And just like that ... Keechant Sewell is out at the NYPD.
The police commissioner reportedly submitted her resignation on Monday afternoon — two days after the New York Post reported she had lost what little power she had in the department after recently approving discipline against one of her top deputies against the mayor's public wishes.
Sewell's record on issues of street safety and traffic regulation covered by Streetsblog was basically negligible. Her promise in early 2022 to crack down on reckless drivers was followed by a drop in failure-to-yield tickets, while the commissioner rarely if ever talked about traffic violence that kills hundreds of New Yorkers each year.
And while Sewell mostly ignored Streetsblog's reporting on NYPD's brazen and dangerous disregard for parking regulations, speed cameras, bus lanes and bike lanes, she did suggest in March that every precinct ought to have a "well-lit parking lot."
Safe streets advocates better hope the next commissioner (or whoever gives them orders) is more interested than Sewell in reducing traffic injuries and fatalities.
This was the NYPD commissioner resigning, apparently:https://t.co/1WvQfKx3pw https://t.co/X89xwUlcWD
— Jeff Coltin (@JCColtin) June 12, 2023
The Post broke the story. Read more coverage in the Times, the News, Gothamist, and The City.
In other news:
- New York's new license plate design "can best be described as a 'subway ad for a for-profit college.'" (Hell Gate)
- Tesla's "Autopilot" has killed 17 people, caused 762 crashes. (Washington Post)
- More coverage of the latest BQE delay. (Crain's, Brooklyn Paper)
- The City got to know some of the newly arrived migrants to New York City.
- Medicare Advantage fight comes to the MTA. (Daily News)
- The driver of the gas hauler that scorched a portion of I-95 in Philadelphia had flipped over while trying to navigated a turn, authorities said. (NY Post)
- Janno Lieber spoke to Marcia Kramer over the weekend. (CBS New York)
- Like Streetsblog, everyone covered the expansion of summer streets. (NBC New York, Gothamist, ABC7NY, Daily News, NY1, amNY)
- Watch to the end: Eric Adams keeps an entire wardrobe in his city-owned vehicle. (Bernadette Hogan via Twitter)
