By Steve Huff 3:42pm

Celebrity Arrests

Lindsay Lohan, American Disaster.

NYPD Video of Lindsay Lohan vs. Pedestrian Incident May Help Starlet’s Case [Video]

Today the NYPD released surveillance footage of the Wednesday-night incident that left actress Lindsay Lohan accused of striking a pedestrian then leaving the scene. The video may be more useful in defending Ms. Lohan than prosecuting her. It shows a typical late-night street scene, several people milling around a parking area entrance. Ms. Lohan’s vehicle noses through then leaves the frame and no one seems alarmed or concerned. Take a look: Read More

By Steve Huff 9/19/12 8:33am

Celebrity Arrests

Lindsay Lohan (Getty Images)

Lindsay Lohan Arrested, Accused of Hit and Run in Manhattan

We know everyone will be deeply shocked to learn this morning that actress and Worst Case Scenario of the Decade Lindsay Lohan has been arrested in Manhattan after police say she struck a pedestrian while parking her vehicle, then left the scene. TMZ, that Grim Reaper of celebrity gossip websites, tells us what happened after Ms. Lohan allegedly struck the 30-year-old male around 2 a.m. ET: Read More

By Matt Chaban and Jessica Shiraz 8/07/12 4:44pm

Street Fighters Too

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Bridge Over Troubled Walkways: Council Members Want Wider Brooklyn Bridge Crossing for Bikes, Peds

Remember the graffiti from a few years ago, the stripe down the sidewalk dividing it between New Yorkers and tourists? If ever there was a place for such a demarcation, it would be the Brooklyn Bridge, where wayward out-of-towners and death-courting cyclists do battle on a daily basis.

“We are issuing a call to expand the human capacity of the bridge,” Councilman Brad Lander of Park Slope declared at the Manhattan entrance to the 129-year-old span yesterday. An average of 4,000 pedestrians and 3,100 bicyclists cross the Brooklyn Bridge every day, according to the Department of Transportation. A good many of them have close encounters of the two-wheeled kind.

Along with a few colleagues in the council, Mr. Lander wants the city to consider expanding the narrow boardwalk atop the beige bridge to accommodate more passengers. Read More

By Matt Chaban 7/03/12 12:15pm

Road Rage

9 Photos

Protected Bike Lanes? Protected from whom?

New Eighth Avenue Protected Bike Lane Sure Is Nice When It’s Not Full of Pedestrians (Which Is Never)

On a recent night, we were leaving the office in The Observer Building (too late, as usual) when, turning onto Eighth Avenue, we noticed something unusual: the new protected bike lanes had begun to be installed.

We first noticed it a week or two earlier, as the old lanes, on the outside of the parked cars, were ground off the asphalt, but it took a bit of time for the new parking lane to be painted, then that bright green strip. The lane used to stop south of 40th Street, but now would run all the way to Columbus Circle, with a sister lane headed south on Ninth Avenue.

Already, cars had moved into position, even though many of the markings still remained to be installed. Bikers would be zipping along the route any day now. Or not. When we saw the lane in day light, an unusual thing happened. Read More

By Matt Chaban 2/29/12 11:25am

Road Rage

7 Photos

Share the Road

Brooklyn Beeps: Banning Cars from Prospect Park

The road rage is not only on Prospect Park West but also inside the Park itself. After two serious bike-on-pedestrian accidents left two women with significant brain injuries, the Prospect Park Alliance set out to redesign Park Drive, the busy thoroughfare inside the park that is often clogged with walkers, cyclists, and during rush hour, motorists. It can get hectic at times.

Now, the Alliance has unveiled a new proposal that will give each group its own dedicated lane, cutting down the car lane from two to one and giving peds and bikes their own dedicated space. There will be space for running both ways and for both slow and fast bikes, a more even allotment on the street. Read More