If it's spring, reporters are asking the ever-recalcitrant Mayor de Blasio if he'll get out of his taxpayer-funded monster truck and on a bike and into the subway — like the rest of us.
The latest such tweaking came from The Post's estimable City Hall bureau man Nolan Hicks, who at the press briefing yesterday reminded Hizzoner that he hadn't taken his "promised week of subway trips yet" and that, moreover, he'd "promised to overhaul how bikes can use the Brooklyn Bridge by July," so could he "promise to ride whatever bike infrastructure exists on the Brooklyn Bridge by the end of July?"
Quoth the mayor:
Yes, and yes, I will happily. I'm really looking forward because we need that change on the Brooklyn Bridge. Looking forward to that day and I will happily participate on a bike for sure. And yes, the subway trips, I'm looking forward to that too, and it's something I think is important. We obviously saw last week the highest ridership in the subways we've seen since the beginning of the pandemic. I think you're going to see more and more people coming back. I want to encourage it and certainly we'll be out there showing that, so we'll schedule that soon.
Yeah? To which Gotham Gazette's estimable Ben Max tweeted:
With limited excitement in his voice, BdB tells @ndhapple he's excited to soon ride the subway for a week as promised and, a little further down the road, to ride a bike over the Brooklyn Bridge via new bike lane he's pledged.
— Ben Max (@TweetBenMax) March 24, 2021
"Limited" was the correct word. We'll believe it when we see it, we say.
In other news on a slow news day:
- Guse of the News-uh furthered his explorations of the mayoral candidates' stances on transit, turning to Andrew Yang a day after quizzing Maya Wiley. (NYDN)
- Crain's had a nice angle: Open streets restaurants are asking the city to tamp traffic speeds. (Crain's)
- Things were so slow that "Ironman" David Meyer shared a byline with two other Posties about a rat-infested train shed in Williamsburg. Never can rag enough on the MTA! (NYPost)
- The MTA's express buses are more empty than usual. (Gothamist)
- The beloved Vanderbilt Avenue open street in Prospect Heights will be back April 2, says Ben Verde. (Via Twitter).
- There were no clear winners in the two Bronx special elections (districts 11 and 15) on account of ranked-choice voting, but the candidates supported by StreetsPac, Jessica Haller and John Sanchez, did not come out on top. (Gothamist)
- Amtrak service won't be coming to Long Island anytime soon, says a former federal transportation official. (TheIslandNow)
- Finally, friend of safe streets, Council Member Carlos Menchaca of Brooklyn, suspended his mayoral campaign. Menchaca's stances against car culture were some of the most courageous of the field and his ideas some of the most intriguing. We salute him. (Via Twitter)
I’m suspending my campaign for mayor today. Grateful to the people who believed in our vision, my team, our volunteers and contributors. My work continues in the council as we fight and win #NYCBudgetJustice. Love you all✊🏽siempre en la lucha https://t.co/ay6sWqmCqW pic.twitter.com/NAB3lP6Dks
— 🦋Carlos Menchaca 萬齊家 (@cmenchaca) March 24, 2021
