Well, folks, he finally did it — Mayor de Blasio rode the 14th Street busway. It's one of the great successes of his miserable 2019, yet the not-so-press-savvy mayor apparently didn't want to draw too much attention to himself or the fast-moving crosstown route, so he only invited Andrew Siff of NBC4 to document his trip for posterity.
Siff tried to pin down Hizzoner on when we can expect more car-free transitways, but the mayor channeled the little Brooklyn inside him and said wait 'til next year. And that was pretty much the extent of his Zen koan of a victory lap.
Here was the rest of the news from a drippy Monday:
- The Post continued its shameless promotion solid reporting in favor of more cops in the subway.
- Did you know that Washington, D.C. has 26 cops whose sole duty is to enforce and protect bike lanes? New York City has none. (WJLA)
- For the second day in a row, the Post highlighted the reckless driving record of Police Officer Garman Chen, who killed himself in a crash during an apparent drag race on the FDR Drive — but for some reason, the Tabloid of Record refuses to acknowledge mounting evidence that this is not just a problem limited to one rogue officer, as Streetsblog has reported here, here, here, here, here ... including a piece on Monday about the recklessness of Chen's precinct colleagues.
- The Times offers a backgrounder on Sofia Newman and the churro video that went viral.
- Now here's a good use for autonomous vehicle technology: getting more New Jersey Transit bus riders into Manhattan faster (WSJ). Politico's Dana Rubinstein had it, too, but it's behind a paywall.
- President Obama started the TIGER grant program to fund innovative mass transit projects, but the Trump administration is spending most of the money on roads instead. (City Lab, Streetsblog)
- Friend of Streetsblog Derek Howard is directing a short documentary about harassment on the subways and buses — and he hopes victims will share their stories to, as he put it, "raise awareness about predatory behavior in the subway and empower victims and other riders alike to take action (when it is appropriate to do so)." If you can help, go to Howard's website.
- And, finally, let's end with a little taxi driver beefcake. (NY Post)
