Friday’s Headlines: Back to Business Edition – Streetsblog New York City

After the split-screen images of Mayor Adams’s raucous (how raucous? Very raucous) press conference in front of Gracie Mansion and U.S. Attorney Damian Williams’s button-down recitation of the corruption allegations against Hizzoner, the day settled back into normal New York craziness.

You know, a bunch of Trumpists screaming at housing advocates on the steps of City Hall; a hit-and-run crash in the Bronx caused by a reckless, selfish driver; and NIMBYs making baseless claims that foot traffic is bad for business.

So let’s get to it:

• First, the Bronx crash: Alhadji Fofana was struck and killed by a hit-and-run pickup truck driver on Westchester Avenue — and then the driver of the truck (which was stolen) tried to torch the vehicle before running away. Cops are seeking him. (NYDN, NY Post, Bronx Times)
• Next, the NIMBYs: The owners of Mitchell’s restaurant, which has literally never even tried to take advantage of the Vanderbilt Avenue open street, are again complaining that the car-free street has hurt their business (though pretty much everyone else loves the foot traffic). (WCBS2)
• And then there were the Trumpists, who screamed at pro-housing advocates as they rallied at City Hall. “Are you part of the ‘freak-off’?” one of them yelled, referring to Sean Combs’s alleged sex parties. Yes, this is how public dialogue about important social issues are conducted in this town. (Open New York, via Twitter)
• Council Member Erik Bottcher introduced a resolution calling on the Council to support Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal’s bill allowing the city to enforce bike lanes with cameras. The DOT told me that it hasn’t publicly commented or testified on the specific bill, but the agency does support expanding automated enforcement “to enhance cyclist safety and the safety of all road users.”
• Also in Council news, is slashing the amount of insurance that taxi drivers must carry the solution to the implosion of the city’s leading insurance provider? (Crain’s)
• How about another fight over a parking space? (NY Post)
• The Council did indeed go ahead and legalize “jaywalking.” (Gothamist, Streetsblog)