Thursday’s Headlines: March (Parking) Madness Continues Edition

Our daily headlines continues to open with an update on our March (Parking) Madness competition (explained here).

First, to recap (see bracket):

• Polls closed yesterday on two first-round battles:
  • In yesterday's action, the 34th Precinct edged out the 30 Precinct in Upper Manhattan with a 53-percent to 47-percent win — only 22 votes separated these two competitors. So the 3-4 moves onto the Manhattan final.
  • Meanwhile, in Central Brooklyn, the 67th Precinct of East Flatbush knocked off the 70th Precinct in Midwood in a similarly close 55-percent to 45 percent vote (the raw gap was 30 votes).
• And in earlier contests...
  • The 42nd Precinct defeated the 40th in the Bronx by a razor-thin, four-vote, 51-49 percent margin.
  • The 110th Precinct buried the 115th Precinct in a 91-9 percent landslide that most likely stemmed from the objectively reprehensible way that the 110th treats its Elmhurst neighbors.

So we've updated the bracket above with those rules. But it just goes to show you that every vote counts (well, except when the 110th is concerned!). So you definitely want to vote on two more first-round battles:

• Polls are open (until 2 p.m. today!) on that Western Queens clash pitting the 108th Precinct in Long Island City vs. the 114th Precinct in Astoria.
• And balloting has just started on today's featured bout: Tribeca's First Precinct vs. the Fifth Precinct (it's Chinatown, Jack).

Now in yesterday's real news:

• Loree Sutton dropped out of the mayor's race (NYDN, Gothamist), which in and of itself is not such big news, but it presages a coming wave of candidates bailing out on their respective races, thanks to Friday's deadline to qualify for matching funds, which are the life blood of running in New York City. Expect lots of candidates to pull a Sutton on Monday.
• Speaking of mayors, placard users have selected their candidate: DC37 has apparently endorsed Eric Adams. (NYDN, Politico)
• The Post always runs the same picture of two hipsters eating at Junior's to illustrate stories about indoor dining rules. But, OK, the story was newsworthy.
• Kudos to the NY Times for including the less-obvious shortcoming of electric cars: bad cities.
• Why can't we have nice things (like safe and pollution-free streets) like London? Oh, right, cars. Carry on.
• Your favorite retired federal transit man, Larry Penner, has been busy, writing about the LIRR's Port Washington branch for This Island Now and about his concerns about massive expenditures for a Utica Avenue extension for Mass Transit. (We don't always share Penner's opinions — but he makes a few good points about the history of the Utica Avenue plan.)
• And, finally, may Marie's Crisis Cafe never die. (NY Times)