A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond.
Winners
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams — BP Adams toured the East New York LIRR station — a “stepchild” of the MTA — to make the case for capital improvements “based on need and not based on ethnicity or gentrification.”
New York City Department of Transportation — Pedestrian and bicyclist deaths are down 40 percent at intersections where Vision Zero-related improvements have been made, and in the last two years there have been zero deaths on Grand Concourse in the Bronx, historically one of the most dangerous roads in the borough.
Senator Bob Menendez and New Jersey’s congressional delegation — A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Senator Menendez urged USDOT Secretary Elaine Chao to support using federal “New Starts” funding for the Gateway tunnel program.
Metro Nashville Mayor Megan Barry — Cognizant of the fact that it’s impossible to “pave our way out of congestion,” Mayor Barry is calling for more rapid bus service and better pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.
Losers
Connecticut State Senate — All 36 senators in the Nutmeg State voted to prohibit the Connecticut Department of Transportation from embarking on a $300,000 mileage tax study — a bad idea considering the Special Transportation Fund is facing insolvency, and an especially bad idea when you consider that the state is spending $2 million to study widening I-95.
Bronx Community Board 8 — A plan to redesign Broadway near Van Cortlandt Park received, well, a “Bronx cheer” from members of the local Community Board.
President Trump — The New York metropolitan area has some of the dirtiest air of any region in America, and thanks to the president’s gutting of the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s going to get even worse.
