There was a really big story that sent people literally dancing for joy in the streets on Saturday, but you know about that.
But what you might not remember is that the best election celebrations from the weekend were at the city's car-free spaces: Barclays Center, Grand Army Plaza (with Bill de Blasio himself, pictured above!), Times Square, Washington Square Park (all covered by the Post, while Gothamist did a photo array) and the dozens of open streets that spontaneously erupted because of the unique confluence of happy news and public space not ruined by cars.
The "Streets are for people" message has never been clearer than it was after Joe Biden's victory.
The best example was, of course, 34th Avenue in Queens:
What will a Joe Biden presidency mean for New York City? That was the question amNY's Mark Hallum sought to answer over the weekend, but it's way too early to know. Hallum focused on the big ask: transit funding (so did Guse of the Newsuh). NY1 focused on congestion pricing, which President Trump has stalled. Meanwhile, the Biden transition website made a big promise: Every city over 100,000 gets "high-quality, zero-emissions public transportation options through flexible federal investments." (Wow, and we didn't get you anything, Joe ... except the White House.)
We also liked this tweet:
Meanwhile, plenty of Republicans are already starting their, "What, me? That guys wasn't with me" acts as they distance themselves from a president who seems determined to destroy himself. We don't buy the act — you break the country, you own it (NY Post). David Brand captured that spirit in the Queens Eagle.
Now, here's the other news:
- A woman lost her leg to a driver who slammed into her in Greenpoint. (NYDN)
- The Daily News offered more details about the moped rider who was killed by a drunk driver in The Bronx over the weekend. The Post also covered the crash, but didn't add any value. Gothamist covered and did add value (including a nice shout out to Streetsblog).
- An off-duty cop was arrested for drunk driving after he slammed into a parked car in Canarsie. (NYDN)
- The Daily News Editorial Board is high on the city's scooter-share pilot plans, though we wish the paper's honchos would stop treating micro mobility like it's some foreign, inherently dangerous concept. Reminder: yes, scooters are new, but cars are the time-tested deadly technology that no one but us seems to be that bothered about.
- Mayoral candidate Maya Wiley, who is trying to distance herself from former boss, Bill de Blasio, committed the ultimate de Blasio mistake: she was so excited to make an appearance at Grace Congregational Church in Harlem that she tweeted out a picture of the windshield placard that allowed her to get preferred or illegal parking near the chapel:
- Also in the unconscionably dumb tweet department: The New York Times's Deputy Managing Editor Carolyn Ryan tweeted that star reporter Maggie Haberman breaks the law by texting while driving — and she said it like it's a positive thing. The text got so much heat from Bike Twitter that it will likely be deleted, but here it is, in all its gory (that's not a typo).
- The Post did a version of our story last week about what Met fans want from new owner Steve Cohen, but the Tabloid of Record totally missed the point of Dave Colon's piece: Met fans want better infrastructure so they can safely bike (or Citi Bike) to Citi Field.
- Ginia Bellafante raised the central question that everyone is asking right now about remote learning: "Are We Losing a Generation of Children to Remote Learning?" (Spoiler alert: Yes, yes we are.) (NY Times)
- We did a story yesterday that you might have missed: A City Council candidate from Queens was hit by a driver and injured in Brooklyn last week.
- We loved the Times's interview with AOC, who makes dead-on points about the importance of true progressivism right now, but we wish the term “firing on all cylinders” wasn’t a thing.
- Maybe now Infrastructure Week will finally happen! Here are 11 projects Curbed thinks the Biden administration should build in New York City.
- Larry Penner has a problem with bad overtime. (Mass Transit)
- And finally, chef's kiss for the parody of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" with the lyrics tweaked to condemn NYPD brutality. (That Penner Show via Twitter)
