NYC moves toward getting more greenways and public bathrooms

Plus: NJ Transit is replacing its dirty train windows [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] City Council transportation committee approves bills to bring more greenways and public bathrooms to NYC Plus: Guns are still currently banned on subways. The MTA's budget deficit could be twice as bad as the agency predicted. And NJ Transit is finally replacing its gross train windows that you can't even see through. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- [a public toilet kiosk in Herald Square] Stephen Chernin/Getty Images The New York City Council transportation committee voted Thursday morning to approve two bills that would push the city to [build more public greenways and restrooms across the five boroughs](. One measure would require the city to develop a greenway master plan and to continually identify new locations to turn into park spaces. Mayor Eric Adams recently committed [$47.6 million in funding]( to connect Brooklyn and Queens greenways, and another [$723 million for the Manhattan greenway,]( which aims to fully connect a pedestrian and bike loop around the island. Despite this progress, the Adams administration has already fallen behind on [its goals for bike lane construction.]( The second bill would require the mayor to identify new locations for public restrooms across the city in each of the city’s zip codes. There are more than 1,000 public restrooms citywide, according to the Council — most of them maintained by the city’s Parks Department — but access to public restrooms, especially for the [city’s unhoused population]( has been [a longstanding issue]( particularly during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when public restrooms and other establishments were closed. It’s unclear when the full City Council will now vote on the measures. — [Reporting by Gwynne Hogan]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- New exhibit in Grand Central Terminal tells NYC's history through urban planning [a image of Regional Plan Association urban planners looking at a giant map] Courtesy of the Regional Plan Association For the next ten days, transit enthusiasts can take in [a sweeping exhibit at Grand Central Terminal]( highlighting the century-old nonprofit group that's responsible for designing some of the city's most iconic projects — as well as several imaginative schemes that never came to be. Over the years, the Regional Plan Association — which is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary — was the first group to propose the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, the Second Avenue Subway, a train yard on the West Side and the new Moynihan Train Hall. "It’s a private group, it can’t make anything happen, it can’t build anything itself," James Sanders, the exhibit’s designer, said of the RPA. "But what it does do is create the blueprint so that when the time comes and the powers that be align – whether it was the Port Authority and Robert Moses and the New Deal in the 1930s, or Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg in the 2000s – there’s a plan there with well-thought-out, well-conceived, discussed, argued-over ideas that can be a jumping-off place." The exhibit features photos and drawings from the RPA’s archives, including images of the New York City that could've been, such as the 1929 vision for a multi-tiered highway, and the soaring skyscrapers in the Lower East Side with wide promenades for strolling. While the exhibit is very much rooted in the past, Kate Slevin, the RPA's executive vice president, said he hopes it will also inspire young people to consider how they can shape New York. "We’re hoping this will excite people about urban planning, help young people understand the history of New York and how decisions about individual projects and individual policies can really shape what they see," Slevin said. The Constant Future: A Century of the Regional Plan is on display until October 24th. [Read more here](. — [Reporting by Stephen Nessen]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Here's what else is happening As of today, people with concealed carry permits can not bring guns onto mass transit in New York. The latest development in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision against New York's gun laws came on Wednesday, when a federal judge ruled that a ban on guns in "sensitive places" could remain in place, for now. ([Gothamist]( A 25-year-old bicyclist was struck and killed by the driver of a Peterbilt tractor-trailer in Brooklyn Wednesday morning, according to police. The crash occurred on Parkside Avenue near Prospect Park, which is not a designated truck route, according to the city’s own maps. ([Gothamist]( New York's comptroller said last week that the MTA could face a $4.6 billion budget gap over the next four years, which is $2 billion more than the transit agency's internal projection. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said that by his office's calculations, lagging ridership and rising inflation could stick the MTA with way more than its estimated $2.5 billion deficit unless the agency finds a new way to bring in money. ([Gothamist]( The NYPD said it has arrested a woman for allegedly stabbing another passenger to death on a bus in the Bronx this week. The fatal stabbing, which reportedly occurred after an argument broke out on a bus in Mott Haven on Monday night, marks the first homicide on a New York City bus in eight years. ([The New York Times]( The Department of Transportation is pitching a bus- and bike-friendly overhaul of 3rd Avenue on the Upper East Side. The local Community Board will soon vote on the proposal to take away two vehicle lanes on the notoriously dangerous five-lane road and create one dedicated bus lane and one parking-protected bike lane. ([AM New York]( NJ Transit is replacing its gross, cloudy train windows with ones you can actually see out of. After trying and failing to clean the windows by hand, NJ Transit has agreed to spend $8 million on new properly see-through panes for 429 rail cars. ([NJ.com]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- And Finally: After all they've been through ... this fella deserves it [an image of a lanternfly on a subway seat]( [@dannydoodar/twitter]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential election coverage and more. [DONATE]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [WNYC]( [WQXR]( [NJPR]( [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 All rights reserved. [Terms of Use.]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your [preferences]( or [unsubscribe]( from this list