Yes, it’s Memorial Day, a time of introspection and remembrance.
Over here at Streetsblog, we are still introspecting and remembering the betrayal by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who came to office last year promising to make roadways safer and to be a Vision Zero partner of the Department of Transportation … then went ahead and issued criminal summonses to cyclists for low-level infractions that typically received traffic summonses … just like drivers still do.
Yes, gliding a bike through a red light is a criminal offense now, but doing so in a 3,000-pound car results in just a ticket.
So obviously we were overjoyed that our colleagues at the Times finally released their long-awaited thumbsucker on the criminalization effort. Reporter Christopher Maag did a great job summarizing the major issues, even attending a court hearing on the same day we did (though, unlike Streetsblog, he didn’t interview the judge!).
But Maag left a lot of great Streetsblog grist back at the mill: Since the April 28 crackdown began, we’ve shared story after story of non-electric bike riders who have been swept up in the crackdown, we revealed the possible familial roots of Tisch’s enforcement mania, we wrote about the lecturing judge who claims she doesn’t like e-bikes because she was “born and bred” here, we revealed that Tisch didn’t even tell DOT about the crackdown in advance, we reported that this crackdown isn’t supported by any data at all, and we reminded Tisch that the “rules of the road” were originally written (and remain in place) in order to rein in the clear and present danger of cars.
Some of this, but not all of it, was reflected in Maag’s piece. We wish he’d just called us first.
In other news that you need to be ready for the week:
- In case you missed it, the West Side Spirit (yes, a community paper) broke the big news that “Train Daddy” Andy Byford would be returning to New York City to run Amtrak’s rehabilitation of Penn Station (obviously, he should read Nolan Hicks’s deep dive into what he just got into). After Michael Oreskes broke the story, everyone followed. (NY Times, Gothamist)
- LOL: The Post thinks Andrew Cuomo is a leftist.
- A hit-and-run driver killed a woman in Brooklyn, dragging her body for blocks, said one witness, a reminder of the sheer killing power of 3,000 pound cars. And, of course, the driver had fake plates. (NYDN)
- Someone tell Vickie Paladino: Citi Bike is huge in Jersey. (NJ.com)
- And some personal news to explain the lead photo above: I spent the whole weekend at a three-day old fogeys hockey tourney. Today, we play for the championship (oldest of the old fogeys division). Puck drops at 10:30 a.m. at the Chelsea Piers Skyrink (east rink). Come out and cheer (or boo!).
