It was another weekend of mayoral politics, which makes sense, given that the all-important Democratic primary is just nine weeks away and "Undecided" is still running away with it.
The Times generated some excitement with its suggestion that two moderates — Andrew Yang and Eric Adams — are running away with the race to lead one of the most liberal cities in America. Though, let's face it, that Times piece was just wishful thinking from the Gray Lady, who never met a progressive it couldn't deflate in the eyes of its mostly wealthy readership.
Here's one line in the story that we guarantee you won't age well: "Mr. Yang, the former presidential candidate, and Mr. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, are in especially strong positions, with Mr. Yang in particular consistently topping polls." That sentence clearly ignores the ramifications of ranked choice voting, for one thing. (But then again, Ross Barkan thinks Yang could actually win, so maybe the Times is onto something. Another Times story over the weekend declared Yang, Adams, Scott Stringer and Maya Wiley the front-runners, which ends for now the Times's infatuation with Ray "No Comment" McGuire.)
Meanwhile, people are starting to see that Dianne Morales is the most progressive candidate in the mayoral race. (Gotham Gazette), and she also shopped for a bike over the weekend (via Twitter).
And there was certainly attention over the weekend that Yang often says things that are not good, such as when he called for a crackdown by the NYPD (whose members mostly live in the suburbs) on vendors, who are mostly struggling immigrants (NY Post, amNY; amNY added an anti-Yang op-ed). Lest we forget, in the past, Yang has called for undermining the social safety net on which millions of Americans rely.
Remember: the election is on June 22.
In other news:
No one likes large groups of illegal ATVs on their streets. (NY Post)
A driver slammed into a scaffolding at high speed and could have killed a dozen people. He was arrested, at least (NBC4, NY Post)
In case you missed it, the Brooklyn Paper also covered our poll last week that shows broad support for the return of the 24-7 subway.
Well, apparently there's at least one person who supports Gov. Cuomo's bloated Empire Station Complex plan — Dan Biederman of the 34th Street Partnership. (amNY)
Staten Islanders rallied to demand that DOT create a bike-share system for the Rock after the hand-picked provider, Beryl, pulled out last week (Via Twitter). For the record, DOT has not responded to our questions about what comes next.
Opponents of the city's flood plan for East River Park have sued. (NY Post, Gothamist)
Robert Moses was trending over the weekend, thanks to Pete Buttigieg. We guess it's time to re-read "The Power Broker." (Gothamist)
A private sanitation worker was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Williamsburg on Saturday. (NYDN)
Cities and municipalities with larger budgets and staff are more likely to win competitive federal infrastructure grants, the Urban Institute has found.
