Manhattan

A reader sent in this picture of the scene at First Avenue and 4th Street in Manhattan this morning. I won't speculate too much about what sheared the roof off this minivan or what happened to the people involved. Perhaps the car was pried open deliberately to rescue those inside. Details are scarce: An investigation is underway, according to the Gothamist newsmap, and we have a request in with NYPD for more information.

Manhattan Community Board 8 issued a strong call for safer streets on the Upper East Side last night, voting 38 to 1 for a resolution supporting protected bike lanes. The reso asks DOT to come back to the CB with a neighborhood bike plan that includes physically protected lanes, though it refrains from mentioning specific routes.

Streetsblog regular Glenn McAnanama sent in a flier from Columbia University police [PDF] alerting faculty, staff and students to a recent bike theft.

A reader sends this shot, taken at the corner of Seventh Avenue and 24th Street this afternoon. We're waiting to hear back from NYPD about whether anyone was hurt. Hopefully this will be one of the lucky cases where an out-of-control cab didn't harm anyone. And really, in the middle of Manhattan, just a short walk from Penn Station, it all boils down to pure chance. I wonder how fast a car has to travel to flip over like this. Does Ray Kelly know?

Reader Ian Dutton sends this dispatch from last night's candidate debate for the District 1 City Council seat representing Lower Manhattan, organized by the Downtown Express and the Villager. If you're a District 1 resident who values safer streets and a well-funded transit system, tough luck.

Will the third time be the charm for reliable bus arrival displays in Manhattan? NYCDOT and the MTA announced today that, yes, they will deliver a tracking system bus riders can count on.

This image of Fifth Avenue unearthed by the Times' Jennifer 8. Lee (nice headline!) is a fascinating relic from the dawn of the motoring age. The new geometry pictured here nicked 15 feet of sidewalk from pedestrians to make room for two traffic lanes. In one fell swoop, the balance of space shifted dramatically: Two 30-foot sidewalks and a 40-foot roadway became 22½-foot sidewalks and a 55-foot roadway. The insets show the sort of "imperfections" slated for elimination on the auto-friendly Fifth Avenue: terraces, stoops, gardens -- the type of amenities that make streets more than simply thoroughfares to pass through.

The Manhattan DA's office is filing charges of criminal mischief against a cyclist, Ray Bengen, because he allegedly caused property damage to a multi-ton SUV in the process of getting doored by the driver. Too ridiculous to be true? Sadly, no. Here's how it happened.