Wednesday’s Headlines: Hochul Agonistes Edition

We’re often tough on the New York Times, but we’ve also said regularly that when that paper wants to dig into a story, it usually does a good job.

Case in point, this Nicholas Fandos deep dive on the craven psychology that led Gov. Hochul to abandon congestion pricing.

No, the story isn’t about that awful decision — but it does get into the head of an executive who couldn’t handle all the blame she got after Democrats lost five completely winnable House seats in the New York suburbs in 2022.

So what did she do? She decided to punish the city for her failure in the burbs. It’s outrageous, indefensible, and just so duplicitous.

“Close allies of Ms. Hochul say she remains embarrassed and indignant over blame [for the 2022 losses] that she believes was unfairly cast,” Fandos writes.
“But her frustration is also fueling a decision this fall to put the full force of her governorship into proving that she, and her state, can set things right for Democrats … most notably halting New York’s most significant public transportation project in a generation amid opposition to it from must-win suburbs.”

Where’s Ed Koch when we need him!

In other news from outside the mayor’s dwindling inner circle:

• The MTA’s aging rolling stock is catching up on the agency’s coffers — just ask transit workers (and more on that later today). (Daily News)
• Speaking of the MTA, Staten Island parents aren’t happy with the service their kids are getting. (amNY)
• So let us get this straight: The mayor is praising the “restraint” of the NYPD after officers unleashed a fusillade on a suspected fare evader that injured four people? (Gothamist)
• Protesters aren’t buying the mayor’s explanation. (Gothamist)
• Postal carriers love the new duckbill truck — but the entire USPS fleet won’t be electrified for years. (Jalopnik)
• The delivery microhubs are coming to the Upper West Side, Greenpoint and Clinton Hill. (The Brooklyn Paper)
• We don’t generally cover the “mayor’s management report” because it’s usually bogus (promises are made in calendar years, but the “MMR” is based on fiscal year stats), but Hell Gate had the best take: “Eric Adams’s 2024 Report Card: NYC Quality of Life Has Stalled Out.”
• Dangerous streets around schools aren’t just a New York thing. (The Atlantic)
• Attorney General Letitia James has opened an investigation into a cop who killed a cyclist on the Belt Parkway. We reached out to the NYPD for more information, but heard only crickets. (State AG)