Wednesday’s Headlines: Report Around the Clock Edition

It’s going to be a busy day on the livable streets front today, with Streetsblog reporters fanning out across town.

First, the Comptroller is going to drop a big embargoed report on Citi Bike at 5 a.m., which we’ll be waking up for. (The Times, which rarely ever writes about cycling, had it first.)

Then, we’ll be tuning into a virtual hearing on the DOT’s plan to crack down on vendors on all city bridges, which we covered previously. Want to listen with us? Click here.

Then, we’ll cover the 11 a.m. City Hall rally for, and an expected passage of, Council Member Lincoln Restler’s Intro 417, which will make it much easier for the Adams administration to build bike lanes quickly (if it wants to). We covered the bill previously here. At the time, the Department of Transportation praised the bill, but given that its work is now being picked over by a City Hall flunky trying to give the mayor political cover, all bets are off.

After that rally, Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers will have her own noon press conference to champion her bill to require the DOT to redesign city truck routes, something it hasn’t done in years, as Streetsblog previously reported.

Then there’s the City Council’s stated meeting, where these and other bills will pass.

Then we have to rush back to the office to write it all up! While keeping an eye on some community board meeting. And writing another exclusive for our annual “Bus Week” series (looking at you, Colon)!

In other news:

• Meet the billionth subway rider of 2023. He’s from Jersey — the state that’s suing us over congestion pricing. (NYDN, amNY)
• But he’s the billionth rider of the year for a reason: in-office work is at a new post-pandemic high. (Crain’s)
• Meanwhile, amNY did a deep dive on fare evasion after being granted rare access to NYPD squads.
• And speaking of the subway, numbered lines are better than lettered lines. (The City)
• Yes, that Amtrak outage is still happening! (Gothamist)
• Rocco Parascandola continues his investigations into the NYPD’s high-speed chases. (NYDN)
• The mayor announced more spending cuts coming in the soon-to-be-revealed budget. Let’s hope this isn’t just a ploy to distract us from his Turkish entanglements. (NYDN)
• The driver who killed 75-year-old Linda Hirsch last month in Queens has been charged with criminally negligent homicide. (NY Post, NYDN)
• A Brooklyn man was hit and killed by two car drivers in Borough Park (NYDN,amNY). We included coverage of the crash in a broader story about the DOT’s failure to do more daylighting at intersections.
• It’s the last day to help Mayor Adams’s staff that’s supposed to be “knocking on doors” to gauge support for the Underhill Avenue bike boulevard, but is merely offering a digital survey. (SurveyMonkey)