Friday’s Headlines: What’s In A Name Edition
The big news yesterday was the demise of one of the greatest names in New York railroad history: Pennsylvania Station.
Sure, the writing was on the wall when President Trump — who you may have noticed likes to name things after himself — took over the renovation project of the substandard rail hall. But yesterday, all the papers were filled with coverage of Trump’s demand that Congress authorize a name change in what New Yorkers have long called Penn Station.
Officially, no one in the federal government said it should be renamed for Trump — not yet anyway — but every outlet reported it as such (NYDN, NY Times, NY Post, Streetsblog, Gothamist).
After publication, we called legendary Trump foe, Rep. Jerry Nadler, for a comment, and he sent over an earful.
“Now, after months of hiding from the public, Sean Duffy has confirmed that the Trump administration is waging a hostile takeover of Penn Station, including delivering Trump his dream of renaming Penn Station after himself,” Nadler said. “I strongly oppose this ridiculous proposal and am once again demanding answers on the funding.
“This will be one of the most expensive projects in the country, yet the administration still has not disclosed how it will be funded or who will pay the bill. New York taxpayers and transit riders must not be forced to foot the bill for a Trump vanity project.”
I also called Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who said he was confident that if Trump named Penn Station for himself, a subsequent Democratic president would re-rename the station. I asked Holyman-Sigal what name he’d prefer.
“You know, I kind of like the sound of ‘Penn Station,'” he said. “Trump’s goal is to excite his supporters and drive New Yorkers crazy. But my message to New Yorkers is, ‘It’s only temporary.'”
Ever the optimist.
In other news:
- Speaking of Trump and federal Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy, they’re trying to Big Brother the whole bike lane safety thing down the Memory Hole. (NPR)
- Hat tip to New York Focus for once again shining the harsh light of day on the modern oligarchy. As I often tell young reporters, the truth is fighting an uphill battle against the most powerful and wealthy people in human history.
- Several outlets covered the mayor’s effort to cut red tape on street safety projects and on outdoor dining (Streetsblog, Vital City, The City Reporter), but, of course, the Post has problems with it (though will probably love it when Curtis Sliwa is mayor).
- Speaking of the how the Post is a reprehensibly bad-faith player, the boring tabloid made yawn-inducing anti-Mamdani hay out of Council Member Oswald Feliz’s rant that the city’s Fordham Road bus lane is mere “crumbs” — yet Murdoch’s minions never pointed out that Feliz opposed a full busway for Fordham Road three years ago, a project that would have been a lot more than crumbs. Feliz is doing what pols do, but the press is supposed to do better.
- Now, if you want to credibly cover the Mamdani administration’s shortcomings, check out amNY and Streetsblog’s coverage of the latest Transportation Alternatives report on road deaths.
- A woman on a standup scooter was killed by a truck driver. (News12)
- Road rage in Queens. (NYDN)
- Cargo bikes are the only rage in Brooklyn. (Brooklyn Paper)
- Summer Streets starts in Queens and Staten Island on Saturday. (Gothamist)
- Pedestrian protections are coming to the city fleet. (NYDN)
- We wrote recently about the effect that Waymos will have on city traffic, but a new report at least says the robo-taxis are safer than regular drivers. (Claims Journal, Streetsblog USA)
- Finally, World Cup champions — they’re just like us!
