Thursday’s Headlines: The Mayor’s New Cars Edition
Mayor Adams had made clear he wants to be seen as a transit user and bike rider. As Brooklyn Borough President, he frequently touted himself as the “first borough president to carry a Metrocard.”
“I’m a biker. Everyone knows that,” the mayor said last month in defense of his retreat from the city’s plans for McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint.
But the mayor is also an expensive SUV guy, according to The Post, which on Wednesday revealed the shocking cost of the mayor’s two new government-owned SUVs: a 2023 Lincoln Navigator with monochrome rims worth as much as $95,325, and a Chevrolet Suburban High Country worth at least $77,400.
The combined $172,000 cost of the two cars far eclipses the $45,000 the city spent on a Chrysler Pacifica van that ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio used to ferry around the city, the Post said.
All eyes on Thursday will be on Adams’s reported meeting with DOT to weigh options for McGuinness, where the transportation agency is now proposing a watered down “compromise” that will allow for extra auto lanes during rush hour.
That the mayor would even consider sacrificing safety at the behest of well-funded opponents contradicts his stated commitment to Vision Zero — but it’s not too late for him to do the right thing. Do something legendary, Mayor Adams — and tell the bike lane naysayers to “shove it.”
In other news:
- Two separate NYPD chases caused a dozen pedestrian injuries on Tuesday. (Daily News)
- Queens pols rallied for Corona Plaza vendors. (Hell Gate)
- From the assignment desk: The City Council will vote on Thursday on its (flawed) permanent outdoor dining program. Check out our coverage from last week.
- Big cars are getting bigger — and killing more Americans than ever before. (The Conversation)
- Council Member Sandy Nurse knows hard it is it for New Yorkers to find a bathroom, and wants to help. (Hell Gate)
- Former incarcerated New Yorkers are training to be bike mechanics at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. (NBC New York)
- Reality strikes the price of an Uber trip in NYC. (ABC7NY)
- Access-A-Ride advocates continue to agitate against looming fare hikes. (NY1)
- MTA bridge and tunnel tolls go up this Sunday. (Daily News)
- The Port Authority Bus Terminal revamp is coming for a Midtown doggy park. (The City)
- Will Citi Bike fill its notorious Williamsburg dead zone? (Williamsburg News)
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