Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Today's Headlines

Tuesday’s Headlines: Green Christmas Edition

We got our Christmas presents early yesterday. Plus other news.

Thank you, Judge Liman.

We got our Christmas presents early yesterday, what with two judges on opposite ends of the metropolitan region meeting under the mistletoe to smooch their approval of congestion pricing.

OK, forget the yuletide metaphor for a second, but federal judges in Manhattan and in Westchester County thoroughly — and we mean thoroughly, despite what Council Member Bob Holden tweeted — dismissed the notion that requiring drivers to pay a small fee to bring their cars into a notoriously congested and very transit-rich area of the city is some kind of attack on car owners' constitutional rights.

We're not lawyers, but it was pretty clear that both judges basically said that opponents should be ashamed of themselves for even bringing a lawsuit against a toll.

We had full team coverage minutes after the second ruling. And everyone else covered it, too:

  • The Daily News' reporter Leonard Greene played it straight, even though he wrote a column last week condemning congestion pricing.
  • The post-Ben Brachfeld/newly anti-congestion pricing amNY appeared to look high and low for a way to assail the rulings, but came up empty.
  • Bloomberg went deep (via Crain's)

In other news:

  • NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch says she's focusing on "ethical leadership," which would be amazing if she pulls it off. Her first few appointments, transfers and efforts (such as with the overtime scandal) have shown promise, but remember, her boss is still a former cop. (NYDN)
  • Hell Gate also covered the overtime scandal.
  • NY1 is fomenting needless fear about the supposed lack of "parking" once congestion pricing kicks in. Reminder: No one who buys a car and brings it into New York City is guaranteed a place to store it for free — much in the same way that I could buy a really nice couch and not be allowed to store it in the street.
  • Gov. Hochul is really bad at the PR part of her job. (NY Post)
  • Amtrak really isn't doing so well... (amNY)
  • ...but the subway is very popular (despite what Council members Vickie Paladino and Bob Holden keep tweeting). (Nate Silver)
  • Term limits are finally kicking in for this Council. Thank Buddha! (Gothamist)
  • What were amNY's top transit stories of the year?
  • And, finally, it's time to honor yesterday's contributors to our annual December Donation Drive. So without any ado, thanks, Rafael (whose donation was on behalf of "every murdered cyclist")! Thanks, Jeff!

And to all, a Merry Christmas!

It's time for our year-end appeal. Click the banner or the Angel Mendoza credit line to donate (please!).

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Masters of Deflection: Congestion Pricing Foes Stoke Fear of Subway Crime

Opponents of congestion pricing are trying to claim the tolling scheme unfairly forces New Yorkers onto a dangerous subway system, but it's more complicated.

January 14, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: Lest We Forget Edition

Ninth Street should be safer, say Brooklyn residents as they mourned one of their own last week. Plus other news.

January 14, 2025

IT’S WORKING: Initial Data Show Congestion Pricing Has Stemmed The Tide of Years of Increasing Traffic

Travel times are down an average of 34 percent across the eight bridges and tunnels into the Central Business District, which saw a 7.5-percent drop in overall traffic, according to MTA figures.

January 14, 2025

Fighting Crime Without Cops: New Report Shows Key Role of Streetscape

An ounce of preemptive streetscape improvements is worth a pound of cops.

January 13, 2025

Albany’s Power Brokers Are Trying To Break Your Subway

Top pols in the state capital need only look in the mirror to see who's responsible for the MTA's continuing need for investment.

January 13, 2025
See all posts