Monday’s Headlines: Citi Bike’s New Feature Edition

Have you noticed the wacky rubber attachment on the handlebars of some electric Citi Bikes?

We did, so we reached out. It turns out that Citi Bike is finally adding cellphone mounts so that customers don’t have to hold their phones while navigating their trip or searching for a dock.

The phone holder, the Lyft-owned company told our reporter Max White, will allow riders to keep two hands on the handlebars at all times (natch), but also address one of the most-requested features.

For now, phone holders are just a pilot feature on about 10 percent of the company’s e-bikes, but Lyft assured us that it is evaluating the pilot in hopes of an expansion of what it told White is a “genuine safety improvement.”

We agree. The last thing we want to see is some bozo fiddling with his phone while on a ride, amirite?

In other news from the weekend (and Friday):

• Let’s start with the latest on Gov. Hochul’s obsession with the supposedly high cost of auto insurance in New York State:
  • Hell Gate asked that question we’ve asked for months: Why does Gov. Hochul spend so much time talking about car insurance?
  • City & State also covered the political machinations behind governor’s insurance obsession.
  • Meanwhile, Uber is sending lawmakers letters in support of the insurance push signed by some people who have no idea they signed them. (NY Times)
  • And even the Washington Post is offering some advice to Hochul: Florida’s much-touted insurance reforms mostly helped insurance companies.
• There was surprisingly little coverage (beyond Gothamist) of the DOT’s expanded “Car Free Earth Day” event set for all five boroughs on April 25. But the Staten Island Advance looked at the event hyper-locally.
• Andy Byford promises “robust” public engagement before President Trump the Amtrak board picks the designer of the new Penn Station.
• The pedestrian struck by an ambulance driver in Brooklyn last week was a registered nurse. (Daily News)
• There was more carnage in Queens. (NYDN)
• Roadway outdoor dining is back — when will the City Council act to make it year-round? (PIX11 1, 2)
• Commercial waste zones are finally coming to Chinatown. (Gothamist)
• We had it last week, but amNY also covered AOC’s opposition to Hochul’s plan to add wider shoulders to the Cross-Bronx Expressway.
• Check out the new gate on Shore Boulevard in Astoria Park. (John Surico via X)
• Transit advocates are on board with the City Council’s proposal to increase funding for Fair Fares. (Brooklyn Paper)
• Speaking of transit, the Daily News editorial board does not want the state legislature to tell the MTA how many conductors it needs on every train.
• There’s been little progress on the mayor’s plan to get the feds to pay for a deck over Sunnyside Yard. (City & State)
• A hit-and-run driver struck a police officer in Brooklyn. (PIX11)
• An SUV driver critically injured a moped rider in Brownsville on Sunday. (Daily News)
• The elevators at the 4 train near Yankee Stadium won’t open for a few more weeks. (The City)
• Finally, sorry to say it, but this is the greatest thing we’ve seen in years. If Chi Ossé and Frank Morano wash out of politics, they should create an off-Broadway musical revue about today’s political discord: