Jews to City: Remove Bike Lane!

BROOKLYN, NY — Opposition to newly painted bike lanes on Kent Avenue is so strong in Williamsburg’s Hasidic community that one Orthodox leader vows that the faithful will block traffic if the city does not remove the cycling routes.

In South Williamsburg’s Satmar section, the wheels were already spinning against the bike lanes — which eliminated curbside parking and standing when they were painted last month — and now de facto Satmar spokesman Isaac Abraham kicked the conflict into a higher gear when he said this week that private buses would obstruct Kent Avenue to pressure the city to remove the lanes and reinstate alternate-side parking.

City to Get 1,067 Fewer Cops But 200 New Traffic Agents

NEW YORK, NY — The NYPD says it can’t afford to hire 1,067 extra cops but it does plan to hire 200 traffic agents to write $61 million worth of tickets.

Traffic agents are empowered under a new law to write summonses for drivers caught “blocking the box” at intersections.

Comptroller Offers Fare Hike Alternative, Proposes to Raise Car Fees

NEW YORK, NY — The New York City comptroller, William C. Thompson Jr., said on Sunday that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s gaping budget deficits could be diminished by increasing automobile registration fees in 12 counties served by the authority’s trains and buses.

At a press conference outside Grand Central Terminal, Mr. Thompson said that drivers now pay $30 every two years to register a vehicle in New York City, though they also pay additional state fees.

Dial 511 For Updates On Traffic, Transit

NEW YORK, NY [NY1] — There’s 911 in case of emergencies and 311 if you need help from the city. Now city residents can dial 511 to know the best way to get around.

The New York State Department of Transportation unveiled “511,” its new traffic and transit help line Thursday.

Brace Yourself: MTA Revealing ‘Doomsday Budget’

Likely To Result In $3 Subway Fares, 50 Percent Increase In Express Bus Service Cost

NEW YORK, NY [CBS] ― The Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveils its “doomsday” budget on Thursday and it appears that no one is spared.

Council Rules Drivers Can Park Longer At Broken Meters

NEW YORK, NY [NY1] — The City Council ruled Wednesday that drivers will now be permitted to park at a broken meter for the entire time normally allowed in the parking zone.

The old law limited the time to one hour.

Triborough Bridge Renamed to RFK Bridge

NEW YORK, NY [NY1] — The Triborough Bridge, which connects, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx, was officially renamed the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge Wednesday.

A ceremony was held in Queens’s Astoria Park, a day before what would have been the assassinated New York senator’s 83rd birthday.

Mayor Bloomberg Pushing New Yorkers to Bike

NEW YORK, NY [NY1] — Mayor Michael Bloomberg is making another effort to get New Yorkers to push the pedals.

City planners will unveil a proposal today that will require all newly-constructed apartment and office buildings to include indoor parking spots for bikes.

Office Tenants Flee Manhattan Rents for Brooklyn

Among office tenants, bargain hunting is back in style. After years of paying skyrocketing rents in Manhattan, some companies have decided to cross the East River.

“Our lease is up next year, and when we looked around the city, it was difficult to find the kind of space we wanted at a reasonable price,” said Byron E. Lewis, the chairman and chief executive of UniWorld Group, a New York advertising agency that focuses on African-American consumers.

Gasoline prices below $2/gallon in parts of US

HOUSTON [AP] — Gasoline prices have fallen below $2 a gallon in some parts of the U.S. as the impact of plunging oil prices and reduced driving are finally taking hold.

In Ohio, the Web site GasBuddy.com, where consumers post prices they spot, said a few stations in the Cincinnati suburbs were now charging $1.99 for regular.

Cops Defiant

BROOKLYN, NY — Four cops involved in a chase that ended with a Brooklyn tattoo-parlor worker’s claim that he was violated with a police radio antenna turned down unofficial offers to lay low inside their precinct house.

Instead, claiming they did no wrong, the 71st Precinct officers returned to their duties after the story broke Thursday, according to a police source. It was unclear whether the fifth officer involved, a transit cop, was extended the same offer.

71st Precinct Rookies Accused of ‘Violating’ Suspect

BROOKLYN, NY — A gang of rogue cops clobbered a Brooklyn man they saw smoking a joint, then violated him with a walkie-talkie antenna during a broad-daylight attack in a subway station, law-enforcement sources and the victim’s lawyer said yesterday.

The alleged attack, reminiscent of the 1997 police assault on Abner Louima, put Michael Mineo, 24, in Brookdale Hospital for four days.

Bloomberg Wins Fight to Extend Term Limits

NEW YORK, NY [AP] — Arguing that New York needs his financial skill to guide it through the crisis on Wall Street, Mayor Michael Bloomberg persuaded City Council to amend the term-limits law Thursday so that the billionaire independent can run for re-election next year.

The Varieties of Religious Parking

NEW YORK, NY — There are 43 holidays this year (some overlapping) on which alternate side of the street parking is suspended in New York City — 10 days in October alone. Some are national (Independence Day). But most are religious. There are so many that — for the first time in anyone’s memory — four religious holiday parking days just happened in a row: the two days for Rosh Hashana on Tuesday and Wednesday and three days for Id al-Fitr, ending today.

Mayor Announces Bid For Third Term

NEW YORK, NY [NY1] — Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced unprecedented plans today to change the city’s term limits law in preparation for third run for office.

Saying he is best prepared to handle the city through these tough economic times and wants to give voters a chance to let him to continue to serve, Bloomberg said he is asking the City Council to draft legislation to extend term limits.

Police: Officer in Taser Death Kills Himself

BROOKLYN, NY [ABC] — The NYPD lieutenant who authorized the fatal use of a taser stun gun on a naked Brooklyn psychiatric patient committed suicide at Floyd Bennett Field this morning.

Lt. Michael Pigot reported to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, where he took his life shortly after 6 a.m.

Bloomberg: Costly Oil Is Good

NEW YORK, NY [NYDN] — Most Americans are rooting for oil prices to plunge, but Mayor Bloomberg isn’t one of them.

“My great fear is that the cost of energy will come down rapidly and so low that we will forget the lessons we should have learned, and we’ll walk away from the environmental challenges,” the mayor said during a panel discussion at the Clinton Global Initiative in Midtown.