We’re sorry to deliver Winners & Losers a day late — we were busy getting our annual analysis out. Have you seen it?
A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond.
WINNERS
New York City Councilman Mark Levine — Disappointing politics have limited 125th Street bus lanes to the east of Lenox Avenue, but Councilman Levine is fighting back by launching a petition to bring service west of Lenox.
Sea Bright, NJ bicyclists — The town council passed a resolution in support of NJDOT’s Route 36 traffic signing and striping concept plans, which includes both north- and southbound bike lanes, connecting existing bike routes in surrounding towns.
Hartford and New Haven – Job growth is on the rise in Connecticut’s urban cores – a good sign for CTfastrak and Hartford Line ridership — while Connecticut suburbs are losing jobs.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio – Mayor de Blasio has pledged $250 million to improve four of New York City’s most dangerous outer-borough arterials.
New York City Councilmember Brad Lander and Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson — Despite strong pushback from legislators opposed to NYC’s Right of Way law, Lander and Thompson are seeking harsher penalties for drivers who injure or kill pedestrians or bicyclists, and have announced a Driver Accountability Task Force.
Farmingdale, NY Village Board — The village board unanimously approved a proposal to rezone downtown for mixed-use development, giving the green-light to a Farmingdale transit-oriented development project.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. — Ahead of the four new Bronx Metro-North stations announced in Governor Cuomo’s Opportunity Agenda, the Borough President is calling for areas near the stations to be rezoned for transit-oriented development.
LOSERS
Tri-state region pedestrians — While our annual Most Dangerous Roads report rarely has any good news, this year’s report is especially discouraging given that each state’s most dangerous road is a repeat offender: Long Island’s Jericho Turnpike for the second year in a row, New Jersey’s Route 130 for the fifth year in a row and Connecticut’s Route 1 for an astounding seven consecutive years.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie — The governor said that soon-to-be-insolvent Transportation Trust Fund is “not a crisis.” Meanwhile, a massive pothole on the New Jersey Turnpike took out a dozen cars.
Long Island’s economy — LIRR President Patrick Nowakowski announced at a meeting of the Long Island Regional Planning Council that “the MTA is not moving forward” with the crucial third-track proposal, saying that, among other roadblocks, “long-standing community opposition to the plan may be insurmountable.”
New York State Assemblymember David Weprin and State Senator Tony Avella — The legislators are introducing a bill to make East River bridges toll-free indefinitely.
