Wednesday’s Headlines: Let’s Just Run the Guinea Pig Photo Edition

Because there was very little news yesterday — and because it was the 11th annual “Dave Colon Memorial Run Over By A Car Mets Game” — and because Katie Honan found a way to link guinea pigs and the pandemic, we present to you today’s lead story:

GUINEA PIGS AND THE PANDEMIC! (The City)

In other news:

• We were pleased to see that another Council member is talking about alternatives to just a straight-up ban on electric bikes because of the fires caused by some substandard batteries, but Council Member Oswald Feliz’s proposed bill is absurd in one respect: according to the Post, the bill would bar the sale of e-bikes with refurbished batteries or new batteries that weren’t “certified by a ‘nationally recognized testing lab.'” Tell us, exactly, how this would be enforced? The city isn’t even cracking down on places that sell illegal mopeds, illegal license plate covers and fake placards, so now we’re supposed to expect the NYPD to examine every e-bike rider’s battery? Last month, Streetsblog broke the news that Gale Brewer was working on legislation, too (and the Post was kind enough to link to us!).
• We missed this story the other day, but the Daily News looked a bit too cheerily at the minor changes going on in Downtown Brooklyn (we’ll revisit this topic when we see how Schermerhorn Street turns out!).
• Our editor appeared on former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s “Keys to the City” podcast, talking with the one-time bike lane opponent (now avid cyclist) about alternate-side-of-the-street parking, public space theft, and community boards. It’s a barn-burner, let us tell you!
• So the Housing Authority is turning to the agency that can’t even maintain its greenways for help with its playgrounds? Good luck with that. (The City)
• amNY did a special report on subway surfers.
• The paper also played mop-up duty on Monday night’s storm, which decimated the morning commute. (amNY)
• WPIX followed our story on the homophobic and xenophobic incidents on the 34th Avenue open street.