Traffic Is Down. Reckless Driving Is Not.

Plus: Is it possible to socially distance on a NYC sidewalk? [View this email in your browser]( Traffic Is Down. Reckless Driving Is Not. Plus: The mayor is ending his tiny street closure pilot. The MTA is borrowing $10 billion to make payroll, which could become a problem. And many New York City sidewalks are evidently not big enough for people to socially distance. By [James Ramsay](mailto:james@wnyc.org?subject=We%20the%20Commuters) Lev Radin/Pacific Press/Shutterstock With millions of "non-essential" workers being asked to stay home, traffic is down [nearly 50%]( in New York City. [Even the Instagram street]( is empty. While you may see this as an invitation to [jog]( or [ride a bike]( through newly-deserted parts of the city, some drivers are turning Hell's Kitchen into a Mario Kart course. "You see cars flying, motorcycles, loud exhausts, BMWs, Mustangs, just guys going to town," said Harry Shasho, the owner of 212 Motoring, a shop for high speed cars. He said he’s also heard about several recent "high roller tickets" — drivers ticketed for going over 90 mph. On Tuesday morning, the owner of an exotic Porsche Gemballa Mirage GT went for a spin on a wide-open 11th Avenue...and still managed to crash into a parked minivan. [This Instagram video shows a blue sports car slamming into a white minivan in Midtown]( Instagram Police arrested the driver, a 33-year-old with [a history]( of crashing luxury vehicles, and charged him with reckless driving and operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs. Thankfully, no one was injured in the crash. But with kids out of school — and the city's futile open streets pilot now canceled (more on that below) — there's concern that a driver treating an open road like a drag strip will collide with a pedestrian seeking fresh air. In March, the city's 750 school speed zone cameras issued more than double the amount of speeding tickets given out in January. And while the NYPD and state police have reported a drop in the number of in-person speeding tickets issued in the last three weeks when compared to the same period last year, there are far fewer cars on the road right now. Under [the city's recently-passed Reckless Driver Act]( car owners who get more than 15 school speed zone tickets or run five red lights in one year will be required to take a safe driving course, or risk having their car impounded. City Councilmember Brad Lander, who sponsored the bill, said what we're seeing now is exactly why those changes are necessary. "It seems clear that our quarantined, emptier streets are being taken by some as an invitation to drag race, to speed, and drive like idiots," Lander said. "I wish people would slow down. That $50 [ticket] is not worth the chance you will kill yourself or one of your neighbors." — [Reporting by Stephen Nessen]( The MTA Is Borrowing $10 Billion To Cover Operating Costs. Could That Backfire? [a stack of credit cards fanned out] frankieleon/Flickr "This is an unsustainable measure that is akin to racking up credit card debt to pay for rent and groceries," said Rachael Fauss of the good government group Reinvent Albany. "If the MTA does borrow to pay day-to-day bills," she added, "its credit rating will be downgraded and the MTA will pay higher interest and debt service payments. These in turn would likely be passed on to riders through fare hikes and/or service changes." The [$10 billion allotment]( came out of an emergency measure in the state Legislature's budget. The MTA says it'll use the money for, among other things, making payroll. Albany also gave the agency permission to pay operating costs with so-called "lock box funds," which were intended only for (still extremely necessary!) infrastructure improvements. But this comes right after the federal government gave the MTA [the $4 billion bailout it asked for](. While it's likely the MTA will need more than $4 billion, with fares and other revenue sources down for the foreseeable future, did the agency need to immediately borrow so much extra money? "Let’s use that money to buy us some time," said the Manhattan Institute's Nicole Gelinas, referring to the federal aid. "Then hold some hearings on the issue and think about the best way to help the MTA going forward, before we just blow up the capital plan." The Mayor Killed His Own Tiny Street Closure Program Because No One Showed Up For It [a runner on a near-empty Grand Concourse in the Bronx where traffic was temporarily suspended] David "Dee" Delgado/Gothamist While [a mask-less Mayor de Blasio]( and plenty of other New Yorkers were filling New York City parks last weekend, hardly anyone seemed to take advantage of the 0.06% of city blocks that were temporarily closed to drivers. So, [the mayor has ended the pilot program]( citing the unreasonableness of having NYPD officers show up to enforce social distancing with nobody present. These four little stretches, comprised of Park Avenue in Manhattan, Grand Concourse in the Bronx, Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, and 34th Avenue in Queens, will go back to Being For Cars. The point of the closures in the first place was to give New Yorkers more outdoor space to move around without being run over. With [crowds filling parks]( — and playgrounds and dog runs now closed — some elected officials have called for more car-free streets, so people don't have to trek across town to safely get fresh air. (New York City has 120,000 blocks in total.) In announcing the program's end, Mayor de Blasio cited "bad weather" as a reason people weren't making use of the open streets. As we continue into spring and summer, the weather may become less bad. Here's What Else Is Happening New York City's coronavirus budget cuts would hit Staten Island Ferry service and reduce bike and bus lane expansions. Out of City Hall's proposed $1.3 billion in cuts, the Department of Transportation would lose $24 million. Specifically, programs intended to increase bus speeds and add protected bike lanes would see their budgets trimmed, and the mayor's Vision Zero street safety initiative would lose $7 million. "It’s hard to understand why safety is seen as discretionary," said former DOT official Jon Orcutt, who added that cuts could've instead come out of the road repaving budget. ([New York Post]( Transit agencies across the country could have an extremely rough time rebounding from the coronavirus. All the usual sources of revenue — fares, sales taxes, gas taxes, levies on Uber and Lyft rides — are drying up. Expenses remain high, as agencies seek to keep trains clean and maintain regular-enough service to try to enable social distancing on subways and buses. And if a full-blown recession takes hold, it's unclear how public transit will make ends meet, even as essential, often low-income workers continue to rely on it. ([New York Times]( Some NJ Transit bus riders are finding it impossible to practice social distancing on board. With overall NJ Transit ridership down 90%, the agency slashed bus service by 50%. But essential workers have found themselves standing on crowded buses, where the only person with a safe perimeter around them is the driver, whose area is taped off. ([NJTV News]( Turns out, it's also impossible to socially distance yourself on many New York City sidewalks. The New York City Department of Planning tweeted instructions yesterday for staying six feet away from others when walking down the sidewalk. New Yorkers with access to tape measures and nearby sidewalks quickly responded. ([Streetsblog]( Acting NYC Transit Chief Tells Workers To 'Ignore The Haters' MTA/YouTube After the deaths of [at least 41 MTA workers]( — and repeated [criticism]( from the transit workers' union that the agency hasn't done enough to protect employees — New York City Transit's interim president, Sarah Feinberg, delivered a three-minute video message yesterday thanking workers for their vital service. She then added that transit workers should "ignore the haters, ignore the media," and listen to the public's applause and "listen to your colleagues who are wishing you well and rooting for you." It's unclear which haters or media outlets are going after transit workers, though some [have]( [praised]( MTA employees for keeping the trains and buses running during the pandemic. On [The Brian Lehrer Show]( last week, several callers did direct criticism at Pay Foye, who chairs the agency. [The logo for WQXR's Classical Commute playlist, featuring an illustration of Mozart in a conductor's car] Our friends at WQXR put together this special Passover and Easter playlist, which is a delightful accompaniment, whether you're commuting across town or across the apartment. [Stream it for free on Spotify](. Weekend Service Changes: Night of April 10th – Early Morning on April 13th This is a partial list of major service disruptions scheduled for the weekend. For a complete list of the MTA's Weekender updates, [check here](. Flatbush-bound trains will skip Bergen St, Grand Army Plaza and Eastern Pkwy in Brooklyn. On Saturday and Sunday, New Lots Av-bound trains will skip the same stops. train service between 96 St and 148 St in Manhattan will be replaced by trains and M7 and M102 buses. There will be no trains running overnight. Utica Av/New Lots Av-bound trains will skip Bergen St, Grand Army Plaza and Eastern Pkwy in Brooklyn. [Check here]( for complete details about the Long Island Rail Road. For NJ Transit, [check here]( for the latest service advisories. Upcoming Meetings and Events Wednesday, April 22nd Virtual meeting for MTA Board and Board Committees — 10:00 a.m. The MTA will collect public comments via video and phone on Monday, April 20th. Those who wish to participate will have the opportunity to register on Monday, April 20th, between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., online at [new.mta.info/virtualboardmeeting](. [a portrait of James Ramsay] James Ramsay would like to remind [his fellow runners]( to [back off](. (Photo by Amy Pearl) Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential transportation coverage and more. [Donate]( Copyright © 2020 New York Public Radio, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: New York Public Radio 160 Varick Street New York, NY 10013 [unsubscribe]( [update preferences]( [privacy policy](