We spent most of Clifford Levy's tenure as Metro editor of the Times relentlessly attacking gently prodding him for the pro-car bias of a section that, at least in name, reflects a city where the majority of people don't have access to a car. But, in fact, the last year has been a banner one for his section, which has finally caught onto how much better the city can be without cars. And we gave the appropriate hat-tip, of course:
It's time for the car owners of Jackson Heights to wave the white flag of surrender: The @NYTMetro has an interactive feature that shows how great this city—and especially its open streets—can be if we just banish cars! (H/T @matthewhaag, @cliffordlevy) https://t.co/1L4S6TuIPi
— Streetsblog New York (@StreetsblogNYC) December 18, 2020
But as he moves on to a new job at the Gray Lady (as reported by the Times itself), we wish Cliff well — and seriously hope he'll warn his successor about our ideological zealotry benign encouragement. Like this...
The busway piece @cliffordlevy's pro-car @NYTMetro is like a parody — but it's really the death throes of drivers who simply can’t see that they are the problem. We like papers with an “angle,” but Cliff, your angle wrong AND on the wrong side of history.https://t.co/lUGwLx7H3I pic.twitter.com/98J4Ah9PEc
— Streetsblog New York (@StreetsblogNYC) October 3, 2019
Or this...
It’s really difficult to understand why @cliffordlevy continues to use his paper’s respected pages to advocate for car drivers. What city is he living in?
— Streetsblog New York (@StreetsblogNYC) December 9, 2019
In other news:
- The Council will vote on Tuesday on a bill that would wisely add 4,000 street vendor permits (over 10 years) to the current cap of 2,900 (WSJ, Bklyner). To refresh your memory on this important story, we remind you of a few background pieces that we've published recently.
- Council Member Carlina Rivera wants the city to create a real-time map of construction sites and other obstructions so cyclists will know the danger spots. The map would also show data on streets with higher rates of cyclist injuries and deaths. (NYDN)
- A group of Council Members says the overnight subway shutdowns will hurt the vaccination effort and encourage people to drive more (ya think?). (NYDN) Meanwhile, Lyft-owned Citi Bike is trying to help, adding bikes to a Brooklyn vaccination center that was previously outside the zone. (News12)
- The celebrated "Streetsblog bump" obviously wasn't enough to keep Zach Iscol in the mayor's race — he dropped out yesterday to run for Comptroller (which already features Brad Lander, a prior recipient of the bump — what's a voter to do?). (NY Times)
- Polly Trottenberg, Biden’s nominee for deputy transportation secretary, had a mixed record as city DOT commissioner, says Curbed (following Streetsblog NYC's definitive piece from a month ago).
- Because the one thing Times Square really needed was a Margaritaville. (NY Post)
- And, finally, Doe Fund founder George McDonald, has died, a great loss. (NYDN)
