🦃 Raccoons, Robo-Taxis & the Return of the Macy’s Parade: Welcome to Edition #19 of the BOMA-NY Transportation Report 🗞️
November 2024 | BOMA-NY Codes & Regs Committee
This month’s transportation report delivers a full Thanksgiving spread of policy twists, infrastructure drama, and strange-but-true headlines. We’re talking about raccoons dropping from LaGuardia ceilings, panda motorcades, billion-dollar bridge lawsuits, and a subway shooting over fare evasion. Just another month of transit in New York.
Congestion pricing continues its political limbo, the MTA’s budget outlook gets scarier by the week, and NYC’s airports break records (and occasionally trap rodents). Meanwhile, lithium battery fires, e-bike regulations, Halloween gridlock, and Elon Musk’s “Cybercab” dream all make their usual cameo appearances.
In this issue:
🚇 1 billion subway rides in 2024—but straphanger vibes are still way off
💸 Congestion pricing lawsuits ramp up, and exempting city workers could cost everyone else $17.50
🛩️ LaGuardia wins “Best Airport”… then gets invaded by a raccoon
🔥 Bronx e-bike fire kills delivery driver—prompting Adams’ final push on a trade-in program
🚦 Sammy’s Law goes into effect—speed limits dropping across Manhattan
🎃 Halloween Costumed Chaos + Thanksgiving and Christmas Gridlock Alert Days
🎤 Elon Musk unveils Cybercab and Robovan—but offers few answers and zero pedals
🐼 Giant pandas return to D.C. with a police motorcade, media circus, and bamboo buffet
🛻 SUV crashes through parking garage wall—maybe my preschool aged Fisher Price wasn’t too far off
📍From bridge collapses to battery recalls, here’s your monthly digest of all the weird, wild, and wallet-emptying news moving NYC’s people, freight, and furry intruders.
— Glenn Waldorf
Transportation Subcommittee Chair
Bell Environmental Services
📞 973-575-7800
✉️ info@bellenv.com
✅ November 2024 Transportation Report Summary Bullets
🚇 Subway & Light Rail
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1 billion subway rides in 2024 — first time post-COVID, with daily ridership hitting 4.3 million on multiple days.
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However, half of straphangers still feel unsafe or unsatisfied.
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Interborough Express (IBX) moves forward; MTA abandons flawed street-running plan.
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AI-powered Evolv weapons scanners found zero guns in pilot test; 4.29% false positives and financial misconduct investigations pile up.
🛑 Congestion Pricing Uncertainty
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Election over, debate resumes: Hochul may restart at $9 toll level — but risks federal review delays.
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Lawsuit from NJ could force a new environmental review.
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Exempting municipal workers raises tolls to $17.50 for others — losing $140M in annual revenue.
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Paris and Stockholm examples suggest a need to pair congestion pricing with transit upgrades.
💰 MTA Budget & Operations
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Budget deficit may hit $3B by 2028, per State Comptroller.
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2027–2028 gaps projected at $428M–$469M from fare evasion losses alone.
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New subway president Demetrius Crichlow named — the first Black executive to hold the role.
🚆 NJ Transit & Amtrak
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NJT canceled 3,400+ trains through August 2024, blaming Amtrak and its aging infrastructure.
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174 new railcars ordered to reduce delays and boost transparency (windows you can see through!).
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Fatal crash on NJ River Line kills veteran operator after tree falls on train.
✈️ Airports & Air Travel
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LaGuardia named “Best Airport in the U.S.” — then a raccoon falls through the ceiling at Spirit Airlines gate.
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JFK hits record September traffic; Newark eyes new terminal; sustainability pushes grow.
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Flight refunds now automatic under federal rules; airlines must show seat and bag fees upfront.
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Spirit Airlines passengers panic over “super rat” mid-flight; United flight diverted after screen failures.
🔥 Lithium-Ion & E-Bike Fires
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Bronx delivery worker killed in battery fire; Adams finalizes e-bike trade-in program.
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FDNY and federal partners host lithium symposium; nationwide concern grows.
🛻 Roads, Highways & Parking
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NYC quadruples red-light cameras (from 150 to 600); Sammy’s Law speed limits begin in Prospect Park, Lower Manhattan.
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Gridlock Alert Days announced: 13 key dates from Nov. 20 to Dec. 19.
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Parking crackdown: DOT considers curb pricing; “Curb Enthusiasm” podcast promotes pricing reform.
🧑🦽 Taxis & Accessibility
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TLC ordered to make 50% of taxis wheelchair-accessible by March 2025.
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Drivers say medallion debt makes this impossible—even with TLC subsidies.
🚧 Bridges & Ports
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$102M settlement in Baltimore bridge crash
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17,000+ NY bridges need repair — 10 worst are in NYC, incl. BQE overpasses.
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Verrazzano breaks height record as ship clears it at 4:05 a.m. during full moon tide.
🤖 Cybercab & Robovan (Tesla)
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Musk unveils Cybercab: no pedals, no steering wheel, “probably” ready in 2026.
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Robovan also teased — but name already trademarked by Chinese firm.
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Critics call the reveal “toothless.” Tesla admits most current “self-driving” cars likely can’t ever drive themselves.
🐼 Pandas, Parades & Pandemonium
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Panda Express plane + police motorcade delivers Bao Li & Qing Bao to D.C. Zoo.
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Macy’s Parade returns; DOT installs Día de los Muertos art and Giant Pigeon Dinosaur on the High Line.
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Overheard in the Bronx: “If you don’t want to move quickly, move to Jersey City.”
