Tuesday’s Headlines: Preliminary Battles Edition

For the next few days, we’ll start every edition of our daily headlines with an update on our March (Parking) Madness competition, which opened with a blistering editorial here (the bracket is below).

• First, there’s still time to vote on our first two first-round battles (polls close at midnight):
  • The 42 vs. the 40 in the Bronx
  • The 110 vs. the 115th in Queens
• Today’s first-round contests include:
  • An Upper Manhattan fight between the 34th and the 30th precincts
  • A Brooklyn battle pitting the 67th and the 70th precincts.

The polls are open! We’ll report on the first batch of first-round winners in the coming days, and get you primed for our second-round fights — the borough finals!

Until then, here’s the day’s news from a one-story day:

• And so, the LIRR death spiral begins — the MTA’s “right-sizing” plan completely backfired as trains were packed to the gills with commuters (some bearing COVID). Not a good debut. (NYDN, NY Post, WSJ, Gothamist)
• If this was happening in Brooklyn Heights or the Financial District, well, this wouldn’t be happening! A developer is tearing down a historic bank building in Flatbush. (Bklyner)
• The Brooklyn Paper might have oversold a state bill that would create a cyclist advisory panel inside the MTA, but the Assembly Member Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas/Senator Alessandra Biaggi bill is a start. We also covered.
• Welcome to the party: Gothamist did its one-issue explainer on where the mayoral candidates stand on biking. The clear takeaway: The Movement has achieved a lot since the last contested mayoral primary election, that’s for sure (remember when Anthony Weiner campaigned on tearing out bike lanes?!).
• The new Reorientations blog takes a look at New York’s streeteries.
• ICYMI, NY1’s Dan Rivoli sees some positive DOT developments in The Bronx.