Wednesday’s Headlines: Mayor in a Whirlwind Edition
Mayor Adams will learn more about his fate today. Plus other news.
12:01 AM EST on February 19, 2025
Looks like the mayor will twist in the wind for another day.
On Tuesday, the judge assigned to Mayor Adams’s corruption case showed up for work after the long weekend … and promptly ordered all parties to his courtroom … the next afternoon, as the Times and the Daily News reported.
Meanwhile, Gov. Hochul huddled in meetings on Tuesday and decided that she, too, would … wait another day before deciding whether she’ll move to remove Adams from office as part of the fallout of half his front office staff quitting. (Michael Goodwin of the Post, with whom I rarely agree, had a devastating take on Hochul’s flaws as a leader.)
So we’ll have more to discuss today. Until then:
- Talk about consenting in advance: More and more cities are ripping out bike lanes in some weird effort to appease the anti-bike lane president. But as Momentum magazine put it, “Bike lanes have become a culture war where those in favor are seen as ‘woke’ or some other terrible conservative slur. But, most who use bike lanes are just regular people who want to save some money, and get the mental and health benefits to cycling to work.” Amen.
- Just under the wire: Our Open Plans colleague Sara Lind was named to the City and State Power 100 List. The magazine said that “her work making city streets safer will leave a lasting legacy.” Amen.
- The predicted slight rebound effect on traffic is underway, amNY reported. But don’t panic.
- Finally, some members of the City Council see the flaws in the part-year outdoor dining program. (Hell Gate)
- Remember how New Jersey Gov. “Flail” Murphy was so upset that congestion pricing would reduce revenue generated by the Port Authority’s Hudson River tolls? Yeah, it’s not a thing. (NJ.com)
- Safe streets build confidence in our children. (New City)
- Road rage in Brooklyn. (NYDN)
- And a Bronx driver was finally arrested for killing a cyclist a year ago. (amNY)
- And, finally, our friends at The War on Cars have made a great car-ad-style bike ad. Amen.
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.
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