Friday’s Headlines: Updating You on Our Parking Madness First-Round Bouts

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 this first-round battle:
  • In the Western Queens clash of the 108th Precinct in Long Island City vs. the 114th Precinct in Astoria, the 114th triumphed in an outrageous 94 percent to 6 percent landslide (it must be all that combat parking blocking sidewalks for the handicapped and the elderly — but whatever it is, the 114 is now in the Queens final against the equally egregious 110th.
• That followed these earlier contests:
  • 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).
  • 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 results. But it just goes to show you that every vote counts (well, except when the 110th is concerned!). So you definitely want to vote in these remaining first-round battles:

• Polls will close at 5 p.m. today on Thursday's featured bout: Tribeca's First Precinct vs. the Fifth Precinct (it's Chinatown, Jack). This one looks like it'll go down to the wire.
• Polls will close on Sunday at 2 p.m. on today's final first-round clashes:
  • In central Brooklyn, the 88th Precinct will face off against the 79th Precinct.
  • And in The Bronx, the 52nd will meet the 46th in an epic contest that's years in the making.

Please vote — and please fill the comment section with your take on how the NYPD acts with discourtesy, unprofessionalism and disrespect to all its neighbors (but especially in Elmhurst!)

And now, the real news:

• The MTA has backed off its plan to stiff its workers on already-agreed-upon raises. (NYDN)
• Scott Stringer tweeted a thread about a price hike on electric Citi Bikes — but no one in the vaunted New York City press corps picked up on it. If true, it's a terrible development, given that electric bikes could be one of the keys to the city's recovery (except the mayor steadfastly refuses to help subsidize the program).
• In case you missed it, the NYPD is arresting people for marijuana possession in a blatantly racist manner (Gothamist). It's jaywalking and riding on the sidewalk summonses all over again — except with much more serious repercussions.
• Meanwhile, the Transit Workers Union President Tony Utano said he doesn't want his kids to ride the subway — and even gives them Uber money. Sure, take an Uber — put a transit worker out of a job. (NY Post)
• Friends, don't let friends drive drunk (and kill their passenger). (NY Post)
• The Times followed up on the New Yorker's story last week about Javier Castillo Maradiaga, who was wrongly turned over to ICE and almost deported after he was arrested for jaywalking.
• A Lower Manhattan community board said the neighborhood is not the right place for a city COVID-19 memorial. (WSJ) That's right; it isn't. A better place would be 34th Avenue in COVID-plagued Jackson Heights and Corona, where Mayor de Blasio created the city's best open street. Making it a permanent linear park would be the perfect memorial to the thousands we've lost and a great symbol of our revival.
• Wired took a deep dive on parking — and why it's terrible for cities.
• President Biden's speech last night filled us with optimism for the future. But even if we all get vaccinated by the end of June, there'll still be a lingering side-effect of COVID: op-eds like this in this Daily News op-ed by a self-described patriotic New Yorker who fled the city for Connecticut during the pandemic. What's the cure for bitter feelings towards everyone who left?
• And finally, we don't like drones. But this drone-goes-bowling video really is an instant classic. (NY Times)