The big news in our world over the weekend was that curbside composting at every single Queens residence starts on Monday.
Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch promoted the effort at Archie Spigner Park in Queens (admittedly, we were too busy doing our taxes to attend, but wanted to offer our full support), but this is super important. Gothamist was there, fortunately. (The Times also covered.)
As the city's second- (or third-) best website reported, "The service will expand to Brooklyn on Oct. 2. By March 2024, the composting program will reach Staten Island and the Bronx before finally being available to homes in Manhattan on Oct. 7, 2024."
Let's be honest: If Tisch pulls off citywide composing (which now seems in reach), plus creates a new (and real) containerization pilot from that McKinsey report we're all dying to read, her legacy is secure, even before the likely, but not-inevitable, Adams second term.
In other news:
- Gothamist also earned our kudos for crediting us with our big Andy Byford scoop last week when it did its own coverage of Train Daddy's ascension to Amtrak.
- An East Village man on a scooter was killed by a truck driver who was turning left from Houston onto Lafayette, but the papers still aped the cops' initial report, claiming that the scooter rider fell into the truck. (NYDN)
- The City had the right take on a Bronx intersection that the city promised to make safer years and years ago ... yet still has not.
- The Post followed our story on an effort by state Sen. Andrew Gounardes to tax online shopping deliveries to fund infrastructure.
- Could a temporary sidewalk shed ever really be "temporary"? Hell Gate ponders.
- Density is the key to New York City's survival. But someone better tell Albany. (Crain's)
- The New York Times — which has "New York" in its name — endorsed walking.
- The New York Civil Liberties Union is suing the NYPD for more information related to car stops. (NYDN)
- Here's another reason why street safety advocates hate free car parking: there are lots of guns in those cars! (NY Times)
- Who needs guns: An SUV driver killed a pedestrian on the Grand Concourse. (NYDN)The Post finally had an angle on bail reform that made us nod our heads a bit.
- April is going to be "Reimagine the Cross Bronx" month at the DOT. Make sure to sign up for a virtual workshop or attend a live one. For more information, go to either the Streetsblog calendar or the DOT website. It all starts on Thursday.
- Retired federal transit man Larry Penner offers a bunch of better ways for the MTA to spend $16 billion than East Side Access. (Mass Transit)
- The anti-outdoor dining crowd has put forth an alternative plan that's not a plan at all, but an end to outdoor dining. (The Village Sun)
- If Al Butzel isn't a household name in your household, well, then you need a better household. Streetsblog contributor Charles Komanoff and Columbia Law School climate attorney Michael Gerrard posted an appreciation to the fabled environmental lawyer in Gotham Gazette to mark his relocation from the city to Seattle. The story goes inside epic campaigns to stop the Westway boondoggle and to keep a massive hydroelectric power plant from despoiling the Hudson Highlands.
- And, finally, the 31st Avenue open street in Queens needs your help!
It's been such a thrill seeing @31stAveOS grow from a ragtag group of neighbors (which we still are!) putting on a pop-up public space each week to a registered NY nonprofit. But to continue to do that work, we're raising $10k. And we need your help! https://t.co/I5MLZdqJjQ
— John Surico (@JohnSurico) March 23, 2023
