Friday’s Headlines: Flatbush Ave. Sees Red Edition

The Department of Transportation will paint the town — specifically Flatbush Avenue between Livingston Street and State Street — red this week, with work set to start on the agency’s “bus-priority” vision for the busy corridor.

The B41, which runs on Flatbush Avenue, is one of the 10 busiest bus routes in the city, even with the strip’s current snail-pace rush-hour speeds. DOT’s project will add center-running red bus lanes in both directions and concrete bus boarding islands.

Naturally, some outlets reported the news as a “loss” of two lanes for drivers, but city officials, elected legislators and advocates are united in support of the project, which won’t wrap up until next year (when someone other than Mayor Adams will likely be in charge at City Hall).

In other news:

• The hit-and-run driver who killed a German tourist in Midtown on Wednesday was charged with failure to yield and fleeing the scene. (NY Post)
• Why is Council Member Vickie Paladino denying her community all the wonderful benefits of a waterfront greenway? (Eastern Queens Greenway)
• The MTA is looking for new ways to cool down subway stations. (The City)
• State Sen. Liz Krueger is taking credit for a 2022 law that helped kill three proposed Manhattan casinos. (Gothamist)
• Meanwhile, the proposed Yonkers and southeast Queens casinos won their crucial community approval used to kill the Manhattan proposals. (The City)
• Metro-North inspectors “faked” station safety checks, the MTA IG said. (NY Post)
• NPR took the victim-first route in this discussion of pedestrian safety.
• The E-Vehicle Safety Alliance isn’t cowed by the city’s 15-mph e-bike speed limits. (W42ST)
• MTA cops arrested a Black writer on TV’s “The Bear” after another rider complained about the way he was sitting. (Norwood News)
• The Tour de Bronx is coming up in two weeks. (Bronx Times)
• Daylighting is good for Staten Island, writes Deputy Public Advocate and borough resident Kashif Hussain. (SI Advance)
• Listen to Streetsblog Editor-in-Chief Gersh Kuntzman in the free recording of UCB’s “Not in My Backyard!” political roundtable. It was fun! (Soundcloud)