Thursday’s WEDNESDAY’S Headlines: Cause for Optimism Edition

Everyone was feeling optimistic yesterday, what with President Biden all but declaring that every American could be vaccinated by the end of May (so why don’t we hold off on the movie theater reopenings until then, OK?)

Mayor de Blasio also offered his share of optimism, becoming the latest official to express belief that the Biden Administration will speed congestion pricing through the approval process (NYDN), but there’s no real evidence of that. Secretary Pete Buttigieg made no mention of it in his 10-minute interview with Laura Bliss from City Lab yesterday.

In other news from a slow day:

• The reckless driver in the “SCR3AM” car who nearly killed a woman in Williamsburg last year was going 77 miles per hour on a local street at the moment of impact, said prosecutors as they charged him with felony assault yesterday. (NYDN)
• Want to really understand helicopter noise? Here’s a deep scientific dive. (Vertical Mag)
• Hat tip to The War on Cars podcast, whose new episode features legendary biking Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer, who is pushing the E-BIKE Act to subsidize the purchase of electric bikes (just like electric cars!). The bill is H.R. 1019.
• We’re loving Annie Weinstock’s new blog, Reorientations, on Medium. Check out her forceful clarion call for a reconfiguration of the Manhattan Bridge.
• Ticketing starts Monday for bus lane blockers on Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn. (The Brooklyn Paper)
• And, finally, what happens in Miami won’t stay in Miami; if the Magic City figures out how to keep the ocean from consuming it, New York will follow suit, right? (NY Times)