City Hall refused Streetsblog\u2019s request to attend ride along with Mayor Mamdani and his team on Thursday as they visited undeveloped city-owned properties in line for new housing. Fortunately, we had a transcript from City Hall to fill us in on what we missed: Deputy Mayor Leila Bozorg subtly defending NYPD officers\u2019 penchant for driving to work.<\/p>\n
Bozorg defended the city\u2019s plans<\/a> to retain some form of parking for cops from the Ninth Precinct<\/a> when it builds housing atop an East Village parking lot currently occupied by a mix of NYPD cars and cops\u2019 personal cars.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the case of the NYPD parking lot,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0underutilized from a housing perspective and a zoning perspective. It\u2019s\u00a0not underutilized from their perspective;\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0critical parking for them,\u201d Bozorg said. \u201cSo, we work in partnership to figure out how we can do both.\u201d<\/p>\n Parking spots drive up the cost of housing construction, but Bozorg insisted the city\u2019s insistence on including them in the East Village project did not contradict the Mamdani administration\u2019s opposition to minimum parking requirements for new developments. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll\u00a0just note in terms of the mandates,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a big difference\u00a0sometimes between mandating parking through something like zoning or your regulations and analyzing where parking is needed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n But are 25 of the building\u2019s parking spots really \u201cneeded\u201d for a precinct within walking distance of four subway lines, and is that worth the higher construction cost?<\/p>\n Apparently the Mamdani administration\u2019s answer is yes. Outlets including amNY<\/a> wrote up the accompanying announcement of a database of city-owned properties set for new housing construction.<\/p>\n In other news:<\/p>\n A Tesla driver struck and killed a woman on what cops described as a two-wheeled scooter at Amsterdam and W. 60th Street. (West Side Rag<\/a>, ILoveTheUpperWestSide<\/a>)<\/p>\n Construction on the Tremont Avenue busway begins next month. (Gothamist<\/a>)<\/p>\n A Williamsburg apartment building fell into disrepair and was demolished \u2014 and couldn\u2019t get rebuilt today. (Daniel Trubman via Substack<\/a>)<\/p>\n The MTA is working on allowing riders to see their OMNY balances. (amNY<\/a>)<\/p>\n State Sen. Liz Krueger is back on the scene after suffering a stroke earlier this year. (City & State<\/a>)<\/p>\n The MTA is bringing snack and drink vending machines to subway stations. (NBC4<\/a>)<\/p>\n TWU is trying to blame \u201cstray voltage\u201d for the June 17 horse carriage fatality. (amNY<\/a>, PIX11<\/a>)<\/p>\n Read all about Switzerland\u2019s \u201ciconic military bike.\u201d (Swiss National Museum Blog<\/a>)<\/p>\n DOT will give a Knicks \u201cChampions Way\u201d street sign to the highest bidder. (NY Post<\/a>)<\/p>\n An artist declared her Q train a \u201cquiet car\u201d \u2026 to surprising results. (New York Groove<\/a>)<\/p>\n And finally, here\u2019s a free idea for the NYPD:<\/p>\n In this image provided by the Dunellen, New Jersey Police Department, a police officer is seen disguised as a shrub as part of a crack down on distracted driving in the Middlesex County Borough this week. \u2014 Shlomo Schorr (@OneJerseySchorr) July 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n
Police say 74 citations were issued during a six-hour span. pic.twitter.com\/DlTCleYpTs<\/a><\/p>\n