Monday’s Headlines: Welcome Back Edition

Public school kids return to in-person school today, but COVID is only one of their fears. The real fright is just getting to the classroom at all, as we report this morning.

We were, of course, reminded of that due to the weekend's big story: a vehicular crash that killed a 3-month-old baby girl and injured her parents, part of a weekend of carnage that claimed at least five lives to road violence. Outrage about the baby's killing will likely continue today — Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has schedule a presser at the Fort Greene crash site at 2:30 — but the real test will come after Jan. 1, when he's mayor and can do something about the slaughter.

This has been the bloodiest year of Mayor de Blasio's Vision Zero, so Adams will have his work cut out for him. If anyone wants to confront the mayor about his failure to protect children, he'll be at P.S. 25 at 811 E. 149th St. in the Bronx at around 8 a.m. welcoming students back to school.

Meanwhile, the story and follow-ups were all over the media:

• Streetsblog got a little worked up in our Sunday story about the crash and the outrage it caused. The mayor said he was angry about the death, but proposed no new plans.
• The Daily News follow-up mostly focused on the killer driver, whom police identified as Tyrik Mott, 28, of Crown Heights (despite having Pennsylvania plates). It was weird to read this sentence, which was rendered so matter-of-factly: "The car in 2021 alone was hit with 35 camera tickets for speeding in school zones and seven for failing to stop at red lights." The paper did not follow up that thought with the answer to the question on every New Yorker's mind: "What the fuck?!" (The paper's editorial page was silent on the crash.)
• The Post's story at least admitted it didn't have the answer: "It’s unclear how or why Mott was allowed on the road." The Tabloid of Record's editorial page was also mute.
• Kevin Duggan of amNY played it more or less straight.
• The Times didn't cover the baby's death — even though every single New Yorker is a potential next victim. But the Paper of Record covered a different kind of infanticide.

In other news:

• Wait, wut? The MTA has delayed bus network redesigns until ... 2026. Double-Duty Duggan at amNY got a scoop by reading the briefing books before today's MTA board committee meetings.
• The Times broke its all-car-all-the-time Metropolitan Diary coverage to allow a rare cute bike anecdote (albeit one about a stolen bike).
• Gas-powered cars and trucks can't be sold in New York State after 2035, Gov. Hochul decreed (NY Post). Unfortunately, sprawl, road deaths, poor urban planning, and the inability send your kids outside to play will continue unabated.
• Lindor! (Post)