Good morning and happy Monday. I’m delighted that I was allowed back in the country yesterday from my trip to the UK — and even more ecstatic that today will be 82 degrees and sunny. Enjoy, because the rest of the week is looking rather mixed!
I took Tom Fox’s new book, Creating The Hudson River Park, away with me to read. It’s a detailed, but very readable, account of what it means to be an independent activist in New York City. Tom weaves his way through changes of Governors, Mayors and real estate agendas with a focus on building the very best parkland for the people of the West Side. Read more…
The MTA is launching a one-year pilot program — with subway train advertising announcements from famous New Yorkers and in-station promotions for big-ticket events. Read more…
What we’ve been reading
* Stories that might be behind a paywall are marked with a 💰
Elite law firm leaves Worldwide Plaza for Hudson Yards. (Financial Times💰)
A ban on the MTA using facial recognition to catch fare dodgers was in the NY State budget. (Gothamist)
Buildings chief says overloading was not to blame in last year’s parking garage collapse. (Crain’s💰)
NYC businesses don’t want TikTok banned. (PIX11)
The New York local news subsidy explained. (Vital City)
Freeze Frame
Traveling around London takes a bit longer and is more expensive than in New York. The idea of the “transfer” has not reached the UK, and if you take a bus and a tube to your destination, you pay two fares. However, the new Elizabeth Line is spacious and delightful.
On the other hand, my journey to JFK was punctuated by a hawker announcement (not by a famous New Yorker, as in the MTA pilot mentioned above), offering the sale of pepper spray to fellow straphangers. Not content with just that, he had tasers, knuckledusters at $15, and handcuffs for $25. “All methods of defense are within your god-given constitutional rights,” he said. He made a sale! Only in New York…
Happy birthday to Paul Fable and Bethany Lauren James.
