Good afternoon in New York City, where cyclists just got a victory akin to finding a Citi Bike stand stocked only with e-bikes.
Mayor Mamdani announced yesterday that he will reverse an Adams-era policy that empowers the NYPD to issue criminal summonses to cyclists for minor traffic violations, such as running red lights or failing to stop at a stop sign. The policy was widely criticized as unfair — drivers receive lesser penalties for the same violations.
“By ending criminal summonses for low-level traffic offenses, we’re ensuring cyclists and e-bike riders — including those who deliver our food and groceries — are treated like others on the road,” Mayor Mamdani said in a statement.
According to NYPD statistics, just 37 out of 9,610 pedestrian injuries due to crashes in 2024 were caused by e-bike riders, or 0.4%. In the same time period, drivers accounted for 94% of pedestrian injuries.
The policy change will be especially impactful for the city’s 80,000 app-based delivery workers, known as deliveristas, who are incentivized to move as quickly as possible to meet app-driven deadlines. Starting March 27, low-level violations will no longer entail a day in court, sparing workers — many of whom are undocumented immigrants — from losing a day of income and risking exposure to federal immigration agents.
The mayor also promised to pair the policy shift with a city-sponsored safety program for delivery workers and to work with the City Council to address the underlying practices from third-party delivery apps, including legislation to regulate delivery times, strengthen training standards and curb worker penalties.
“If we’re serious about safety, we have to address the root causes of dangerous riding, and that includes the systems pushing people on bikes to take risks,” said City Council Majority Leader Shaun Abreu in a statement.
Which brings us to the question every Grubhub and DoorDash user must now ask themself: how many extra minutes are you willing to wait for your Thai food in exchange for safer streets?
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told the City Council that she is unconcerned about the Mamdani administration’s decision to strip funding for 5,000 new police officers that former Mayor Eric Adams inserted into the budget last year, calling the narrative that Mayor Zohran Mamdani had cut officers “absurd” because the department never actually added them.
MTA leaders marked Transit Employee Appreciation Day across the city as the transit union sues the MTA over reduced staffing.
A three-woman crew is accused of robbing around $40,000 in merchandise from jewelry stores in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
A federal grand jury indicted Metropolitan Detention Center Correctional Officer James Johnson, 36, on charges of sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a ward and making false statements to federal agents.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed Gregory Anderson as commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation on Wednesday.
The Cowenhovens of New Utrecht, one of the most prominent families in what is now part of Bensonhurst, will be the topic of a free talk this Saturday, March 21, at the 1892 Parish House of the New Utrecht Reformed Church.
Two Trees Management closed on a three-acre land purchase at 69 Ninth St. in Gowanus for $37 million, adding to the firm’s existing five-to-10-acre footprint in the neighborhood.
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Our World In Photos
Photo: Pavel Bednyakov/AP
MOSCOW — A runway is merely another opportunity to bring the drama: A model eyes the camera backstage before walking the runway at Moscow Fashion Week in Moscow, Wednesday, March 18, 2026.
For more pictures like this, see Our World in Photos.
Brooklyn Bird Watch: Evolution in action — the albatross
An albatross lands on the ocean just off Stewart Island, New Zealand. Photo by Colin Watts/Unsplash
Learning about and being aware of how birds have evolved can’t help but cause one to reflect back on our own evolution through time, and think about if there could be a purpose beyond survival and co-existence, including our responsibility to sustain the planet under pressure from the environments and our own development that also impacts the survival of others, that is, our cherished wildlife.
The majestic albatross has undergone several fascinating evolutionary changes that serve its life as one of the earth’s great seabirds
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Cartoon Sketchbook
By Ed Wexler
For the Road
Free trees: Roughly 3,750 free trees — including Pawpaw, American Persimmon, Flowering Dogwood, and Highbush Blueberry — will be given away by the New York Restoration Project from April 4 through May 16, with seven distribution events in Brooklyn. Find out how to get your free tree.
Happy Birthday to “Fatal Attraction” star Glenn Close!
On This Day in 1867, the Eagle reported: “A brilliant meteor was seen at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on the evening of the 3rd instant. Its light was equal to that of a full moon.”
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