Tuesday’s Headlines: Vote Early (But Not Often) Edition

Our editor waited two hours and one minutes in the rain yesterday to vote (catch him briefly at :08 in reporter Ivan Pereira’s long line video), so he’s so far behind in his work that he told us, “Just push through the headlines and skip all that intro stuff you usually do.”

So with that, here’s the roundup from another slow news day:

• There was big news for Access-a-Ride users: The MTA is going to completely revamp the program, hiring four car-service companies to ferry disabled passengers instead of the current vans. The MTA says it will save money and provide better service, but opponents say the new program “will leave even more disabled New Yorkers high and dry,” according to Guse at the Newsuh.
• The Post hammered the MTA (and, by extension, Mayor de Blasio) on subway crime again.
• One of the city’s police unions is doubling-down on that awful incident over the weekend where a cop was caught on video campaigning for President Trump. (NY Post)
• The state DOT is widening the Staten Island Expressway (Advance) instead of listening to scientists and engineers and boosting transit or HOV lanes (Streetsblog).
• Combine the inherent expense of owning a car with predatory lending practices and a pandemic, and many consumers are struggling to pay off their car loans. (U.S. PIRG)
• Amtrak’s most famous rider, Joe Biden, could save the embattled agency if he’s elected president. (New York Times)
• Love him or hate him, Gov. Cuomo has a right to a love life. (NY Post)
• And, finally, we’ve had our disputes with the state Department of Transportation, which builds highways, chokes the air, increases congestion and then doesn’t seem to do much else, but no state or city worker should be treated like this guy was. (NYS DOT)