Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In

The sudden return of seasonal weather is always accompanied by the sound of the pencil sharpener in the Streetsblog newsroom and old-timey reminders from our old man editor that pens clog up on your notebooks once the weather gets below 40. "I don't want to hear that you couldn't take notes," he bellows (he obviously is too old to know what Otter is).

So we share that leaden reminder with our fellow reporters before getting to the news digest from a very busy yesterday:

    • Our friends at amNY joined us in covering the DOT's efforts in Grand Army Plaza, but repeated Gothamist's flawed premise that the large traffic circle will someday be "car-free" (Our story was a bit more nuanced.) A car-free Grand Army Plaza is about as likely as Mayor Adams having a quiet evening at home.
    • Aaron Gordon's long-awaited must-read Vice piece on the failure of "public feedback" in the age of Trump is finally out. The takeaway won't surprise anyone whose been to even one community board meeting: "The community feedback process is an inconvenient annoyance that brings out the worst in people. It is also at the heart of why U.S. cities can't build new housing or transportation. ... The problem with community feedback is not the concept itself, but the way it is executed. We do it too often, for too many things, for too long, and in the wrong manner. We ask the wrong questions of the wrong people and use the answers in the wrong way." Is there anything more depressing than such a massive breakdown of democracy ... as it tries to do democracy?
    • Like Streetsblog, Gothamist covered the expansion of the Bronx scooter pilot.
    • And like Streetsblog, Gothamist and amNY also covered the Council's anti-e-bike battery hearing.
    • Hat tip to Hell Gate for jumping all over the arrest of lawyer Adam White for fixing a perp's license plate (to make it readable!). This is a story you must read (we're also on the case).
    • Jay Leno's gross car obsession caught up with him in the worst way. (TMZ)
    • The Times did an explainer on lithium-ion batteries, which we did a long time ago.
    • Wired looked at what cities had great pandemic-era bike booms ... and which ones let them go to waste. Paris and Tuscon are both mentioned, but New York isn't even name-checked. Ouch!
    • Friend of Streetsblog (and of Queens) Peter Beadle is kicking off the "car-free Austin Street" movement with this petition:

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Friday Video: Meet the Subway’s Straphanger-Free Trains

We've all seen them. Now, thanks to YouTube's "Half as Interesting," we can tell you the purpose of each one.

October 3, 2025

The MTA Is Headed To The Lab To Design The Ridgewood Busway

A filthy private road underneath the elevated M tracks could become a gleaming bus-first corridor.

October 3, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Good News Edition

The Department of Transportation reports that traffic deaths are way down through the first three quarters of 2025. Plus other news.

October 3, 2025

‘Bean-Counting Street Safety’: Advocates Blast Gale Brewer’s Daylighting Flip-Flop

The Upper West Side pol's inconsistent safety record is getting a second look from activists who once supported her.

October 2, 2025

There’s Good Science Behind the Human Craving for Livable Streets

It's time to understand the science of pedestrian-friendly cities. Or, why streets should be designed like gardens.

October 2, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: Mourning Becomes Enforcement Edition

Why were cops ticketing cyclists at the very intersection where a bike rider was killed by a driver on Saturday? Plus other news.

October 2, 2025
See all posts