Let us start by saying we are big fans of ranked-choice voting — but we're not so sure we like the idea of ranked choice press conferences. Yesterday in The Bronx, State Senator Gustavo Rivera enjoyed his Stringer with a side of Morales — and left pretty much everyone wondering whether he trying to do something visionary or just weird.
Rivera endorsed Scott Stringer — OK, plenty of people have done that — but also invited Dianne Morales to attend the event to accept his "you're my second choice" endorsement.
Gothamist covered the bizarre spectacle, which probably helps Morales — who has stronger progressive credentials, but a much smaller war chest and much less name recognition. But if Rivera really wanted to help Morales, he should have endorsed her as his Number 1, with Stringer as the second pick. That way, if Morales loses, Rivera's vote would then go to Stringer anyway. (The Daily News covered, but didn't run on it.)
In any event, the press conference was certainly not the last we'll hear about ticket-splitting or trying to game ranked-choice voting. Bottom line: Vote for the candidate you think is best, and then rank your second-favorite candidate second and your third-favorite candidate third, and so on. (The primary is on June 22. Here is our detailed primer.)
In other news:
- Law and order? The Staten Island bar owner who was arrested for running over a deputy sheriff enforcing the rules against indoor gathering won't face an assault charge for the attack, which could prompt others to take up violently against law enforcement (NY Post, Gothamist). Sure enough, the next day, the Daily News and amNY had a story about some Queens partiers who fought sheriff deputies who tried to shut down their illegal bash.
- Cops are still looking for the thief who stole a florist's van — as he was unloading it — and dragged the victim down the block. (NYDN)
- Ross Sandler is the canary in the BQE coal mine, arguing in the Daily News that something has to be done with the soon-to-collapse highway. Scott Stringer has a solid plan.
- Andrew Yang took a lot of heat for his Governors Island casino balloon. (City and State, NYDN)
- As the city ponders its scooter-share pilot program, Link scooters got a nice write-up by Mark Hallum in amNY.
- And there was some more car mayhem on Saturday in Manhattan. (NY Post)
- It's paywalled, but Crain's did a good job on this deep dive into Revel scooter — though anything bad that can be said about Revel applies 100-fold for cars. Where’s that story, MSM?
- Greatest story of the week: Cops who spend their entire day sitting in their car at the Brooklyn end of the Brooklyn Bridge footpath are complaining that tourists ask them for directions too often — so they've demanded that the DOT install better wayfinding signs. (It's just the latest tear in the Vision Zero fabric — cops too annoyed by pedestrians to help them find their way safely. Yeesh.) (The Brooklyn Paper)
- Great Streetsbloggers think alike: On Friday, a few minutes after we posted our story about Corey Johnson, Pete Buttigieg and congestion pricing, the Post's David Meyer did a version, too.
- They're not crazy ... but they are looking for a few loons. Who knew there was so much controversy in the bird-watching world?
Say it with me: 🦅 If you watch birds, you are a birder 🦅
— Rosemary Mosco (Bird And Moon Comics) (@RosemaryMosco) January 23, 2021
The vast majority of birders I meet tell me “oh I’m not really a *birder*. I don’t know enough.” This a hobby where most of the people in it feel like they’re not really in it, because of gatekeeping and condescension!
