The problem with Mayor de Blasio is follow-through. We heard that again on Queens Boulevard on Sunday, as activists bemoaned that it has been 500 days since the mayor promised to finish his signature street safety project, which still has no timeline for completion. (The Daily News also covered, though buried the obvious angle about political corruption holding up the work.)
On Monday night, we get another chance to see the sleepwalking mayor at work. See, Monday is the first of several long-awaited public hearings to find sites for all those Citi Bike docks that are supposed to be installed in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx early next year, as the city announced back in July — eight months after Citi Bike announced that it would expand into those areas in the first place.
So what's taking so long? Well, the city continues to put paltry resources into the expansion, creating just a single 12-person team to find suitable locations for Citi Bike docks across three Manhattan community boards, six Bronx community boards, three Queens community boards and at least two more Brooklyn community boards. Twelve people? He needs 12 teams of 12 people.
But you get what you pay for with this mayor. The work will happen — just in slow motion. To make sure, our own Dave Colon will be on hand at the first meeting at 6 p.m. at City College North Academic Center, 160 Convent Avenue. (DOT declined to comment on this rant.)
Until then, here's the news:
- We have the technology ... for congestion pricing. (NYDN)
- It was funny to read Department of Investigations Commissioner Margaret Garnett's piece in the Times about cracking down on corruption. Funny because Streetsblog has repeatedly asked Garnett what her office will do about placard abuse — which the Daily News's Errol Louis once called "the gateway drug" of municipal corruption. Garnett has declined our interview requests — and placard abuse continues (apparently even in her office).
- Curb's Amy Plitt used the success of the 14th Street busway to solicit the opinions of the experts for where the next one should go (she didn't ask Streetsblog for some reason, so we'll tell her now: Fordham Road). Meanwhile, subway ridership is up (NYDN)
- More details emerged about the woman who was killed by a drunk driver near Kennedy Airport last week. (NYDN)
- The Schneps-owned amNY website is back.
- Aaron Gordon penned an epic explainer about the MTA's addiction to debt.
- Finally, in case you missed it, Politico's Dana Rubinstein got the scoop that New York City Transit President Andy Byford had resigned, only to change his mind and announced he was "not going anywhere."
