Thursday Headlines: Europhoria Edition
Toilets! Bike lanes! Public transit that works! Public space! Europe puts us to shame.
Well, our old man editor is back and, frankly, we wish he'd have just stayed on vacation. Why? Because he's the latest summer holiday taker who has come down with a case of "Europhoria Syndrome," that annoying affliction that affects all city dwellers who visit Paris, Dijon, Stuttgart, Strasbourg or any of the continental hotspots.
The guy won't shut up about all he saw: car-free school streets! Anxiety-free commercial zones! Noiseless downtowns! Double-width bike lanes! Sexy streetcars with dedicated rights of ways! Bike boulevards! Public toilets! Containerized trash! Happy people with great healthcare! Perfectly drinkable wine for $3 a bottle! In supermarkets!
He even made us watch a slideshow (just like your grandparents used to do when they got home from a vacation)!
"Do you understand simply how bad New York is?" is all he keeps asking us. Do we know?! It's all we've been covering for the past two decades! The better question is: Do our elected officials really want to stick with that "New York is the greatest city on Earth" bullshit or will they start believing what all these homeward-bound eyes are telling them?
Either way, let's get to yesterday's news while we wait for our EU visas:
- The big story yesterday was Gov. Hochul's decision to waive mask mandates on public transit and the MTA's new messaging (graphic below right). Here's how the general-interest press covered it:
- The Daily News took time to point out that immunocompromised people won't want to return to the subway, which is still suffering from a massive ridership shortfall.
- Gothamist pointed out that compliance was low anyway.
- How the Adams administration declined to equip school buses with extra safety equipment to deter speeding drivers.
- How the Adams administration is stalling on a Lower Manhattan school's bid for a car-free street for safety.
- How little the Adams administration has done in its first eight months to prepare for today's opening day of public schools.
- And how easy it would be to make school streets safer.
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