Friday’s Headlines: ‘Buses and E-Bikes and Raids, Oh My’ Edition

Wow, what a busy day of revanchism it was! It started with a bizarre anti-bus lane take by Council Member Gale Brewer on W. 96th Street, which we covered in a very different fashion than Patch, but mostly because their lede was so incomprehensibly bad: "Many things rile West Siders, but near the top of the list are bus and bike lanes. Some residents, transit hounds and cyclists, are fervently in favor; others, who say they’re concerned about traffic and quality of life, are adamantly opposed." (Wow, someone needs to go back to framing school.)

Gothamist played it straight.

As a footnote to this bizarre anti-transit campaign by a bunch of amateurs, Council Member Shaun Abreu gave us and amNY conflicting quotes about his position on the proposed bus lane — he told us, "I'm not opposing the bus lane," while telling our rivals, "[I] wouldn’t say I’m opposed or in favor at this point." (Obviously, we'll be calling him again today.)

The day continued with the mayor apparently coming out in full-throated support (albeit in a private meeting) for a Bob Holden bill that would require the registration of electric bikes.

We got that news from the so-called E-Vehicle Safety Alliance, which hates all fast-moving vehicles ... except those on four wheels, which kill and injure 96 percent of the victims of road violence in our city.

Nonetheless, the group's macher Andrew Fine was crowing on Twitter in the form of this blurry photo about his sit-down with the mayor and an obviously excited Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi (two people to the left of Hizzoner):

By "the competition," Fine apparently means Families for Safe Streets, which was also at the meeting (odd that Fine, who claims to be a champion of road safety considers Families for Safe Streets to be a "competitor"). And he also claimed the mayor "expressed unconditional" support for the Holden bill.

Did he? Given that City Hall was once again consumed by the latest raids on Mayor Adams's inner circle, we didn't get any answers to our repeated questions about the mayor's position on the bill, which, as we have repeatedly pointed out, will not make the roadways safer (even Gale Brewer knows that!).

So does Transportation Alternatives, which put out the following statement after the meeting:

We reiterated to Mayor Adams and city leaders that bike licensing just doesn’t work. It’s failed everywhere it’s been attempted. Instead of declaring a war on bikes, we need to focus on proven solutions that get to the root of the problem in keeping New Yorkers safe on our streets. With traffic violence continuing to rise, we need to hold Big Tech accountable for reckless practices by creating the Department of Sustainable Delivery, build safe streets infrastructure, and increase pedestrian safety measures.

Then we learned that the mayor also met with opponents of his own administration's Underhill Avenue bike boulevard and Vanderbilt open street, thanks to another humble-brag post on Instagram reels, which we can't embed, so click here.

Our friends at Second Avenue Sagas are hip to what's going on:

Sure enough, it turned out that the mayor has set up a Monday "town hall" — except that it's invitation only — to do yet another round of outreach on both projects ... even though his administration has already done that only to conclude that the projects are popular. The Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council put out an emergency email asking supporters to make their voice heard, lest they be drowned out by the twice-defeated NIMBYs.

The group urged people to RSVP for the Monday night event by writing to rsvpcau@cityhall.nyc.gov.

Wow, a busy day. We'll try to get more today, but all bets are off if more Adams administration officials have their phones seized by the feds.

In other news:

• Here's a classic suburban person's take on the woes of the New York City transit system. Sorry, but we can debate fare evasion from now until Tisha B'Av, but Neocons who live in the suburbs lose me when they open a piece about the subway with rose-hued fauxtalgia: "I can remember the child’s nightmare of the subway of the 1970s and ’80s. But it’s an especial affront to see the system degrade so profoundly after a period of improvement." I remember the 1980s, too — the subway is much better now. (NY Times)
• Speaking of law enforcement, illegal police stops are on the rise under Mayor Adams, the Times reports.
• Texas Sen. Ted Cruz would rather make a stupid political point than allow New York to have safer e-bike batteries. (The City)
• But City Hall will finally open its first deliverista hub next year, the Tribeca Citizen reported.
• Park bathrooms are literally a shit show. (NYDN)
• Ah, the classic shootout over a parking space. It never gets old. (NY Post)
• From the assignment desk: A savvy reporter would keep his or her eye on the case of this NYPD cop who was arrest for a drunk-driving crash and refusing to take a breath test. Um, isn't refusing to take a breath test grounds for being fired? It should be. (1010 WINS)
• The bystanders are heroes. The driver, not so much. (NY Post)
• The headline on Hamilton Nolan's latest post says it all: "Cars Have Fucked Up This Country Bad."
• Finally, here's a bit of classic driver cognitive dissonance: