Friday’s Headlines: Big Day Ahead Edition
A lot is going to happen today, so let's get you up to speed fast.
By
Streetsblog
12:34 AM EDT on May 21, 2021
A lot is going to happen today, what with StreetsPAC putting out its first round of Council endorsements at around 7 a.m. (check Streetsblog for the full report!), and mayoral candidate Kathryn Garcia journeying to the sclerotic heart of car culture’s devastation of our city at 10 a.m. to reiterate her support for Transportation Alternatives’ “NYC 25X25” plan to reclaim space back from cars (check back for that story, too!).
We’ll be running around like crazy all day, so let’s get right to the news digest to get you set up:
- Before he started covering the mayoral race for us, Christopher Robbins finished up a piece on the crumbling Brooklyn-Queens Expressway for Curbed.
- Speaking of Robbins, he obviously wasn’t the only reporter in town whose ears pricked up when Andrew Yang couldn’t remember what the repeal of 50-a is — which would be forgivable, perhaps, if Yang wasn’t holding a press conference to discuss … police reform! The Post also covered.
- The press got a preview of Little Island — the enclave that Barry Diller decided the city simply must have on the West Side of Manhattan (even though park space is far more sparse in less-posh neighborhoods). The Daily News did a photo spread. Cuozzo loves it (likening it to the High Line — another amenity that doubles as a real-estate booster). At least Gothamist pointed out that parks-funding-by-billionaire-fiat is not the best way to promote equity.
- The Times totally ripped off our own Dave Colon’s demand for outdoor debates, but, hey, the more the merrier.
- The Wall Street Journal had a nice little scoop: Amazon had to suspend its testing of a new cargo bike model that could revolutionize delivery in the city when there was a minor testing track crash.
- If you see something, say something — ATV version. (NY Post)
- Scott Stringer says we should add more money to the budget of the Parks Department, a woefully underfunded outlet. (amNY)
- Aaron Gordon in Vice is concerned that we’re obsessing about crime again.
This piece was the work of the Streetsblog staff.
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