The big story yesterday were all the second-day stories about the death of Holocaust survivor Jack Mikulincer under the wheels of his neighbor's BMW.
Streetsblog did what all too few outlets do these days — namely, run the plates — to determine that the BMW driver is (you guessed it) a recidivist speeder and red-light runner. But you had to hand it to the Daily News; in addition to recounting the driver's many vehicular transgressions, the tabloid ID'd him as Brooklyn real estate developer Pyotr Yadgarov. It's unclear to what end the News named Yadgarov, since he wasn't home to comment, but now his name is out there — and he has a lot of esplanin' to do (so does the NYPD, which still hasn't charged him).
Meanwhile, the Times also covered ... and, of course, the organ of the car-owning Establishment had no interest in the crash (which it referred to as an "accident") or in the driver's very long record of menacing his neighbors in school zones and at red lights. Metro Editor Jim Dao needs a reminder of the difference between an obit and a news story.
You tell him, Naparstek:
In other news:
- Meanwhile, the Times opinion page gets it right about crashes in this Peter Coy-penned piece, "Stop Calling them 'Accidents,'" which is keyed off of Jessie Singer's upcoming book (excerpt to come later this week in Streetsblog!).
- Mayor Adams reiterated his support for Gov. Hochul's very very questionable real estate boondoggle plan to redevelop Penn Station. (NY Post)
- Finally, the MTA's fare-capping pilot is underway. (Gothamist)
- Thank goodness the city completed building the Brooklyn Bridge bike path last year or else those anti-vaxx mandate protesters would have blocked all lanes of traffic yesterday. Fortunately, cyclists had easy commutes. (NY Post)
- We were happy to see Council Member Lincoln Restler attempt @nycbikelane's famous Schermerhorn Challenge — and not surprised he failed. (We failed it, too!) (Brooklyn Paper)
- The Post went full Cuozzo with its anti-outdoor dining headline — "Eating indoors is safe — it’s time to end NYC’s ‘Open Restaurants’ eyesores" — but the subsequent column was far less black-and-white as the Tabloid of Record's usual approach. "Limit the sheds to the ones that are already up, demolish the little-used ones that provide shelter to drug dealers and vagrants, and be done with it," Steve Cuozzo wrote in a rare bid for a calm, rational compromise.
- Speaking of Post columnists, Nicole Gelinas made a great point (one we make a lot over here!) that not enough attention is paid to the causes of driver recklessness, which is increasing the body count all over the nation.
