Yesterday's big news was Gov. Cuomo's announcement that the MTA's construction czar Janno Lieber would succeed Pat Foye as Chairman and CEO of the MTA — a fallback from the Big Dog's failed plan to make Lieber the CEO and make New York City Transit President Sarah Feinberg the MTA board chair.
The Post played it more or less straight, pointing out that Cuomo is still hoping to get the state legislature to greenlight his bifurcation plan. The paper also reported that Feinberg had stepped down from running the subways and buses as she awaits a decision by Albany leaders on her fate. (No word yet on her replacement for the second most-important job in the city.) Guse of the Newsuh combined the two stories into one. And amNY played it real straight.
Virtually all the advocacy groups put out statements in support of Lieber. (RPA, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, NYU Rudin Center for Transportation, Riders Alliance).
Full statement pic.twitter.com/IRj8gKvcUf
— 🚇 Riders Alliance (@RidersAlliance) July 29, 2021
In other news:
- An SUV driver slammed into a bus in The Bronx, injuring 14 people. (NYDN)
- The Post, which gleefully reported for more than a year that people were leaving the city in droves as it became an alleged COVID hellscape, now reports that people are moving back.
- Remember that eco-friendly start-up trucking business? Well, it was a bit of a grift. (NYDN)
- It's nice to see the Post offer outrage that some FedEx drivers are obscuring their license plates to avoid speed-camera tickets (and Greg Mango's photos were awesome), but we wish the Tabloid of Record would devote that same intensity towards the thousands of cops and firefighters who do the same thing.
- The Council extended its COVID-era restrictions on third-party delivery app fees. (Gothamist)
- Two cops crashed into each other during an emergency call. The Post had the video.
- When will the city's e-scooter program start in The Bronx? We always heard "this summer," but the Bronx Times thinks the scooter-share pilot is delayed.
- Former Council Member Chaim Deutsch was almost always on the wrong side of street safety issues. And now he's going to jail. Maybe it's not connected ... but maybe it is! (NY Post)
- Did you hear the one about the master sommelier who set fire to the streetery? It's no joke. (NY Times)
- Did outgoing Speaker Corey Johnson do a favor for a Council Member who more or less endorsed him in his failed bid for comptroller? Council insiders say yes. (NY Post)
- And, finally, Ron Popeil, whom our old man editor claims was one of his favorite interviewees back when he was a tabloid feature writer, is dead. (NPR)
