Thursday’s Headlines: The Case of the Misidentified Getaway Bike Edition

There’s not much for us to add to the city’s biggest news of the day — the alleged targeted killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown early on Wednesday morning.

There was a Streetsblog angle, however: NYPD initially said Thompson’s killer fled on an electric Citi Bike — before retracting that later in the day: According to Citi Bike operator Lyft, none of its bikes were tied to the gunman’s escape. The cops put out a photo of the bicycle in question, which as Streetsblog contributor Austin Celestin noted, hardly looked like one of Lyft’s white e-bikes. ABC reported that the shooter was caught on video before the incident outside Frederick Douglass Houses on the Upper West Side carrying an e-bike battery.

The possible role of a Citi Bike still sent social media — and traditional media, for that matter — in a tizzy. The Times ran a whole story based on the incorrect information that the assailant fled on a Citi Bike, as did other outlets.

As the Paper of Record noted, “Citi Bike riders must use a debit or credit card to borrow a bicycle, and the departing and arriving docks and times are recorded. Armchair sleuths scraped Citi Bike’s data for nearby bicycle use at the time of the attack.”

NYPD, meanwhile, chased its own bad information to the Upper East Side dock that one of those “armchair sleuths” fingered as the assailant’s possible destination. The Times reported “a group of police officials were gathered at a Citi Bike kiosk on Madison Avenue and 82nd Street on the Upper East Side,” scouring nearby buildings for footage of the bike-share station.

But it was all, at least for now, naught.

In other, less-mysterious, news:

• Despite the high-profile killing, tourists and New Yorkers nearby told Gothamist they felt perfectly safe on Wednesday.
• Here we go again: The MTA is back with another round of pre-congestion pricing info sessions. (Gothamist)
• Meanwhile, congestion pricing supporters vanquished toll opponents in an amNY online straw poll with 3,000 participants.
• The jury in the trial of Daniel Penny continued its deliberations. Check out Hell Gate’s excellent analysis.
• UNESCO dubbed Grand Central Madison the “world’s most beautiful passenger station.” (Gothamist)
• CBS New York profiled a working class music teacher upset over congestion pricing — without mentioning that she’d be eligible for an income-based discount.
• NYPD’s Shotspotter technology continues to not be all it’s cracked up to be. (Hell Gate)
• Gothamist broke down what types of buildings could be built under the mayor’s pending City of Yes for Housing plan. They’re really no big deal.
• The feds have finally approved the Port Authority’s plan for a new Midtown bus terminal. (NJ.com)
• Anti-bike mayoral adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin’s attorney is in the running to be Donald Trump’s next U.S. attorney in Brooklyn. (Daily News)
• New flash: congestion pricing will be good for kids’ health. (Crain’s)
• And, finally, this is the part of our daily headlines post where we celebrate yesterday’s donors to our annual December pledge drive. Thanks, Clayton! Thanks, John! Thanks, Peter! If you want to join the honor roll, we’d love to have you (hint, hint!)