It's party time, livable streets style.
On Tuesday, May 9, our friends at Open Plans will throw open their spacious rooftop space in Soho to celebrate the launch of Henry Grabar's book, "Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World" (Penguin). Grabar, who writes for Slate and is very generous with his links to Streetsblog, will be on hand for a Q&A session with Vice's Aaron Gordon, plus will take your questions, sign books and raise a few glasses will all who attend.
Tickets are going fast — of course they are, it's a free event! — so click here to get some.
In other news from a super busy Wednesday:
- The big story of the day was the Times's coverage of the disproportionate rates of road violence suffered by Blacks and Hispanics in this country. Of course, Streetsblog's Kea Wilson covered the Harvard study on which the Times story was based last year ... when it came out. Streetsblog: Always ahead of the Times.
- Remember that beloved "whippersnapper" senior Bernice Schwartz, who was run down in The Bronx last year? Well, the NYPD has charged the driver with failure to yield, the Daily News reported (our original coverage highlighted the driver's culpability).
- Access-a-Ride is failing the disabled, a new lawsuit argues. (NYDN)
- The MTA is considering using cameras with internal monitors to replace bus side-view mirrors, which keep getting destroyed in crashes. (amNY, Gothamist)
- Like Streetsblog, Crain's covered the DOT's controversial proposed rule changes for the open streets program.
- The Upper East Side doesn't like DOT's "truck share" program, which we had mentioned a few months ago. (Upper East Site)
- Hell Gate argues that Citi Bike should be free, financed by the bank that gets way more bang for the buck than anyone could have imagined. The story dropped at a perfect moment, given that Lyft is in serious trouble right now.
- From the assignment desk: The City Council's Transportation Committee is expected to pass several good street safety bills today, including one by Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers that would require the DOT to daylight a minimum of 100 intersections per year beginning on Jan. 1, 2025. She'll rally with supporters including Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets at around 9:30 a.m. in City Hall Park.
- Revel mopeds have returned to the Bronx. (Bronx Times)
- MTA CEO Janno Lieber doesn't want to throw good money after bad in making more money for Madison Square Garden — so say goodbye to at least one possible Penn Station renovation plan. (Gothamist)
- Speaking of the MTA, we had a good angle on a huge burden that may get dumped on city taxpayers.
- And speaking again of the MTA, it's going to have to fix the massive train yard at Grand Central Terminal — and it won't be cheap. (Crain's)
- Seems like almost everyone wants an open street in Sunnyside, but you'd never know it from this Sunnyside Post headline.
- Car carnage on a Queens highway (NYDN) and in The Bronx (NYDN, NY Post).
- The MTA's car-vaporizing ad campaign is back.
- And you think you have a bad commute. Check out these kids forced to climb over or under freight trains because rail companies are awful. (ProPublica)
- Could this be why congestion pricing is stalled?
- And, finally, Calvin and Hobbes nailed it yesterday:
