Who knew that our little story about MTA Board member David Mack's illegal parking and placard abuse would generate so much heat?
As you recall, we caught the Nassau County representative to the venerable public transit board parked last week in an Access-a-Ride spot in front of the MTA headquarters with an inappropriately displayed Nassau County Police Department placard — as he was upstairs not only voting against congestion pricing, but blaming the city's notorious congestion on (wait for it!) illegally parked cars.
We were willing to let it be a one-day hit, but disability groups raised a ruckus and demanded that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Gov. Hochul call for Mack's resignation.
It all played out in Newsday (thanks for the link!), where Mack was characteristically belligerent in his defense of his illegal parking and placard abuse.
Still, we were happy to play our small-but-crucial role in bringing to light Mack's misbehavior as a steward of the MTA's finances as well as his aggressiveness on the roads.
In other news:
- Hell hath no fury like a dick caught in the act: As the Post reported, Friend of Trump/Hells Angel icon Chuck Zito was a jerk to cops who caught him with a fake plate. Kudos to the cops who not only arrested this scofflaw, but refused to give him the white glove treatment that he obviously felt he deserved.
- Kudos to Streetsblog contributor Charles Komanoff for getting his pointed opinion piece — "Gov. Murphy’s congestion pricing vendetta harms New Jerseyans" — in the Newark Star-Ledger.
- We've written a lot in the past about the particular perniciousness of the postal service, whose drivers block bike lanes and double-park with impunity because their vehicles don't have license plates of any kind. So this postal worker's decision to park in the "dangerous" Bedford Avenue bike lane is no surprise. (Reddit)
- There's not a phone system that's been built that can handle prank callers, which is something the MTA should have anticipated. (NY Post, amNY, Gothamist)
- Like Streetsblog, The City also covered the local effort in the Boogie Down to stop Gov. Hochul's plan to widen the Cross-Bronx Expressway.
- Doctors always say that we need to get our iron. But not from subway air! (NY Times)
- A big travel weekend is coming up. Be ready. We'll be on the Metro-North to my brother in New Canaan, where three round-trip tickets cost more than $70, plus another $17.40 for the subway. (amNY)
- Finally, it's time to honor all of yesterday's donors to our annual fundraising drive (hint, hint): Thanks, Gabriela! Thanks, Tom! Thanks, Craig from Philly! Thanks, Isaac! Thanks, Juan! Thanks, Steven! Thanks, Tyler! Thanks, Alan! Thanks, Yosef! Thanks, Michael! Thanks, Neil! Thanks, Eric! Thanks, John! Thanks, Quinn! Thanks, Teresa! Thanks, WA!
