A lot of pixels were set into motion this weekend dissecting the very temporary Oval Office bromance between two Queens men, so we won't waste your time recapitulating how President Trump was gracious (for whatever reasons suited him at the time) and how Mayor-elect Mamdani was equally gracious (for all the obvious reasons, not the least of which was "scrambling" the MAGA brain, as the Times put it and getting the president to admit that it's perfectly OK to call him a "fascist," as CNN reported).
You can click on other websites for the overview. But we were mostly concerned with the Streetsbloggy topics that were discussed in the Oval, like:
- The generally accepted idea that building more housing lowers rents. (Real Deal)
- That ULURP needs to be reformed.
- That Mamdani's appointment of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch (notable friend of Ivanka) might already be paying dividends. (NY Times)
The detente apparently lasted just a few hours. On Saturday, just a few hours after the two most important leaders in America met in Washington, their respective police agencies clashed on Canal Street over counterfeit vendors.
Frankly, it's hard to know who knew what when. According to ABC7, amNY and the Daily News, the NYPD busted some vendors of allegedly counterfeit goods. Then ICE showed up and the NYPD withdrew. (ICE arrested one person.)
The Post played up ICE officials' ire over the way the NYPD carried out its mission, which is to police public space in New York. ICE also questioned the city's decision last month to arrest, charge, process and ultimately release a suspect under city law.
We raised some issues last month about the implications of these battles of the badges on public space, but they will likely continue after Jan. 1, Oval Office lovefest or not. Indeed, Mamdani held his ground on New York's sanctuary city status on Sunday, the Post reported.
In other news from a busy weekend:
- First, from the assignment desk. On Monday at 9 a.m., a broad coalition of electeds, small business owners, and public space advocates will rally to support full-year outdoor dining. After the rally, the group will head to City Hall for the Council’s hearing on a bill to do just that. Bonus: Bill sponsor Lincoln Restler will be there. Second bonus: It's at the Filé Gumbo Bar on Church Street, which I can only hope means we're all getting gumbo after (I am an optimist!).
- What was Council Member Vickie Paladino saying about violent cyclists? Now do cars, Council member. (NY Post)
- If you read the tea leaves (or this City story), it seems likely that Mayor Mamdani will fire NYPD Commissioner Tisch within his first year in office.
- In case you missed it, we posted a great story on a Sunday, which we rarely do (especially when there's a 50-mile bike ride in Prospect Park). But Dave Colon dug deep into the NIMBY argument against the Interborough Express ... and found it deeply problematic. (StreetsblogNYC)
- Speaking of the IBX, amNY continues its stop-by-stop tour — and this one reminds us how much the new rail line could do for business.
- And down goes Ossé! The DSA kids bow to Mayor-elect Mamdani and refuse to back the real progressive in the race to unseat Rep. Hakeem Jeffries in Brooklyn (City and State). As a result, Ossé dropped out. (NYDN)
- We reported earlier this month on the ongoing bike boom, which amNY followed.
- Remember the Staten Island Wheel? It'll become housing, under a new plan. (Crain's)
- Police on a high-speed chase slammed into a bus and injured two in Manhattan (another downside of the NYPD's inane push to add heavier SUVs into its fleet). (NY Post)
- The U.S. DOT announced big bucks for electric buses nationally, but the MTA got a lot less than much smaller transit agencies around the state. (The Hill, NY Post)
- We mentioned last week that cops caught the hit-and-run driver who killed cyclist Alexandra Huggins, but the Daily News had the key detail: The plate fell off of Luis Machado's car in the crash, cops said.
- Fowl play in Queens. (WPIX11)
- Finally, I've been doing my "criminal mischief" campaign for four years — and even caught a Manhattan DA scofflaw last week — but I never saw anything as brazen as this, as captured by the Post:
