Thursday’s Headlines: Street Transformation Edition

BAM! And it's a one-way street ... except for bikes.

The city has begun installing a two-way protected bike lane on Ashland Place in Fort Greene — converting the strip to one-way for cars — and as of Wednesday morning had erected signs telling southbound drivers they are no longer welcome, according to photos by Andrew Matsuoka:

City officials advanced the Ashland Place bike lane plan despite objections from the Brooklyn Academy of Music, whose facilities partly face the street. Once installed, the two-way protected lane will provide a safe connection for cyclists between Atlantic Terminal and the Brooklyn waterfront.

In other news:

• Heads up: it's going to be hot out there today. (The City)
• OMNY officially passed one billion "taps." (amNY)
• ACTION ALERT: Open Plans wants you to tell your elected officials to vote "yes" on the Council's (flawed) permanent outdoor dining bill. You can send members a message here.
• From the assignment desk: FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh is set to testify before the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday morning. The topic: faulty lithium-ion batteries — which FDNY wants the feds to ban.
• Bloomberg columnist Justin Fox turned to Charles Komanoff and Gernot Wagner's recent report in search of way out of the New Jersey congestion pricing fight. (Washington Post)
• Commercial trucks will now pay by app to park on nine blocks of Sixth Avenue. (Daily News)
• Metro-North workers represented by TWU threaten to strike. (Chief Leader)
• Hell Gate joined in on the Citi Bike think-piece parade (here's ours, from May), and tried to make sense of the bike-share system's opaque finances.
• Momentum is building against the mayor's proposal to plop 34,000-seat cricket stadium in the middle of a Bronx park. (The City, Bronx Times)
• You'll never guess how this Long Island Republican feels about congestion pricing. (Patch)