Paris

Friday’s Headlines: More Lunch Consumption Edition

Streetfilms goes to Paris. Plus more news.

By Gersh Kuntzman and David Meyer

12:01 AM EST on February 23, 2024

Friday’s Headlines: More Lunch Consumption Edition

Photos: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Liberté! Egalité! Rues scolaires en toute sécurité!

Our Streetfilms colleague Clarence Eckerson Jr. has done it — again! — showing how Paris, under Mayor Anne Hidalgo, is not only eating New York’s lunch when it comes to safe streets, but cleaning up after the meal and composting all the scraps.

Eckerson’s latest film shows the growth and widespread acceptance of Paris’s “school streets” program which, unlike New York’s paltry version, actually redesigns roadways in front of schools to bar drivers entirely — a key way to make communities more livable and save our children from being maimed like they are here in the Big Apple.

Even if you love driving your kid to school, you’ll have to admit that Paris’s designs are enviable:

In other news:

Too little, too late: NYPD posthumously promotes crossing guard killed by driver as Adams cuts positions. Also on deck: “new reflective vests,” handheld stop signs, and whistles. Reckless drivers beware. (Daily News, CBS New York, NBC 4)
Lander sues MTA COVID subway cleaning contractors for wage theft. (The City, Gothamist)
DOT touts push for red light camera expansion. (Daily News, ABC 7)
A drunk driver killed his girlfriend in an early morning crash in Queens, cops said. (Daily News)
The driver of a tractor-trailer legally prohibited from NYC streets crashed into an East Williamsburg Popeyes. (Patch)
DOT seeks to convert Richmond Hill streets to one-way. (Queens Chronicle)
Anti-transit Jersey pol accuses MTA of hiding congestion pricing revenue calculations after Streetsblog debunked his math. (NY Post, News 12 NJ)
Crain’s dives into NYC Ferry operator Hornblower’s bankruptcy declaration.
Mayor Adams falls short of candidate Adams on something other than transportation. (Hell Gate)
Pea-brained drivers stumped by bike-protecting bollards on Queens Boulevard in Rego Park. (Queens Chornicle)

Gersh Kuntzman

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.

David Meyer

David was Streetsblog's do-it-all New York City beat reporter from 2015 to 2019. He returned as an editor in 2023 after a three-year stint at the New York Post and is now Managing Editor.