🌒 Eclipses, Earthquakes & E-Bike Crime Sprees: Welcome to Edition #14 of the BOMA-NY Transportation Report 🗞️
April 2024 | BOMA-NY Codes & Regs Committee
If you’re wondering what the last month of NYC transit news felt like, picture this: a solar eclipse overhead, an earthquake underfoot, thunderstorms crashing down, and an MTA proposal to charge marathon runners a toll fee. No, really.
This month’s BOMA-NY Transportation Report captures a city balancing on the edge—legally, literally, and occasionally cosmically. From PATH train upgrades to last-mile delivery micromobility fights, from congestion pricing’s court date to Shake Shack’s return to Penn Station, we’ve got the good, the bad, and the apocalyptic in one ride-ready roundup.
In this issue:
🌉 Congestion pricing’s fate hangs in the balance, with a federal ruling expected just days before the proposed June start
🚴 E-bike crime surges, delivery wages rise, and NYC unveils (then stalls) a City Hall charging hub
🚌 MTA boss throws cold water on expanding fare-free buses
🛩️ Near-miss at LaGuardia and bribe-taking taxi dispatchers at JFK
🌎 A 4.8-magnitude earthquake rattles NYC and the tabloids, even if the epicenter was (ahem) New Jersey
⚡ Thunderstorms knock out power to 50,000, while lightning strikes Lady Liberty in dramatic fashion
👟 MTA tries to charge NYC Marathon runners $750K in toll revenue losses—until Hochul tells them to “fix this mess”
🧠 Weapon-detection scanners launched in subways, despite legal scrutiny of the vendor
🚇 Accessibility and elevator installation still years behind, with full compliance promised (gulp) by 2055
🚦 Orange steam funnel jokes, Law & Order MetroCards, Shake Shack returns to Penn, and April Fools pranks galore
📍From flashpoints to flash mobs, here’s your update on the policies, people, and potholes shaping urban transit this spring.
— Glenn Waldorf
Transportation Subcommittee Chair
Bell Environmental Services
📞 973-575-7800
✉️ info @ bellenv.com
✅ April 2024 Transportation Report Summary Bullets
🚦 Congestion Pricing
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Still set for June, but fate now lies with a federal judge ruling in early June.
🚚 Deliveries & E-Bikes
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City Council seeks limits on last-mile warehouses (Red Hook, Hunts Point).
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Microhub pilot launching this summer to reduce truck impacts.
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NYC reveals e-bike rest hub at City Hall — but it’s blocked by Community Board.
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Delivery minimum wage raised to $19.56/hour.
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E-bike gang robs/stabs delivery workers across Harlem.
🚌 Transit Headlines
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MTA CEO opposes expanding fare-free buses.
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PATH to get a $430M system makeover.
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NJ Transit raises fares 15% in July, then 3% annually.
🅿️ Parking Abuse
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NYC DOI finds widespread NYPD failures in enforcing placard abuse.
✈️ Aviation
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Near crash at LaGuardia triggers FAA investigation.
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Taxi dispatchers at JFK indicted for $12K in bribes to skip queues.
🏃♂️ MTA’s Budget Desperation
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MTA proposes charging NYC Marathon $750K for Verrazzano closure.
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Hochul steps in: “Fix this mess.”
🌍 Climate & Disasters
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4.8 earthquake hits NJ, shakes NYC.
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Wild thunderstorms knock out power, delay flights.
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NYC’s sea levels may rise 13 inches by 2030s.
🔋 Clean Transit + Safety
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NYC tests e-bike charging hubs; NJ considers registration.
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NYC buys 180 electric buses—but still needs 4,700 more.
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Uber launches women-focused safety features.
🚇 Subway Shenanigans
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Adams pilots weapons detection scanners, but vendor under FTC/SEC investigation.
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F train reboot hits a snag—reporter gets stuck during ride-along.
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Law & Order-themed MetroCards drop in select stations.
🎉 Fun Facts & Far Side
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April Fools’ included:
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Amtrak’s “Emotional Baggage” car
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NJ DOT’s fake makeup palette: “Eyes on the Road”
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Shake Shack reopens in Penn Station. You’re welcome.
