A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond.
Winners
Citi Bike — A new report by the NYU Rudin Center proves what we already knew: that Citi Bike is part of the transit system, not a recreational bike rental business.
Columbus, Ohio — Instead of building more and more parking, the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District in downtown Columbus wants to give free transit passes to all of the city’s 40,000 downtown workers.
Democracy — Applications to Community Boards in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx are up by 20 percent on average.
Losers
New York State Senate Republicans — Republicans in the Senate advanced language which would exempt state agencies from having to pay the MTA Payroll Tax and increase the exemption for sole proprietors from $50,000 to $250,000.
Outer borough commuters — Residents of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens had to deal with the bulk of subway service disruptions during Tuesday’s winter storm.
Jose Ramirez — Ramirez, who owns a Jersey City-based trucking company, allegedly racked up $308,600 in unpaid tolls before he was arrested by Port Authority police last week.
George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal commuters and tenants — The vast majority of the small business slated to open inside the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal — which was originally supposed to reopen in 2015 — won’t be allowed to start construction in their stores until the terminal’s renovations are complete.
Donald Trump — U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who became famous for rooting out corruption in Albany, was fired by the Trump administration on Saturday, even though the president had asked him to stay at his post last November.
