Friday’s Headlines: Merry Christmas! Edition

‘Twas the day before Christmas, and all through the house, not a reader was stirring…not even a louse!” No, none of our readers are louses…in fact, many are stand-up sorts who have donated to our December Fun-draiser, which runs only a few more days! Thanks, Jackson! Thanks, Thomas!

We are off for Christmas Eve (no pun intended) and will return on Monday. Until then, here is some news about which to be merry — or not!

• Merry Christmas, Placard Holders!: As a parting gift to this entitled class, Mayor de Blasio pretended to crack down on placard abuse. He’s giving a small contingent of traffic enforcement agents in Brooklyn some hand-held readers for scanning bar codes on “legit” city placards. Streetsblog’s story tells you everything that’s wrong with this sham fix. Brooklyn Paper covered the announcement.
• Merry Christmas, BQE!: Gov. Hochul signed a bill authorizing the use of a new technology to catch and fine overweight trucks on the crumbling highway, a crucial part of de Blasio’s “plan” to shore up the Brooklyn Heights cantilever. (Brooklyn Paper)
• Merry Christmas, Straphangers!: The MTA is opening free, seven-day-a-week Covid testing sites for the public at its stations at Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, and Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue, the state announced this week. MTA honcho Janno Lieber told 1010 WINS that more locations (Hochul said there would be five others) will be announced next week. Check here.
• Merry Christmas, Brutal Cops!: Outgoing Commish Shea won’t discipline nine officers that the Civilian Complaint Review Board had recommended for penalties because of misconduct during the George Floyd protests. (NYPost)
• Merry Christmas, MTA!: The Times chronicles a year in the subway.
• Merry Christmas, BdB!: Ginia Bellafante columnizes on the mayor’s little-loved tenure.
• Merry Christmas, Pedestrians (NOT)!: The Times reports on the astonishing number of autonomous-vehicle companies using public streets for testing their dubious products.
• Merry Christmas, Bus Riders (NOT)!: Here’s a reminder from one of our favorite organizers that SUVs remain a menace. Meanwhile, there are SO MANY crashes that we never hear about. (Via Twitter)

• Merry Christmas, Andrew Cuomo!: Big Dog Excelsior Car Guy slipped the noose in Nassau, as the district attorney there declined to indict him for allegedly touching a female trooper on his detail in a 2019 Belmont Park incident. (Newsday, Gothamist, NYT)
• Merry Christmas, Dan Quart!: The Friend of Streetsblog has decided not to seek re-election to his Upper East Side Assembly seat. We hope his successor proves as loud a voice for street safety. Best of luck, Dan!

• Merry Christmas, Washington Square Park!: Some friends of the park were celebrating the park’s car-free status on Twitter yesterday.