It is very easy to mock Mayor de Blasio (hell, our editorial cartoonist does it every week!), but when the mayor talks about the income and wealth gap in our city, he is putting his finger on the central crisis that is destroying our city.
That was the theme of Hizzoner's "State of the City" address yesterday under the big Blue Whale at the American Museum of Natural History. Most of the media coverage focused on that message (NY Post, NY1 and the Times, pulling a Gothamist-style headline), but there was also some coverage of the narrower fairness and equity interests we cover at Streetsblog. Here's a roundup:
- amNY's piece had a section about the mayor's street safety initiatives, including lots more traffic signals, which studies show encourage drivers to speed.
- Streetsblog took a grim look at the mayor's new 100-cop Vision Zero unit.
- The Daily News didn't post anything at all about the speech on its website — at least as of 12:30 a.m. Friday. Odd, huh?
Was there other, non-SOTC news? Some:
- Dana Rubinstein says that driverless cars will be tested by the Port Authority — perhaps at an airport near you! (Politico)
- In case you missed it, the NYPD has been found in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act because so many stationhouses are inaccessible. (Bloomberg)
- Gothamist's Jen Carlson wondered if talking to strangers makes our hellish subway better — or whether Sartre was right that the hell is other people
- The MTA announced a crucial subway improvement at the Nostrand Avenue A/C station. (NYDN, NY Post)
- The MTA has silenced Train Daddy for good. (NYDN)
