Early yesterday morning, a 1992 Thunderbird crashed into an MTA bus on Hillside Avenue in Queens, killing the car's two occupants. Christopher Boyd, the driver, and passenger Eric Richmond were pronounced dead at the scene. The bus driver and one of the passenger suffered minor injuries. more ›

There was a bit in the MTA's August 8 Storm Report which mentioned that the MTA was working on some street furniture designs to "raise vent heights to prevent water inflow." As part of the recommendation to "Implement corrective action plan for top flood-prone locations," the MTA, with the Department of Transportation and Department of Environmental Protection, is developing short- and long-term solutions at the most flooding-vulnerable locations.

Perhaps a more promising and intriguing solution to the sidewalk grating and station entrance water inflow problem is already being pursued in conjunction with NYCDOT. In fact, in the last week the MTA, NYCT, and NYCDOT have co-sponsored a design charette with top urban designers to develop solutions to the problem. The three conceptual designs they came up with will hopefully lead to a more refined alternative that will address both pedestrian impact and neighborhood aesthetics.

Why was a 33 year old man running around the streets of Jamaica, Queens, firing a machine gun on Monday? To settle a beef with his sister's ex, of course. Patrick Ledger was unable to find his sister's ex, though, so he started firing the weapon around 179th Street and Hillside Avenue. After many 911 calls, the police found Ledger and shot him in the eye when he refused to put down the gun. The NYPD says that they haven't seen that kind of semi-automatic gun for a decade (Commissioner Ray Kelly said "street sweeper" type weapons were more common in the mid 1990s). WCBS 2 pointed out that these kinds of guns have been recently reclassified by the government as "simple handguns." more ›

A man firing a .45 caliber machine pistol was shot by police in Jamaica, Queens. After receiving 911 calls about a man firing a gun at 179th Street and Hillside Avenue, police had chased the 33 year old man four blocks. A nearby office worker Ron Karo told the NY Times, "I looked out the window, and I saw two cops shooting a black man...He was going up and down. I never saw him shooting at the cops." more ›

Yesterday the Department of Transportation installed the first countdown pedestrian signal at the intersection of Coney Island Avenue and Kings Highway. Here's how the city explains the timer:

The pedestrian countdown signals are the same size as the existing pedestrian signal head, but feature a dual display - the traditional "Walking Man" and "Hand" display, and a pedestrian interval countdown display. The countdown feature is programmed to start at the beginning of the "flashing hand" cycle and end when the flashing hand becomes steady. At the five test intersections pedestrians will be given a minimum 15-second countdown before the light changes.

-Hylan Boulevard Looking at the MTA's site, it's pretty cool that the MTA is taking other bus systems around the world into consideration - and we love any plan that wants better bus boarding! more ›

Those brothels in Queens just keep on popping up. Last night cops busted not one but two of them. Well, OK, it sounds like one was more of an illegal strip club but the Post calls 'em brothels so... The first one, Club Daydreams, at 146-16 Hillside Avenue in Jamaica was busted by the NYPD Vice Squad around 1 A.M. who arrested eight women for prostitution. The Buildings Department also got the joint for not having the required number of exits and for violating zoning laws by listing itself as a steak house on forms. The second, Club Kaula, at 143-08 94th Avenue was closed after two patrons were found with drugs, a knife and a stun gun. That's a whole lotta busted brothel for one night. more ›