Happy St. Patrick's Day to all those who celebrate. And today, that includes Mayor Mamdani, who confirmed to the ravenous press corps that he will march in the annual wearin' o' the green today.
Our interest in the parade? We love that organizers are telling participants to use their feet or the subway, not their cars, to get to Midtown "due to the fact that there are throngs of spectators." Frankly, that advice rings true every day, not just on parade day.
In any event, have fun today.
In other news:
- The big story yesterday was Mayor Mamdani's use of Sammy's Law to roll out 800 new 15-mile-per-hour roads in front of school buildings (and add a day to the Mamdani-O-Meter, right). The Daily News got the initial handout (and got some stuff wrong), but after that, there was a deluge of coverage. Streetsblog played the glass-half-full card. The Post complained that reckless drivers would get tickets. Gothamist bought the malarky that speed limits would be reduced in school zones (plural), which ain't the case.
- Speaking of reckless drivers, the Post must love them ... because they're so good for business — like this carnage on Long Island.
- Forest, meet some trees: As aggressively as Streetsblog is covering the shortcomings of Gov. Hochul's proposal to reduce the cost of car insurance, the New York Post is excitedly dervishing along with the governor's spin, reporting, for example, that a bunch of cop and firefighter unions now support the plan. Setting aside that the majority of those workers live outside the city, the real issue with cops and firefighters' driving is the toll their recklessness takes. In fiscal year 2023, the city spent $173.7 million to settle claims stemming from crashes. It also spent $266.7 million to settle police brutality claims.
- The Post is also pretending that the trial lawyers are outspending Uber, when the opposite is true, as we've reported.
- Mayor Mamdani's toilet plan is getting flushed. (amNY, The City)
- The problem is that we do still need asphalt plants — unless, of course, you want to completely ban cars, lol. (QNS)
- The decline of the Washington Post is now personal to us at Streetsblog.
- Transit workers are suing to save "token booth" clerks. (The City, NYDN, amNY, Gothamist)
- A driver crashed into a funeral home ... in an incident that kinda writes itself. (amNY)
- Look out for potholes on the Pulaski. (Reddit)
- Our contributor Christopher Alvarez had a piece in Able News about the need for better information for disabled transit riders. That guy is a local treasure!
- The Stuyvesant Spectator is all over the redesign of Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza.
- The Mets are touting some rewards if you take the train to the game.
- Another rabbi is dead in one of New York's most insanely car-heavy neighborhoods. (BoroPark24)
- ... and speaking of the very same neighborhood: A pedestrian was critically injured by a driver on 16th Avenue. (BoroPark24)
- Private school buses blocking bike lanes in Williamsburg is not new to the Mamdani administration. The question is, will the Mamdani administration act? (Choresh Wald via Bluesky)
