A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond.
Winners
NY Senator Daniel Squadron — On the Senate floor this week, Squadron called out the MTA’s $65 million budget cut and highlighted the many challenges subway riders face, such as increased delays and more frequent breakdowns.
Non-MTA transit systems — The final state budget includes a 2 percent increase in operating support for transit systems across New York State, and although they could certainly use more, it’s better than the 0 percent increased that was originally proposed.
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz — The way Queens Community Board 4 member Ann Pfoser Darby sees it, there’s no need to build bike lanes in her neighborhood because the only people who would use them are soon-to-be-deported illegal immigrants. Luckily there’s a mechanism in place for borough presidents to have community board members removed.
Uber, Lyft, etc. — Capitalizing on the April 3 NJ Transit derailment, transportation network companies filled the gap and scored lots of new passengers — 40 percent more than usual near Newark Penn Station.
Losers
NY Governor Andrew Cuomo — The governor’s $65 million MTA funding cut has been preserved in the final state budget, and the upstate bill which would legalize transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft won’t collect trip data.
Connecticut Department of Transportation — ConnDOT won’t take part in a multi-state mileage tax study, which would have cost $300,000, but not to worry, drivers: they haven’t cancelled the $2 million study on widening Interstate 95.
Queens Boulevard car dealerships — Dealerships on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst are flagrantly using the protected bike lane to store their inventory, and the NYPD doesn’t seem too concerned.
Denver — A transit-oriented parking crater in the Mile High City “won” Streetsblog‘s annual Parking Madness tournament, beating Poughkeepsie, NY by just a handful of votes.
