Special Reports
Streetsblog Basics
Opposing the Move NY Plan Does No Favors for Southeast Queens
Four highways encircle New York’s 27th City Council district, a largely African-American section of southeast Queens: the Grand Central Parkway on the north, the Van Wyck Expressway on the west, the Southern State Parkway on the south, and the Cross Island Parkway on the east.
June 14, 2016
When Will Western Queens Assembly Members Sign on to Move NY?
With the clock winding down on the legislative session in Albany, Queens activists are making the case for the Move NY toll reform package. Volunteers with the Riders Alliance and Transportation Alternatives rallied at the foot of the Triborough Bridge Saturday to call for a tolling system that works better for drivers and transit riders than the city's current hodgepodge of free bridges and priced MTA crossings.
June 6, 2016
New York Can’t Afford to Put Off the Move NY Plan Any Longer
During the Bloomberg era, there was no bigger backer of congestion pricing than Kathryn Wylde, director of the Partnership for New York City, a downtown business group. Wylde, a confidante of Mayor Bloomberg, spearheaded the Partnership’s 2006 Growth or Gridlock report that provided both quantitative firepower and political cover for the mayor’s congestion pricing proposal the following year. The executive summary, a powerful account of traffic congestion’s drain on city and regional job creation and business competitiveness, culminated with this admonition: “Traffic is worse every day. The time to act is now.”
June 1, 2016
Brewer to DOT: Start Looking Into a Bus-Only 14th Street
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is calling on DOT to study making 14th Street a bus-only thoroughfare while L train service is disrupted during Sandy-related repairs.
May 24, 2016
Move NY Toll Reform Picks Up Eight Sponsors in Assembly
Eight more Assembly members are supporting the Move NY toll reform plan, which would cut traffic and raise revenue for transit by increasing the price of driving into the Manhattan core while lowering tolls on outlying bridges. The Move NY bill (A09633) now has 23 sponsors in the 150-member Assembly and four (all Democrats) in the Republican-controlled, 62-member State Senate.
May 12, 2016
Robert Rodriguez Introduces Toll Reform Bill in State Assembly
For the first time, a state legislator is sponsoring legislation in Albany to enact the Move NY toll reform plan. By creating a more rational toll system in New York City, the plan would significantly reduce traffic and raise revenue to invest in improving transit.
March 24, 2016
Eyes on the Street: First Signs of Greenway Construction on West Street
More than three years after it was approved by Brooklyn Community Board 1’s transportation committee, construction on the West Street segment of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is finally underway. The Department of Design and Construction confirmed that current work on West Street is related to the greenway.
March 17, 2016
Keep L Train Passengers Moving With Great BRT
The news that Sandy-related repairs will require closing one or both directions of the L train under the East River (the “Canarsie Tube”) for one to three years has understandably caused panic among the estimated 230,000 daily passengers who rely on it. Businesses in Williamsburg that count on customers from Manhattan are also concerned about a significant downturn in sales. When the Canarsie Tube was shut down on weekends only last spring, it was bad enough for their bottom line, and this will be much worse.
February 4, 2016
Less Service on the L Train? Wring More Efficiency Out of the Streets
Gothamist dropped a bombshell earlier this week: To repair Sandy-inflicted damage to the L train tubes between Manhattan and Brooklyn, the MTA will have to suspend service through the tunnel for large chunks of time.
January 15, 2016
Someone’s Gotta Pay for the Cuomo Transpo Plan, And It Won’t Be Motorists
Andrew Cuomo ran down his list of big transportation projects in the State of the State Address yesterday, and despite the billions it will take to build everything on his agenda, the governor didn't say anything about how he'll raise the money to pay for it. He did work in a line about toll cuts for Thruway drivers, though.
January 14, 2016