Wednesday’s Headlines: This is Your DOT on Drugs Edition

The other day, we reported that the federal Drug Enforcement Administration had stolen one block of the 10th Avenue bike lane so agents could park their personal cars.

Well, to steal an old line from Nancy Reagan, we just said no to that crap.

Obviously we covered the illegal theft of public space — and we did a follow up on how local officials are demanding that the Department of Transportation do something to push back on the jackbooted thugs of the DEA who are making a great bike lane unsafe.

Then we went further. We pulled out a doobie and went to the DEA office to protest. Here’s the result — Cheech and Chong would be proud. For the YouTube link, click here.

In other news:

• The subway fare will rise to $3 as expected (NYDN, NY Times), but, of course, the Post is pretending that congestion pricing was supposed to permanently solve the need to fund transit (which no one ever said it would).
• The Trump administration slashed counter-terrorism funding, which Streetsblog reported exclusively (though the Times followed up hours later without any credit to Dave Colon and David Meyer for breaking the story, even though Attorney General Tish James did mention the duo in her lawsuit).
• Meanwhile, a judge stayed a different Homeland Security grant cut (but who knows if courts even matter anymore?). (amNY)
• New kermit on the Lower East Side. (Reddit)
• Intentionally running down kids on bikes is apparently a thing in New Jersey. (PIX11)
• Open thread Wednesday: Will history remember Eric Adams kindly? Hell Gate reports Randy Mastro’s answer on that one.
• But cut Mastro some slack — perhaps when he was declaring Adams a great mayor, he didn’t know that Hizzoner had hired one of his former girlfriends to a newly created (and high-paying) job as city “sports czar.” (NYDN)
• Speaking of our mayoral race, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen certainly knows his stuff (and exactly what to say to Hakeem Jeffries):

• Mets owner Steve Cohen’s team underperformed on the field, but his casino scheme is doing great — even getting one-time vehement opponent Sen. Jessica Ramos to vote for it. (NY Post, NY Times)
• We’ve been covering Instacart’s Astro-Turf campaign to avoid regulation. Well, Uber does it, too. (Documented NY)
• Tribeca Citizen has a nice primer on the upcoming community outreach process for Canal Street. Please make your voice heard.
• This is what authoritarianism looks like: Journalists were battered and beaten by federal agents in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday. (NY Times, NYDN, amNY, Gothamist)