Noah Kazis

DOT's plan to extend the protected bike lanes on Eighth and Ninth Avenues from the low 30s north to 59th Street won unanimous approval from the transportation committee of Community Board 4 last night. With the exception of two blocks of Eighth Avenue in front of the Port Authority, the lanes will be fully protected through the length of Midtown.

What does it look like when mild-mannered accountants hit the panic button? Something like the latest report on MTA finances from State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office [PDF]. According to the comptroller, the MTA is entering a financial situation unprecedented since the agency's first capital plan in 1982.

The full board of Community Board 11 voted to approve protected bike lanes on First and Second Avenues last night. The news was first reported by Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson over Twitter this morning.

Last year, due to protracted financial difficulties, St. Vincent's in Greenwich Village closed its doors after 150 years, one-and-a-half centuries that saw the hospital play a major role treating victims of the AIDS crisis and the 9/11 attacks. Though many in the neighborhood hoped to see a full-service hospital remain in the Village, a plan eventually emerged to turn the landmark O'Toole building west of Seventh Avenue into an emergency room and outpatient surgery center, while the hospital buildings east of Seventh would be sold to the Rudin family and redeveloped as luxury apartments.

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Dozens of transit workers, transportation advocates and elected officials rallied on the steps of City Hall this morning to urge Governor Cuomo to sign the transit lockbox bill, which passed both houses of the legislature unanimously in June. "New York communities are not standing alone," said TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen. "Transit workers are not standing alone. We're standing together."

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

One of our favorite aspects of Park(ing) Day is its international scope. Across the world, people know that street space is public space. Today's the day they show how it can be re-purposed to provide more than parking. Check out the Park(ing) Day Flickr tag to see some truly impressive curbside installations from places like Krakow, Munich, and San Francisco.

In New York City, some of the most active participants in Park(ing) Day, the celebration of on-street public space, are students. The largest street reclamation I saw today was put on by Fordham undergraduates, who converted what looked like three parking spaces into a stage and auditorium for a day of Shakespeare In The Parking Spot.