Today's Headlines

Friday Headlines: Yet Another Just-the-News Edition

It's a summer Friday news roundup.

By J.K. Trotter and David Meyer

12:01 AM EDT on August 21, 2026

The word news set into tile Photo: David Michalczuk

It’s the hot, wet dog days of summer here in New York City, so we’re diving straight into the news.

If we missed any pressing development, shoot us an email.

Here’s what’s new in the world of transportation:

Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn‘s latest scheme to retain power is to try to rig the county chair election in her favor. (NYS Focus, Hell Gate)
A speeding BMW driver murdered a 51-year-old cyclists and injured another driver in a hit-and-run in the Longwood section of the Bronx. (News12)
A speeding Corvette driver injured a pedestrian and two other New Yorkers in a high-speed crash in Inwood, Manhattan. (ABC7)
Two cars blocking fire hydrants delayed firefighters responding to a blaze in the Bronx. (PIX11)
The Staten Island Railway is repurposing a rusty R32 subway car as a dedicated maintenance car. (S.I. Advance)
158 of the city’s 472 subway stations — or 34.9 percent — now feature platform barriers. (Railway Supply)
The City Council is having an embarrassing and discrediting meltdown over John Mangin, Mamdani’s pro-housing nominee to chair the powerful Board of Standard and Appeals. (The Real Deal)
The city is planning to allow yellow taxis and FHVs like Uber and Lyft park in commercial parking zones. (Auto Marketplace)
Ayush Maini, Val He and Andy Chen visited every NYC Ferry landing in six hours, 53 minutes and 35 seconds — beating the current world record by more than five minutes. (Brooklyn Paper)

J.K. Trotter

Before joining Streetsblog in late 2025, J.K. Trotter covered media and politics at Gawker and edited investigations at Business Insider. He studied philosophy at St. John’s College and lives in Queens.

David Meyer

David was Streetsblog's do-it-all New York City beat reporter from 2015 to 2019. He returned as an editor in 2023 after a three-year stint at the New York Post and is now Managing Editor.

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