Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Parking Placards

Tuesday’s Headlines: Tactical Urbanism vs. Placard Abuse Edition

OMG, this is the best thing we saw all day.

It's pretty clear that Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams isn't going to do anything about placard abuse in the borough — or at his own office.

So it was nice to see some burly activist take matters into his or own hands yesterday — with the help of a heavy planter.

https://twitter.com/DarrenGoldner/status/1216493322799403010

Too bad we didn't get to see that Borough Hall staffer's face when he or she tried to move that car out of that non-parking space commandeered by the Adams family of placard scofflaws. The latest example of Adams's laissez-faire approach to illegal parking comes months after the Beep held what increasingly appears to be a meaningless "placard abuse" summit in September.

It's long past time for Adams to solve the problem and stop being the problem.

Here's the rest of the news:

    • State Attorney General Letitia James said she’s investigating the NYPD for racial bias in how it carries out fare evasion arrests. Maybe she’ll look at jaywalking next, thanks to Streetsblog’s bombshell last week. (NYDN, NY Post)
    • Gothamist had great pictures of the waterlogged subway after a main break near Lincoln Center (the Times also covered it). This one we can't blame on Andy Byford or Gov. Cuomo.
    • Speaking of the Big Dog, Cuomo responded to anti-Semitism by announcing hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants so two upstate towns could install license plate readers to help the hunt for criminals. Can we get that here — and not only for the criminals of the anti-Semitic kind? (Gov. Cuomo via Twitter)
    • Wow, it takes a long time to modernize the signals on the subway — the entire E line won't be done until 2025 (reminder: the E line is just one line). (NYDN)
    • The Post got a second day on its “ferries are for the rich” scoop on Monday, with all the would be future mayors rightly piling on the de Blasio administration for withholding key info.
    • The Daily News editorial board demanded that the city mandate that simple, life-saving equipment be installed on all trucks, whose drivers killed more people last year than any year since 2002. (We asked City Hall if it will consider it, and a spokeswoman wrote back, "We are committed to making our streets even safer, and will be releasing more information on our new efforts to deepen Vision Zero in the coming weeks.”)
    • Everyone ran with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's objection to how the "Wrong Way" AirTrain at LaGuardia is being approved with no consideration of reasonable alternatives to a $2-billion train that takes riders away from where they want to go. Streetsblog has been covering this story for weeks (NYDN, NY Times, Streetsblog). The Post sort of covered it, but made it clear that the editors at the Tabloid of Record think AOC can’t possibly have a valid opinion on weighty matters of state because she was once a “bartender.” Really guys? Really? What ever happened to the tabloid trope that bartenders were fonts of real New York wisdom?
    • Wealthy Village residents are still complaining about the 14th Street busway — and The Village Sun is more than happy to air their grievances ... to the point of ignoring the main benefit of the busway: 30,000 bus riders a day are actually getting good commutes. That's no minor detail.
    • And, finally, we're happy that Prince Harry and Meghan (or the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, both per Times style) finally got Queen Elizabeth's approval to "step back" from being royals — but is no one going to consider the carbon implications of their new bi-continental life? Surely, Friend of Streetsblog Charles Komanoff has already computed the offset needed.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Hamstrung! Congestion Pricing ‘Pause’ Screws Over the Next MTA Capital Plan: Report

Gov. Hochul’s congestion pricing pause will eat into the MTA’s execution of its next capital plan and push the start of work on that plan back by years, a new report argues.

September 16, 2024

Restler Bill to Cap E-Bike Fees Sets The Bar High for Citi Bike’s Future

Lincoln Restler's new bill to cap the cost of a Citi Bike e-bike trip at the cost of a subway ride treats bike-share as public transportation.

September 16, 2024

Opinion: Unlock Central Park’s Shared Path to Get Kids Biking to School

With over 200 schools within a half-mile of its boundaries, Central Park could be a model for Safe Routes to School and help lead a bike-to-school renaissance.

September 16, 2024

Monday’s Headlines: A Worthy Ribbon-Cutting Edition

The DOT will formally open the protected bike lane on the Washington Bridge connecting upper Manhattan to The Bronx. Plus other news.

September 16, 2024

Friday Video: Welcome to the ‘War on Cars’

Here's a pithy, witty, concise synopsis of why cars suck from the makers of America's best-loved podcast.

September 13, 2024
See all posts