First, the news: Lawmakers gathered in Ridgewood to demand more safety improvements just three days after delivery worker Be Tran was killed at Myrtle Avenue and Hancock Street. Gothamist played it straight, but former Gothamist legend, now Hell Gate co-founder, Christopher Robbins put a hell of a lot more depth into his piece, which looked at broader road safety failures of the Adams administration.
The story was good timing for Robbins because he takes over running Streetsblog tomorrow during our editor's absence.
But speaking of that absence, the end of summer indeed means long vacations for our editor (seriously, he's out of here until Labor Day), but also bittersweet farewells to the Intern Class of 2022 (in this case, the Intern of 2022). Streetsblog readers will miss Noah Martz (pictured) for his wit, his tirelessness and, most important, his eagerness to be yelled at by illegal parkers who are upset at him taking pictures of their car. Here we see Martz receive the greatest accolade, a hearty handshake and throaty "Godspeed" from the editor as he (Martz, not Kuntzman, for God's sake!) goes off to begin what we hope will be a sterling legal career.
So starting on Friday, email all your story ideas to our celebrated email hotline, tips@streetsblog.org. Robbins will be reading.
In other news:
- Our top story of the day: The Post followed our April story about Council Transportation Committee Chair Selvena Brooks-Powers's terrible driving record with an update: The Queens lawmaker's car has been caught three more times for speeding since our story came out (the story where she promised to "do better"). Oops.
- Some suburban yahoo got drunk and crashed his car inside (yes, inside) Tompkins Square Park. (Village Sun, with a nifty tabloid headline)
- The Times magazine had a weird piece about an upcoming NASCAR race in Chicago that was at once highly critical of car culture and how it imbues all Americans with a need for speed yet also deeply enamored with the speed that very few congestion-snared drivers ever get to experience. In the end, writer Peter C. Baker ends up bemoaning how traffic robs him of the "freedom" that car culture has always promised (yet, he also begrudgingly admits, has never delivered).
- A year after its first deep dive, amNY did another takeout on those super-fast grocery apps.
- There's finally just one app to buy tickets for Metro-North or Long Island Rail Road trains. Meet TrainTime! Early reviews are positive. (NYDN, amNY, Gothamist)
- There was a crash in Midtown, but luckily no injuries. (amNY)
- And tell the Times the news! MTA CEO Janno Lieber said on Brian Lehrer on Wednesday that work-from-home is a much bigger factor than crime in causing ridership reductions. (amNY)
