Gov. Cuomo will cut the ribbon today on the bike and pedestrian path on the Tappan Zee Bridge that he named after his father, but our friends at Bike Tarrytown have been calling sham for months (and got Guse of the Newsuh's ear on Sunday).
First of all, the bike path — unlike the roadways on the Mario Cuomo Bridge — won't be available 24-7, but will close every day from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. There are also issues with accessibility and rules that no driver would ever put up with. It's all documented on the Bike Tarrytown website.
The group will be out in force, which should be fun to watch because Big Dog Excelsior Car Guy really doesn't understand using anything but FDR's old Packard to go over a bridge.
Until then, here's the news from a busy weekend:
- Gov. Cuomo grumbled for a second day about bars and restaurants that opened early (Gothamist, NY Daily News), but Mayor de Blasio pushed back (NY Post). We had covered Cuomo's original outburst the day before, pointing out that the mayor has the power to end this madness by opening up streets for restaurants.
- All cops are bastards ... according to this bastard cop. (Medium)
- Our friends at StreetsPAC have endorsed challenger Emily Gallagher over incumbent Assembly Member Joe Lentol in Greenpoint, but a lengthy piece in Gotham Gazette makes the case that Lentol — who has been in the legislature since Richard Nixon was president! — ain't done yet.
- Citi Bike is dead — long live Citi Bike? Hoboken and Jersey City have banded together to create a seamless bike-share system instead of each having different system (Jersey Bike in the Mile Square City and Citi Bike in JC). Either — or neither — could win the bid once the dust settles.
- The Village Sun got another day of grousing from Village residents who are annoyed that the mayor broke his promise and made the 14th Street Busway permanent without any kind of community input. It must be sooo frustrating for local progressives to not get a chance to testify against long-suffering bus riders who have benefitted from the car-free transit route.
- The rally of the day was "An Action for Black Trans Lives" at the Brooklyn Museum — and amNY has the pictures to prove it.
- Look, when Larry Penner writes a history of the MTA, you know it's going to be comprehensive (including a mention of the 1971 sale of the passenger operations of the former B&O Railroad-owned Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway Company to New York City). A must read. (Mass Transit)
- And, finally, our sponsor for these headlines for the last year, the excellent gastropub Dutch Kills Centraal, just announced on its website that it would be unable to re-open after the COVID-19 crisis finally passes. It is a great loss for Long Island City, and the entire city. We wish owners Dom and Jean the best.
