Looks like our old man editor picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue.
The one day of the month he takes off, and boom, boom, boom, boom — news was breaking yesterday like brandy snifters in a royal fireplace.
So let's get to it:
- The Council did indeed pass its bill — which the mayor promised to sign — putting the Department of Transportation in charge of overseeing crash investigations and analysis. Lots of outlets covered. (Streetsblog, NY Post, amNY). The Daily News's spin, however, was outrageous, with a headline reading, "NYC Council approves several sweeping police reform bills that handcuff NYPD." (Way to print the NYPD press release, guys.)
- Mayor de Blasio's uninspired announcement of how his "permanent" open streets plan will work wasn't given nearly enough coverage yesterday. Streetsblog dug deep, and amNY also covered, but from the big dailies? Crickets.
- The mayor also said he'd consider widening bike lanes that are getting a dangerous amount of traffic (hey, he's finally doing that on the Brooklyn and Queensboro bridges, so why not Second Avenue?). (Streetsblog)
- A new Staten Island Ferry boat is on its way to New York — named after the great Dorothy Day. (amNY)
- And, finally, there was a Transportation Alternatives mayoral forum that kept our staff up late last night with running tweets. Here are two samples (we'll have more coverage later today):
Dianne Morales next to say "car accidents"
— Good Idea Dave (@DaveCoIon) March 25, 2021
Stringer called it a boondoggle, would rework with the contract, and put more money into bus lanes/bike lanes. And Taylor says we "have to do what works for the majority of the people," like in transportation deserts who need the ferry.
— Julianne Cuba (@Julcuba) March 26, 2021
