To paraphrase Earl Warren, always turn to Streetsblog first. The rest of the news has nothing but Trump and tariffs.
Yes, it's your daily (mostly) Trump-, trade- and economy-free newsletter, focused on something just as important, but perhaps less urgent, than the president's new tariffs: transportation policy.
And boy do we have some transportation news for you today, specifically a ton of news about outdoor dining. Streetsblog got some action on Wednesday when the State Liquor Authority revised its rules to allow alcoholic beverages at "conditionally approve" outdoor dining set-ups — in response to Kevin Duggan's story last month (and later amplification by the New York Post).
And don't forget to check out Duggan's maps of where outdoor dining is located under the city's new, smaller al fresco program, which reopened in curbside roadway locations on April 1. Hint: It's Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Elsewhere on the site, Sophia Lebowitz reports on the continuing saga of the canceled last block of the Ashland Place protected bike lane.
In other news:
- The Times covered the aftermath of the tragedy on Ocean Parkway that killed a mother and two kids — including a nod to Streetsblog's bombshell interview with Assembly Member Michael Novakhov where the Republican rep criticized speed cameras and said the city speed limit was too low.
- Four-year-old Philip Saada, who survived the crash that killed his mom and sisters, lost one of his kidneys as a result of his injuries. (NY Post)
- Speaking of Novakhov's comments, you can now hear them for yourself:
- The Post covered a drop in NYC traffic deaths this year to the lowest totals since 2019, and even managed to acknowledge that bike lanes, speed cameras and the rest of the "Vision Zero" toolkit actually work.
- NUMTOTs Rejoice! A Massimo Vignelli-inspired diagram is the official map of the New York City subway original. (Gothamist, Daily News, NY Times)
- Mayor Adams is a new man — and Kash Patel booster — after a judge dropped his federal charges. (NY Post)
- Oh, and now he's running as an independent. (Gothamist)
- How credit card companies and banks take the top off your fares. (NY Post)
