Thursday’s Headlines: Legislative Farce Edition
The City Council spent 10+ hours hearing testimony on Wednesday from supporters and opponents of e-micromobility. Or Transportation Committee Shaun Abreu did, at least.
Most other Council members dipped out after city officials finished their hours-long testimony — including Speaker Julie Menin, who billed the hearing as a “comprehensive legislative review” when she announced it way back on Aug. 6.
Twenty-one bills and two resolutions may be “comprehensive” in theory, but the hearing was anything but: Several Council members used their time on the dais to push their own bills, while Abreu attempted to wring substantive answers out of three agencies — DOT, DCWP and NYPD — that often didn’t provide them. NYPD didn’t bother to send its commissioner or even give a prepared testimony. (For comparison, DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn’s prepared testimony totaled 11 pages, detailing the agency’s positions on each of the proposals.)
Some e-bike opponents cheered and booed and gesticulated in anger throughout the proceedings, despite Abreu’s pledge to eject anyone who was disruptive. At the end of the day, both sides of the “debate” seemed disheartened with the Council members’ lack of focus and apparent indecision about what legislation they actually plan to pass.
Council members, for their part, implored the city officials to actually enforce the laws they’ve already passed. Menin called out DOT and NYPD for not enforcing a 2013 law requiring food delivery workers to wear a safety vest. NYPD’s representative on hand told Menin the department focuses enforcement “on conduct which is most dangerous.”
There may be some logic to that answer, but it undermines the logic of Menin’s “comprehensive legislative review” — and exposed it as a farce: The review is in, and the legislation isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.
Click below for more of our coverage from the hearing:
In other news:
- The Post’s e-bike hearing coverage ranged from hearts-and-flowers to grossly and irresponsibly pitting immigrants against “victims.”
- Gothamist focused on the concerns of delivery workers.
- The 34th Street Partnership wants to give an acre of the public space Herald Square Plaza and Greely Square over to a private amusement park concession. (The City Reporter)
- A van driver struck and seriously injured a person on a mobility scooter in Hell’s Kitchen. (W42ST)
- Hell Gate tried out the new modular, time-limited toilets.
- An MTA official seemed to blame the man dragged to death by a subway train door on his “unsteady” walking and use of a can. (Gothamist)
- The NTSB will investigate the death. (NBC4)
- The Manhattan DA indicted a man for slapping scam QR codes on Manhattan parking kiosks. (ABC7)
- Mayor Mamdani is threatening to sue Columbia University to restore public access to the publicly owned part of its campus. (Columbia Spectator)
- The NYC Ferry fare hike will go into effect on Oct. 19. (Gothamist)
Read More:
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