronger action form the governor on the subways,
  • Three scars through lower Manhattan tell the story of the birth of car culture, according to Gothamist.
  • NYDN critic Linda Stasi complained about the bike lane at FDR Drive and Waterside Plaza.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Mamdani Announces Full McGuinness Road Diet, Finishing a Job Halted by Adams

Mayor Mamdani chose the third full day of his tenure to announce that he will complete the full safety redesign of deadly McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint — a project that was created under Mayor Bill de Blasio, but watered down by Mayor Adams in a corruption scandal.

January 3, 2026

In With Flynn: New DOT Commissioner Wants To Be ‘Bolder, More Ambitious’

Up close and personal with the 46-year-old native New Yorker and Met fan who wants to carry out Mayor Mamdani's vision for transportation.

January 2, 2026

Mamdani Commissioner Pledges to Hold App Companies Accountable for Road Safety

DCWP Commissioner Sam Levine pledged to crack down on app companies that pressure delivery workers to use e-bikes and cars recklessly.

January 2, 2026

Friday’s Headlines: A Very Streetsblog Inaugural Edition

Mayor Mamdani will govern in prose, thank you very much. Plus other non-inauguration news.

January 2, 2026

Update: New Year, Same Carnage: Two Killed In Separate Hit-and-Runs

It turns out that two hit-and-run drivers killed pedestrians in separate incidents in the early morning hours of New Year's Day.

January 1, 2026

New Year’s Headlines: New Mayor Edition

Happy New Mayor! Plus other news.

January 1, 2026
See all posts