Monday’s Headlines: Nasty Weather in Queens Edition

What a great weekend if you were outside — unless you were under that black cloud that hovered all weekend over the smoldering remnants of a tiny 4.5-acre field in Willets Point. That was weird!

But if you aren’t a horsehide masochist, you probably were too busy all weekend (perhaps enjoying the return of the Transportation Alternatives’ century ride? Or the “Bakery Run” half marathon? Or bus day at the Transit Museum?) to keep up with the news. So here are the weekend’s top headlines:

• Our friend Chris Dunn, formerly of the New York Civil Liberties Union, had a Daily News op-ed demanding that the next mayor restore City Hall to the people, who had it stolen from them by Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
• Kudos to NY1 for covering the massive traffic impacts of the remaining casino proposals. And hat-tip to Sara Lind of Open Plans for breaking it down.
• Cops found the hit-and-run driver who killed Deborah Koonce on Eastern Parkway last week … then didn’t charge him! Reminder: Eastern Parkway is not a truck route. (Gothamist)
• What a waste on so many levels: A construction worker on the state Department of Transportation’s boondoggle Van Wyck Expressway widening project was killed by a speeding driver (with a suspended license) who admitted he was rushing so he could get to a Dunkin’ Donuts. He was, at least, later charged. (NYDN, QNS, amNY)
• Speaking of the Van Wyck, there was another fatal crash in the same area on Saturday. (NY Post, NYDN)
• A driver crashed into a building in East Flatbush. (ABC7)
• Drivers of cars: They destroy whole generations of families. (NYDN)
• MTA CEO Janno Lieber is ramping up his fight against labor union “work rules” that, he says, prevent efficiency. (amNY)
• Speaking of transit, the United Nations General Assembly will congest the East Side all week. (NY Times)
• The seminal Holly Whyte documentary, “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces,” has been restored and is showing later this month at Anthology Film Archives. Streetsblog Movie Night, anyone? (Gothamist)
• Remember that charter school protest that prevented cyclists (some of them going to school!) from using the Brooklyn Bridge last week? Well, there’s going to be an investigation. (Chalkbeat, NY Times)
• As long promised, the MTA is seizing land through eminent domain for the Second Avenue Subway. (The City)
• Who said The Economist was a pessimistic outlet? Check out this headline: “Rail travel is booming in America.” (Who knew?)
• The fight against criminal mischief moves upstate. (News10)
• And, finally, tickets are still available to catch Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in conversation at the Clean Cities Campaign session, “The Paris Effect: Lessons on Urban Transformation for Healthy and Livable Cities,” on Tuesday at 10:15 a.m. Hidalgo promises to share lessons about “bold urban transformations” in conversation with Friend of Streetsblog Sarah Goodyear of the “War on Cars.” Register here.