With Mark-Viverito as Speaker, Who Will Chair Transportation Committee?
Almost immediately after Melissa Mark-Viverito was elected city council speaker yesterday, she formed the council's rules committee, installing her progressive caucus co-leader Brad Lander as its chair. Lander, like Mark-Viverito a livable streets stalwart who has also championed overhauling many of the council's procedures, is now in a prime position to help pick who will chair the council's committees.
January 9, 2014
Cuomo’s State of the State: More Highways, Less Dangerous Driving
If you were expecting Governor Cuomo's transportation policy to match up with his socially progressive yet fiscally conservative reputation, he didn't deliver during today's State of the State address, which featured a ringing endorsement of a multi-billion dollar highway across rural areas near the Canadian border. While the governor's focus on expensive highway projects, not transit, during the annual speech is by now a well-established pattern, today's address did feature a few positive signs, including a continued push to increase penalties for drunk and distracted driving.
January 8, 2014
New CM Mark Levine Will Push NYC DOT for Full 125th Street SBS Route
The deal that brought 125th Street Select Bus Service back to life last fall didn't revive the full, cross-town enhanced bus route that was originally on the table. With the current plan calling for bus lanes east of Lenox Avenue only, bus riders who travel to or from West Harlem would still get the short end of the stick. Freshman Council Member Mark Levine wants to change that.
January 8, 2014
Levin to DOT: Deadly McGuinness Blvd Needs Traffic Calming, Speed Cams
A week after Nicole Detweiler was killed while walking on McGuinness Boulevard -- at least the third person to be struck and killed on the street in the last five years -- Council Member Steve Levin sent a letter to incoming Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg asking her to prioritize traffic calming and and speed cameras on the busy multi-lane road cutting through Greenpoint [PDF]:
January 7, 2014
TLC Fact Book Excludes Facts About Crashes or Driver Safety Training
The Taxi and Limousine Commission's 2014 Taxi Fact Book [PDF], released at the end of the Bloomberg administration, includes facts and figures on almost everything taxi- or livery-related, from trip length to passenger demographics. But there's one important thing the report fails to mention: driver safety.
January 6, 2014