The snow continued to give newsmen and women plenty to work on all weekend — and revealed cracks in Mayor Mamdani's icy resolve (more on that later).
It started when someone posted a video of the FDNY's response to a fire near the intersection of 35th Street and 31st Avenue in Astoria. The video narrator complains that the Department of Transportation's bike boulevard configuration on 31st Avenue delayed response to the fire.
But the video actually offers no evidence of that at all. In fact, it shows a ladder company at the scene and hoses stretching towards the fire, just as it should be. The video does not show any delay or any lack of access to the block, though snow and parked cars certainly seem to be creating difficulties:
Well, you know the old saying: a lie can travel all the way around the world before the truth even gets its boots on. And that's doubly-true nowadays when any random fool can see something on social media and be convinced that it's true.
Non-local lawmakers are especially susceptible, especially if the video can be contorted to fit their preconceived narrative. "The dangers faced by the members of the FDNY are enormous and they should not have to be confronted by more obstacles when responding to a fire because Transportation Alternatives has some sick agenda. Now someone is dead," tweeted Council Member Joann Ariola.
Council Member Vickie Paladino also added more lies to the steaming pile. "This isn't the first incident where an emergency vehicle couldn't navigate due to ridiculous bike infrastructure either," she posted on X.com.
It's not the "first" incident because there hasn't been even one such incident yet.
When told of the Council members' comments, agency spokesperson Vin Barone pointed out that the fire was at 31-10 35th Street — on a one-way street going northbound towards the bike boulevard.
"There is no reason to believe 31st Avenue’s design was a factor in the fire response time," he said. "We’ve closely coordinated with FDNY on this, and every street design project, to ensure we are maintaining access.”
Kudos to DOT for standing defending the truth, but brickbats to the Sanitation Department for what is turning out to be an ongoing outer-borough snow-removal debacle. Here was the Grand Street protected bike lane in Bushwick on Sunday afternoon — six full days after the last flakes fell:
And here is the Ninth Street protected bike lane in Park Slope at around the same time. Reminder: this is six days after the last flakes:
Council Member Shahana Hanif of Brooklyn piled on with support for pedestrians by retweeting this apt New Yorker cartoon:
At this point, the snow is ossified and its removal would require all the car owners to stop storing their private property in the public right of way. In other words, cyclists and delivery workers will just have to wait 'til spring. So much for the "sick agenda" of bike activists controlling city agencies! And so much for Mayor Mamdani being able to melt the snow himself, amirite, Debra Messing?
Speaking of cold (both from Mother Nature and Uncle Sam) hundreds of city cyclists braved the cold to honor Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis nurse killed by ICE on Jan. 24, with a memorial ride. Many Streetsbloggers joined the crowd, which biked from Foley Square on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Here's a view of the crowd, pre-ride:
And a funny clip was posted to Reddit, featuring cyclists passing another protest in front of the Public Theater:
Sorry, one last snow video that is worth watching to the end:
In other news:
- No one loves Casey Neistat, our Chinatown neighbor, more than me (or perhaps everyone who begs him for selfies), but his new video about the snowpocalypse didn't add much value compared to what we wrote above or what our social video team churned out last week, including videos on the Citi Bike debacle, the pedestrian and bus rider debacle and, of course, sneckdowns.
- Some outlets followed our scoop about the Mamdani administration's enforcement effort against three delivery apps for underpaying workers. (NY Post)
- Meanwhile, the Times ran a bizarre lifestyle article about "guilt" that rich people sometimes feel about ordering so much for delivery — but the coverage didn't even touch on the dangers that such profligate app use causes workers or the streetscape. (Our own Sophia Lebowitz had the real story.)
- Speaking of weird Times angles on life in the city, despite all we wrote above about the storm, The Gray Lady focused on ... moving vans? Meanwhile, Gothamist says New Yokers have "lost hope."
- An e-bike rider was killed by an ambulance driver in Fort Greene — and it may have been snow-related, given the state of the bike lanes in Brooklyn. We'll have more today. (WPIX11)
- Why is the city widening a roadway on Staten Island? (SI Advance)
- Speeding on a track is OK, but not speeding on the roads. (NY Times)
- Hyperallergic has finally gotten on the illegal vending story ... from the perspective of all the new gallery owners in Tribeca.
- The Post will literally give anyone a megaphone. In a story about Long Island's dangerous roads, it quotes a lawyer who argues against writing tickets to reckless drivers because all it will do is make more drivers reach the threshold for a suspended license. Well, what would you prefer — doing no enforcement?
- Transit workers union boss John Samuelsen is on the warpath against Gov. Hochul. (NY Post)
- And, finally, here's an opinion that goes beyond mere livable streets issues (and, uncomfortably, puts me in NY Post territory): Mayor Mamdani stance towards homeless people freezing outdoors right now is uncharacteristically complaisant. Fourteen people have died in the cold, and conditions remain life-threatening. He needs to bring people inside, even if he has to do so against their will. Many more will die otherwise — and 50 new single-room units, that the Times reported, are not enough. So that, plus the problems we mentioned throughout today's headlines, means we have to reset the Mamdani-O-Meter back to zero (from a high of 17 days). Sorry, mayor, but the safety of all New Yorkers is too important:
