Wednesday’s Headlines: Smoke Everywhere Edition
Our bike rides into work were beset by smoke blown in from Canadian wildfires on Tuesday, and forecasters told the New York Post that we’re in for a similarly ashen commute on Wednesday.
City and state officials have urged New Yorkers to stay indoors — warning that the bad air could cause shortness of breath, irritated eyes, or worse, Gothamist reported. Missing were calls for New Yorkers to drive less.
Transportation is a top source of greenhouse gas emissions on a good day, but local pols are apparently loathe to bite the bullet and suggest drivers consider alternatives — even when doing so has potential health benefits for everyone. Each additional car trip makes the air quality that much worse.
Many New Yorkers will choose to brave the smog-infested air on two wheels, including for work or because there isn’t an alternative; we salute them, even if their doctors do not. It’s a good thing we always carry a mask.
In other news:
- A 26-year-old Queens man was held on $300,000 bail after killing one pedestrian, injuring four others near Gramercy Park on Sunday after a day of boozing in Manhattan. (NY Daily News, NY Post)
- Pete Davidson has some regrets about buying that Staten Island Ferry boat. (ET Online)
- All aboard the bike bus! (NY Times)
- An MTA bus driver was assaulted and doused in lighter fluid in Brooklyn. (CBS New York, ABC 7 NY, NBC New York)
- The NYPD continues its assault on everything that makes living in a city special and good. (Hell Gate)
- Nick Offerman, welcome to the war on cars. Literally. (The War on Cars)
- Amtrak ridership is approaching pre-pandemic levels. (Reuters, CNN)
- Another local new channel gets in on the Fordham Road fracas. (CBS New York)
- More eyes on the MTA’s incursion into the debate over the future of MSG. (NY Daily News)
- Check in on upcoming District Attorney primaries in Bronx and Queens. (The City)
- “UWS parents” love themselves some housing crisis. (NY Post)
