Special Reports

A knowledgeable tipster submitted this gem to UncivilServants, the web-based watchdog for government parking abuse in New York City. The yellow Porsche Carrera, above, was spotted parked in front of a fire hydrant on the east side of Seventh Avenue, in Park Slope, Brooklyn, between Sterling Place and St. John's Place at about 7:30 pm on Sunday, July 29. On the dashboard, a Dept. of City Planning placard ensures that the windshield of this little beauty is unlikely ever to have a parking ticket placed upon it. A Patrolmen's Benevolent Association card sits atop the parking placard for good measure.

According to a Streetsblog tipster, the Parks Dept. is finally cracking down on the numerous employees who have turned sections of Central Park into a parking lot. Below is a broadcast e-mail from Parks Dept. Assistant Commissioner and Senior Counselor Jack Linn to Parks Dept. employees. I have a call in to the Parks Dept. to verify this e-email. Here is the message that was reportedly sent out on Friday:

Tonight, you are invited to a planning meeting to prepare for the previously discussed parking spot squat in New York City as a part of Park(ing) Day 2007. If you want to get involved, this is the place to be. Let's show those San Franciscans who's boss. 

"Cyclists are so used to doing with scraps and they've been that way for so long that they are shocked when they get anything that satisfies their needs."

On Monday, July 9 the transportation committee of Community Board 8 on Manhattan's Upper East Side took up the issues of congestion pricing and a new pair of crosstown bike lanes.

New York State Assembly Members Jose Rivera, Richard Brodsky and Adriano Espaillat

Mayor Bloomberg had harsh words for New York State's Democratic leadership at today's press conference in Brooklyn. Here is an abbreviated transcript of some of the question-and-answer period with the press:

State Assembly Member Richard Brodsky is displeased by the suggestion that his opposition to New York City's congestion pricing plan had anything to do with the fact that he has accepted more money from parking industry interests than any other State Assembly Member and that his district houses the wealthiest Manhattan car commuters in New York State.