Wednesday’s Headlines: Family Feud Edition?

Not sure what’s going on*, but Riders Alliance might have had to distance itself from its own executive director, Betsy Plum, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Plum was on the “board” of a new big-bucks lobbying group called, the “Campaign for New York’s Future.”

(* Make sure to read our update in Thursday’s headlines! More info has come forward that will cast this whole incident in a different light!)

The story reported that the group is “pushing back on proposals to raise taxes” on the wealthy, though Riders Alliance has long supported progressive efforts to support transit by, indeed, taxing the wealthy — including those who own cars.

That much should have been obvious to any editor over at the Murdoch-owned broadsheet, but if it wasn’t, Riders Alliance later tweeted, “The WSJ is wrongly using our name to advance a movement to protect billionaires. We’ve always supported progressive taxation to fix the subway and to deliver faster, more reliable public transit for working-class riders. Period.”

Well, that full stop was followed by more tweets by Riders Alliance seeking (but failing) to clarify the situation before Macartney Morris finally just asked what’s going on:

Perhaps everyone should just read the campaign’s mission statement and “issues” page, which makes it clear that tax policy is but one of the items on its agenda (which includes more space for restaurants, more help for minority- and women-owned businesses, and better mobility.

Glad we got to the bottom of that! 

Now, in other news:

• The window-smashing subway vandal is at it again, despite a $12,500 reward on his or her head. (NYDN, NY Post)
• Unlike the PBA, at least the transit workers’ union is endorsing something important: a fine for people who don’t wear masks on the subway. That said, the last thing this city needs is cops harassing transit riders, who are more likely to be lower-paid workers or people of color (NYDN). Meanwhile, the Post took a broader view of the MTA’s overall COVID-19 response … and found it lacking.
• Police Department whining looks like it’s bearing some fruit — the City Council is talking about softening the chokehold bill signed by Mayor de Blasio last month. (NY Post)
• The Post doesn’t pay nearly enough much attention to the tens of thousands of times every year when a car driver hits a pedestrian or cyclist — but when one or two drivers happen to smash into a curbside dining area, oh, well then clearly outdoor dining is the problem!