We had an interesting little exchange with Mayor Adams yesterday about his decision last year to halt the Underhill Avenue bike boulevard project just days before the Department of Transportation was about to complete it.
The project has sat in limbo ever since, with Hizzoner saying he wanted to do another, and more intense, round of community engagement, despite the fact that DOT had already done that, and the project is similar to many other bike boulevards that have been installed citywide without a beep of controversy.
We asked what's going on. And, indeed, the mayor reiterated how many agencies he's tasked with doing exactly the same outreach that DOT did already: "We went on the ground with our Public Engagement Unit to communicate with people," he said. "I had them give me reports from FDNY, NYPD to make sure in no way we were going to impede on movement of traffic for emergency vehicles. We knocked on doors. We communicated with people."
But he declined to say the result of all that outreach, which is why supporters of the bike boulevard have filed a Freedom of Information Law request to get the results of the outreach — which likely shows what the first round of outreach showed: residents support the bike boulevard.
The mayor raised the specter of outside influences on the nine-block stretch in Prospect Heights.
"I'm going [to decide] based on the needs of that community," he said. "And what I don't want are those outside the community to dictate what is going to happen on a local level. And so the next day or so, I'll make the determination if we're going to move forward or if we're not. It's going to be based on doing some thorough research and hearing closely, because that was a very emotional issue for people in that area, and I wanted to make sure I respect the voices that were coming in."
Well, the good news is that we'll get a decision in "the next day or so."
But then the mayor said something weird (what else is new?). When Knick-lidded reporter Dave Colon asked what he meant by "the next day or so," the mayor responded, "Yeah, you know, give it a day or so. My definition of 'a day or so' may be different from yours, but we'll come up with the answer."
Oookay.
In other news:
- The mayor will need at least one full day because today, he'll be in Albany for the annual "Tin Cup Day." (NY Post)
- More selfless, heroic, noble city workers have squandered those adjectives by joining a suit against congestion pricing on the grounds that being tolled to drive to the most transit-rich place in the country is somehow unfair (NY Post). And a day earlier, 18 local lawmakers expressed their support for the lawsuit, including usually responsible Staten Island Council Member Kamillah Hanks (NY Post).
- The Daily News and Gothamist went underground with some real sandhogs.
- There appears to have been another crackdown in illegal mopeds over the weekend. The Long Island City Post said 40 were taken off the streets of western Queens.
- Carnage in The Bronx. (NY Post, amNY)
- ...And possibly on the Lower East Side (@newyorkist via X)
- The Brooklyn Paper took a look at the new mid-block crosswalks on Atlantic Avenue.
- Not sure why, but Gothamist looked at double-parking.
- The Adams administration is busting lots and lots of street vendors. (The City)
- Clarence Eckerson of Streetfilms was very excited to see that the Vision Zero improvements to Queens Boulevard had been extended:
