Friday’s Headlines: Yes He Said Yes He Will Yes Edition
That headline above is a reference to the last line of James Joyce's Ulysses, which we won't pretend to have read. But we have that ... and other news.
12:00 AM EDT on September 22, 2023
That headline above is a reference to the last line of James Joyce’s Ulysses, which we won’t pretend to have read. But Molly Bloom’s rapturous sexuality, coupled with the long day’s journey of her husband Leopold, reminds us that the big story yesterday was Mayor Adams’s sultry announcement that he wanted to stop forcing developers to include parking spaces in any new construction — and the very long journey that will now play out before Adams can get the “City of Yes” rezoning he has put forward. (ULURP is like one very very long Bloomsday.)
Every outlet covered the announcement in its own way:
- Streetsblog focused on the single biggest issue: parking reform.
- The Post played it totally straight and completely fair, so no one should be cursing at Nolan Hicks, if you ask us.
- The Daily News also played it down the middle, but used the city’s nice graphics.
- The Times called it the “broadest and most ambitious” effort by Adams to build more housing, though the paper completely downplayed the parking mandate reform.
- amNY wisely pointed out that Gov. Hochul’s own version of Adams’s idea died in the statehouse due to pushback from the suburban crowd.
- Gothamist so downplayed the parking portion of the plan that its commenters mentioned it more than usually excellent reporter David Brand did.
- Crain’s did a nice roundup, too.
- And the mayor’s office put out a nice visualization.
And there was even some other news:
- Another cyclist — the 23rd of the year, which is way above any year of the Vision Zero era — was killed by a bus driver in Borough Park. But for some reason, the Daily News spent most of its story worrying about the girls who were on the bus and the nerves of the bus driver after he killed a man. (Streetsblog also had a story about a man and two kids who were injured by a bus driver in another neighborhood in Brooklyn.)
- And we may be chasing another cyclist fatality on Friday, per this tweet:
- Meanwhile, City Journal — in condemning mopeds — found a way to cite Streetsblog’s accurate reporting, yet also criticize it at the same time. Somewhere a dean of the street safety movement is chuckling at being on the same side as Nicole Gelinas.
- Then again, we all agree that there is simply not enough space for pedestrians because of all the delivery workers rushing to make deliveries. The Queens Chronicle is the latest to notice the problem.
- The new Hoyt Street subway elevators are here! The new Hoyt Street subway elevators are here! (NYDN)
- Speaking of accessibility, the Taxi and Limousine Commission isn’t doing enough to achieve it. (The City)
- The MTA wants to cool down your subway platform … without warning the rest of the planet. (amNY)
- And, finally, maybe these guys will finally be sent packing? The NYPD is thinking about cutting 3/4 of the counterterrorism bureau. About time. (NY Post)

Tabloid legend Gersh Kuntzman has been with New York newspapers since 1989, including stints at the New York Daily News, the Post, the Brooklyn Paper and even a cup of coffee with the Times. He's also the writer and producer of "Murder at the Food Coop," which was a hit at the NYC Fringe Festival in 2016, and “SUV: The Musical” in 2007. He also writes the Cycle of Rage column, which is archived here.
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