Wednesday’s Headlines: Lawsuit Update Edition

Staten Island bus haters notched a pyrrhic victory on Tuesday when a judge in the borough canceled the city’s partly installed Victory Boulevard bus lanes… because they are half of a foot narrower than the minimum bus lane width specified in the Department of Transportation’s guidelines.

Of course, DOT is obligated to follow laws, not guidelines — which Judge Orlando Marrazzo, Jr. acknowledged in his ruling, while insisting that the agency’s failure to follow the guidelines went against its legal obligation to make decisions “with sound basis in reason and regard to the facts.”

Activist and writer Tom Flaschen — who’s worth a follow — posted screenshots of the key portions of the ruling on X:

DOT immediately filed a notice of appeal, according to Flaschen. The agency has reason to be confident: Its jurisdiction over the design of city streets is sacrosanct, and has never been overruled in court (as far as we know — sound off in the comments!).

Also on the legal beat, Streetsblog reporter Dave Colon dug into the latest drama in the extremely slow and undramatic legal battle between the MTA, the federal government and other opponents of congestion pricing — in this case, the Town of Hempstead. Read that here.

In other news:

• The ex-NYPD cop accused of fatally shooting a man during a road rage incident on the George Washington Bridge was re-charged with murder. (Gothamist)
• EVSA rallied against the recent redesign of the Central Park Drive. (Daily News)
• The MTA also pays more at the pump as a result of the Iran War. (Bloomberg via Crain’s)
• A former FDNY commissioner weighed in on robotaxis (for some reason). (Daily News)
• In other former commissioner new: former TLC Chairman Matt Daus opposes e-bike licensing and registration requirements. (amNY)
• The City Council’s 23-member Progressive Caucus wants the MTA to permanently shutter its unarmed fare enforcement EAGLE teams, which the agency temporarily pulled from service last week. (amNY)