Streetsblog gets action?
We discovered yesterday that the city's Conflicts of Interest Board abruptly shut down its Twitter account after making what turned out to be its final Xweet: the one about the cop who harassed a 311 caller, a story that Streetsblog had been covering for months, and one that other outlets jumped on when they saw this post:
ENFORCEMENT: A New York City resident filed multiple complaints through the City’s 311 system about the parking practices of New York City Police Department employees at the 84th Precinct.
— NYC Conflicts of Interest Board (@NYCCOIB) October 23, 2023
An NYPD Police Officer assigned to the 84th Precinct called the resident... (cont'd) pic.twitter.com/5LVlXD7qmO
Is it just a coincidence that the final post was a long thread about a cop's malfeasance? Did someone tell the conflicts watchdog to stop publicizing when police go bad? Who knows?! City & State covered the disappearance, but offered no answers.
In other news:
- It's Halloween, so don't drive! And take the subway to the Halloween Parade, marking its 50th anniversary. (Gothamist)
- Most of the outlets covered yesterday's announcement that OMNY vending machines would finally arrive at six subway stations. (NYDN, NY Post, amNY, Gothamist)
- Finally, the Times has mapped every single New York City neighborhood (and sub-neighborhood). Indian Village, anyone? Click here ... to lose your whole day clicking around. It's so good, it came with an explainer, too. Clarence Eckerson Jr. saw something super-cool when he zoomed in (he's kidding ... or is he?):
The most exciting development I saw in @nytimes Detailed Map of NYC Neighborhoods was this newly recognized, burgeoning array of streets known as "Car-Free Broadway"!! pic.twitter.com/1DEcUD8Q2O
— Clarence Eckerson Jr. (@PurpleClarence) October 31, 2023
- From the assignment desk: This morning in The Bronx, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez will cut the ribbon on a bus project that we hailed last month (debunking his recent comments that progressives only want street safety and bus improvements in their neighborhoods — in fact, we want them everywhere).
- Tesla carnage near JFK. (NYDN)
- Speaking of carnage, here's hoping the statue of Tadeusz Kosciuszko survived:
Vehicles destroy. The nice little park in Brooklyn at the bottom of the Koz Bridge got annihilated sometime in the past 48 hours. pic.twitter.com/OGpdiSmCfm
— Streetfilms (1,081+ videos!) (@Streetfilms) October 30, 2023
- Sad national news: Rep. Earl Blumenauer, the co-chair of the Congressional Bike Caucus (among other things) is retiring. (Willamette Week)
- If you're voting, it's nice to have a guide to judicial candidates, which are often picked by party bosses. (The City)
- And, finally, look for this weirdo outside Dog Day Afternoon in Windsor Terrace later today:
Disco Reagan at Dog Day Afternoon in Brooklyn. pic.twitter.com/lClU7yjzKT
— Gersh Kuntzman (@GershKuntzman) October 31, 2022
