Wednesday’s Headlines: Concerted Effort Edition
The Great Lawn will be closed to the public six weeks earlier than normal because of those damn rockers. Plus other news.
12:01 AM EDT on October 4, 2023

The big story yesterday was the news that the Great Lawn — which earns its capital letters every day — will be closed to the public six weeks earlier than normal because of damage it suffered during the perfect storm: a huge rain shower combined with the Global Citizen concert on Sept. 23.
Everyone covered the West Side Rag‘s initial scoop: NY Times, Gothamist, the Daily News (blaming Mayor Adams, by the way), the Post, and, of course, Brooklyn Vegan.
In other news from a very quiet day:
- News12 spoke to Bronx bus riders who are furious at Mayor Adams’s decision to scrap a long-planned service improvement project.
- So now we know why Amtrak’s Acela is in slow motion. (NYDN)
- The Times followed our Monday post about the mayor’s thin skin — and even referenced an exchange I once had with Hizzoner.
- Crain’s and amNY got a second day out of the Traffic Mobility Review Board’s taxi passenger congestion pricing plan. And Hell Gate also did with a more general roundup.
- The MTA is on a customer courtesy kick. (Gothamist)
- Road kill: An employee with Caltrans was about to file a whistleblower report about a misguided highway expansion … and then she was fired. (Politico)
- And, finally, Bill de Blasio, Brooklyn dodger. (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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