Streetsblog NYC

Transit advocates will gather for a Citywide Subway Canvassing Day on Sunday, Sept. 8 and fan out across the city to talk to subway riders about the impact of Gov. Hochul's congestion pricing "pause" on elevator projects.

They Want YOU: Massive Protest for Subway Elevators on Sept. 8 - Streetsblog New York City Advocates will canvass the city Sept. 8 to call attention to the accessibility impacts of Gov. Hochul's decision to nix congestion pricing.

Streetsblog's freak flag was flying all over Ithaca yesterday. Plus other news.

Friday's Headlines: Far Above Cayuga's Waters Edition - Streetsblog New York City Streetsblog's freak flag was flying all over Ithaca yesterday. Plus other news.

There will be 71 street closures outside schools this year — up from 64 last year and 51 the year before.

More Open School Streets Coming To NYC This Fall - Streetsblog New York City A record number of school open streets are coming to New York City this fall, thanks to funding directly from the city.

The city has won a $15-million grant to install hundreds more electric car chargers in the curbside lane, preventing any other use of that space for generations.

Plugging Away: City Gets Big Biden Bucks for More EV Fueling Stations at the Curb - Streetsblog New York City The city has won a $15-million grant to install hundreds more electric car chargers in the curbside lane, preventing any other use of that space for generations.

Noisy ice cream trucks, MTA's blame game, "Screwber," and more in today's headlines.

Thursday's Headlines: Hot Enough For Ya Edition - Streetsblog New York City Look, it was too hot yesterday to give a big lead-in to today’s headlines, but I did get to dunk in the D&D Pool on my way home (no pictures — cellphones are mercifully banned at city pools). So let’s get to the news from a slow day:

The section of Park Avenue could be a key link in a robust bike network for Manhattan’s east side. Advocates are hoping to see a protected bike lane as part of the design in order to begin to fill that hole.

City Will Put the 'Park' Back in Park Ave., But Details (Bike Lane? Road Diet?) Are Left Out - Streetsblog New York City “This is more than a once-in-a-generation opportunity," said one activist.

The mayor promised public funding for bike-share when he ran for office in 2021. Has that time finally come? Plus more news.

Wednesday's Headlines: Bumbling On About Bike-Share Edition - Streetsblog New York City Eric Adams promised public funding for bike-share when he ran for mayor in 2021. Has that time finally come? Plus more news.

Cycling advocates are concerned that the city will miss a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring a protected bike lane to the transit-free corridor on Park Ave.

City Will Put the 'Park' Back in Park Ave., But Details (Bike Lane? Road Diet?) Are Left Out - Streetsblog New York City “This is more than a once-in-a-generation opportunity," said one activist.

The one-minute idling rule for commercial vehicles near schools and parks will apply to vehicles parked next to, across from or on the same block, DEP said.

City Reverses Course and Bans More Idling Near Schools and Parks - Streetsblog New York City The one-minute idling rule for commercial vehicles near schools and parks will apply to vehicles parked next to, across from or on the same block, DEP said.

There is something simple that the MTA can do to make us feel and be safer.

'Gridlock Sam': MTA Has a Cheap, Cop-Free Way to Make Platforms Safer - Streetsblog New York City Installing metal barriers, with gaps for subway car doors, could be accomplished at hundreds of stations for the same cost as expensive platform screen doors.

Critics are questioning a city proposal to allow some building owners to use their sidewalks for e-bike battery charging stations, saying that the EV fueling stations should be in the street, not in already-cluttered public space.

Skeptics Question City Plan to Allow E-Bike Charging Stations on the Sidewalk - Streetsblog New York City A new rule proposed by the city would allow building owners to put e-bike battery charging hubs on the sidewalk, but why not in the roadway?

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards approved the mayor’s City of Yes residential zoning proposal ahead of a key vote, but rejected the mayor's bid to removing parking mandates in low-density areas of Queens.

Queens BP Says 'Yes' to Adams Zoning Plan, But 'No' to Ending Costly Parking Mandates - Streetsblog New York City Borough President Donovan Richards draws a hard line on parking mandates, recommending the city keep them in low-density areas.

Paris is, indeed, a much better city than New York, thanks to a dramatic reduction in car trips, as well as making all the streetscape improvements a city can make once people are free to get around on transit, bikes and on foot.

Tuesday's Headlines: Change Isn't Hard Edition - Streetsblog New York City Hat tip to Dodai Stewart over at the Times's "Street Wars" column, plus other news.

How did a Vision Zero city move from a $40-million safety redesign announced by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio after a beloved teacher was killed by a reckless driver in 2021 to a plan that does not appreciably slow down drivers? Let's review.

Anatomy of a Debacle: How Adams Put Safety Last on McGuinness Blvd. - Streetsblog New York City An Adams administration saga of failure comes to a close.

Get on the bus to the country, and sit back while stuck in outbound traffic. Plus other news.

Monday's Headlines: Relaxation and Anger Edition - Streetsblog New York City A story about a bus ride to the country. Plus other news.

Protected bike lanes and built-out sidewalks are coming to Cypress Avenue to provide a safe connection to Highland Park on the Brooklyn-Queens border, where traffic going to and from the Jackie Robinson Parkway currently reigns.⁠
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The Department of Transportation plans to set up a two-way cycle path protected from traffic by jersey barriers along with new sidewalks between Cooper Avenue and Cypress Hills Street, according to a design presented to the local community board in June.⁠
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Cypress Avenue is a steep, wide and busy thoroughfare sandwiched between cemeteries and full of heavy traffic from the nearby Jackie Robinson Parkway. Those dangerous conditions make it hard for people to get to Highland Park from Ridgewood and Bushwick, even though it’s only a mile away.⁠
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The upgrades mean people on foot or bike won’t need to dodge traffic coming off and on the Jackie Robinson to get to the park and nearby cemeteries, said one local advocate.⁠
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“This is like a win-win,” said Bree Mobley, a volunteer organizer with Ridgewood Riders, a cycling group that has pushed for the upgrades for years. “Let’s make it happen, let’s get park access in the neighborhood.”⁠
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🔗 Read more at the link in bio.⁠
📝 Author: Kevin Duggan⁠
📸 Image: DOT

If the state legislature wanted to give Gov. Hochul power to "pause" congestion pricing, they would have written it into the law, a group of current and former state lawmakers said.

State Legislators Say They Never Gave Hochul the Power to Pause Congestion Pricing - Streetsblog New York City If lawmakers wanted to give Gov. Hochul power to "pause" congestion pricing, they would have written it into the law, a group of pols said.

A quartet of current and former state legislators waded into the lawsuit against Gridlock Gov. Hochul’s “pause” of congestion pricing this week — telling the judge overseeing the case that the legislature never gave her or any governor the power to do away with the traffic toll.⁠
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If lawmakers had wanted to give Hochul or any other governor the power to call off the toll, they would have written it into the law itself, the legislators said in a brief filed Wednesday in support of the City Club of New York’s lawsuit against Hochul’s decision.⁠
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“When the Legislature has conferred power on elected officials to supervise public authorities… it has done so by expressly writing elected officials’ control over public authorities into explicit statutory text,” they wrote, citing the extended history of public authorities law in New York State.⁠
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“In light of this consistent legislative practice of specifying political controls over public authorities in statutory text, the complete absence of any delegation to the governor to control the Board’s decisions indicates that such a power does not exist.”⁠
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Assembly Members Phil Steck (D-Schenectady) and Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens), state Sen. Julia Salazar (D-Brooklyn) and former Assembly Member Dick Gottfried (D-Manhattan) signed the document. All four served in the legislature when it passed congestion pricing in in 2019.⁠
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The brief provides a short history of public authorities in New York to make the case that they are not subject to unspoken whims of the elected officials who create and govern them.

Protected bike lanes and built-out sidewalks are coming to Cypress Avenue to provide a safe connection to Highland Park on the Brooklyn-Queens border, where traffic going to and from the Jackie Robinson Parkway currently reigns.

New Protected Bike Lanes Will Connect to Ridgewood Reservoir - Streetsblog New York City Protected bike lanes and built-out sidewalks are coming to Cypress Avenue near Highland Park and Ridgewood Reservoir.

Parks Department officials shuttered 1.25 miles of the greenway after heavy rainfall over the weekend reopened the notorious crater around 187th Street on the Hudson River Greenway.

Friday's Headlines: Return of the Sinkhole Edition - Streetsblog New York City The Hudson River Greenway's uptown sinkhole sinks again. Plus more news.

New York has lost a giant: A fighter against pollution, for justice and for congestion pricing. A moving eulogy from :

Brian Ketcham, Automotive Engineer Who Subverted Car Culture, 85 - Streetsblog New York City New York has lost a giant: A fighter against pollution, for justice and for congestion pricing.

Citi Bike riders routinely can't find places to dock in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood, as the docks fill up during the warmer months, stranding locals and visitors alike.

'Completely Unreliable': Full Citi Bike Docks Cut Off Red Hook Even More - Streetsblog New York City Unreliable Citi Bike service is another obstacle to get to and from the waterfront enclave.

Here's what we all want to see: Dave Colon getting dunked.

Thursday's Headlines: Rebel with a Cause Edition - Streetsblog New York City See a video of Streetsblog reporter Dave Colon ... in a dunk tank. Plus other news.

The Mayor is defying not only his predecessor, who promised a $40-million redesign of McGuinness Blvd., but also his own DOT, which says road diets and protected bike lanes make roadways safer for all users.

Wednesday's Headlines: More Mayoral McGuinness Mendacity Edition - Streetsblog New York City Mayor Adams doubled-down on his betrayal of his own Department of Transportation. Plus other news.

The mayor's latest pivot puts the death knell in a multi-year backtrack on street safety.

Mayor Adams Waters Down Remaining McGuinness Blvd. Redesign - Streetsblog New York City The mayor's latest pivot puts the death knell in a multi-year backtrack on street safety.

Coney Island Avenue is a nexus of road violence, and it's just getting worse.

Slaughter of the Innocents: Another Teen Cyclist Killed by Truck Driver on Dangerous Brooklyn Street - Streetsblog New York City The 15th cyclist, and the 12 child, has been killed, this time along a notorious roadway that the city has failed to tame.

What’s the point of being in New York City if you can squint and think you’re in Denver?

OPINION: Public Space is Getting Bland — Better Programming is The Answer - Streetsblog New York City People are the key to a good public space. The easiest way to make a space reflect its neighborhood is by programming it to attract locals.

"What Happened to the Bus Lanes New Yorkers Were Promised?" the Times asked. Plus other news from a hugely busy news day.

Tuesday's Headlines: All Hail 'Street Wars' Edition - Streetsblog New York City "What Happened to the Bus Lanes New Yorkers Were Promised?" the Times asked. Plus other news.

All of this won't soon translate to any new infrastructure to handle the influx and induce more cycling — though you could be forgiven for thinking it would.

Record Numbers of Cyclists Are Using Delancey Street — But Improvements Aren't Coming for Five Years ... At Least - Streetsblog New York City Hey, , you just set an all-time record — but you won't get your gold medal until after the next Olympics.

It could be a paved paradise, not a parking lot.

Parking Lot Under the FDR Should Become Public Space: Locals - Streetsblog New York City The Manhattan waterfront can do better than a parking lot.