Bike lane haters are still smarting after being forced to chug a gallon of Haterade after a judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Prospect Park West bike lane. But as they appeal the decision, the DOT has handed them a small victory by omitting the construction of a two-way bike lane on East and West Plaza Streets at Grand Army Plaza. "If we had not done what we've been doing with the bike lanes, they probably would have moved ahead," Louise Hainline of Neighbors That Don't Use Bike Lanes Neighbors For Better Bike Lanes tells the Daily News.
DOT Axes Grand Army Plaza Two-Way Bike LaneFor Now
Mind The Gap: Man Crushed Between Train And Platform
A 41-year-old man is in critical condition after falling between a 4 train and the movable platform extender at the Union Square station last night. One MTA worker said it took almost half an hour to release him, as they had to wait for a contractor to come and shut off the hydraulics that control the platform extender, which bridges the gap between the train and the curved platform. Motorman Janice Carter told the Post, "I secured my train and came out to investigate. It was complete madness. People everywhere. I saw the man between the gap filler and the train. He was yelling."
Mind the Gap: New South Ferry Station Opening Delayed
Those images of the new South Ferry subway terminal will have to tantalize us for another few months: The new station, which was supposed to open this month, needs a little more work because, the NY Times reports, "the gap between the platform and the trains exceeds the three-inch maximum allowed by federal regulations guaranteeing access to mass transit to people with disabilities."
Car Owners Could Fill MTA Budget Gap Under New Proposal
NYC comptroller William Thompson is proposing that the city plug the MTA's budget gap by raising automobile registration fees in the 12 counties served by the MTA’s trains and buses. If passed by the State Legislature, his plan would require drivers in the city and surrounding counties to pay $100 a year to register their vehicles. (The city currently charges $30 every two years.) According to the Times, drivers with vehicles weighing more than 2,300 pounds would have to pay an additional 9 cents per pound. By that measure, owners of Lincoln Navigators, which weigh in at 6,000 lbs., would owe the city $450 per year. Thompson says the revenue could add up to about $1 billion per year and serve as an alternative to the MTA's "devastating" budget proposal announced last week.
The Whitney and The Gap Create Artist T's
The Whitney, being so modern, has joined forces with The Gap, the founders of which talked about opening their own museum just last summer. The retailers aren't quite trying to set up shop in the new downtown outlet, but they are getting their T's imprinted with famous artist designs thanks to the museum (and the nonprofit Art Production Fund).

