Jabin Botsford/The New York Times When it’s not snowing, roadways can still be dangerous.Updated 5:53 a.m.
Good morning on this mild Thursday.
If you haven’t fled the city yet, there are still a few days left to experience the joys of the season: Christmas windows, holiday parties and heavy traffic.
Speaking of traffic…
There have been several sizable pileups around here recently.
Last week: 25 cars on the Bronx River Parkway in Yonkers and 45 injuries. And 27 cars on I-95 in Greenwich, Conn.
This week, on the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn: around 30 cars, 9 injured.
Traffic experts blame a wintry mix of weather-related road conditions and human behavior.
When it’s snowy, people slow down. They sense the risk because of low visibility.
While the air is flurry-free and people can see, they may be less careful, said Bo Duffy, a spokesman for the New York State Department of Transportation.
“And that’s when conditions are ripe for black ice,†he said.
An added danger: sudden rain, which can wash away the salt scattered on highways.
Here’s some anti-pileup advice:
Drive more carefully when it’s close to freezing out.
If you have to stop, brake repeatedly to alert other drivers.
Don’t tailgate.
Here’s what else you need to know:
WEATHER
This is odd: a very nice day.
Mostly sunny, with a high of 44.
Enjoy it; rain’s coming this weekend.
COMMUTE
Subways: Check latest status.
Rails: Check L.I.R.R., Metro-North or New Jersey Transit status.
Roads: There’s a truck stuck in the outbound Lincoln Tunnel. Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s or the 8s.
Alternate-side parking is in effect. It is a Gridlock Alert Day.
DE BLASIO WATCH
From Michael M. Grynbaum of the City Hall bureau of The Times:
- The mayor-elect makes an announcement at an educational center at 1:30 p.m. in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The location has people speculating he could make his much-anticipated pick for schools chancellor.
- He will likely be grilled by reporters about his role in the race for City Council speaker. He’s been strongly lobbying for Melissa Mark-Viverito of East Harlem, who all but declared victory Wednesday night. [New York Times]
- The mutual disdain between Mr. de Blasio and Mayor Bloomberg is starting to show. [New York Times]
COMING UP TODAY
- Representative Charles B. Rangel is expected to announce a bid for his 23rd term in Congress.
- City officials announce plans to recycle food waste at a treatment plant in Brooklyn and turn biogas into heating fuel.
- Elected officials rally at City Hall to let undocumented immigrants in New York get driver’s licenses.. 11 a.m.
- Drop cans of food at Flatiron’s North Public Plaza and City Harvest will deliver them to hungry New Yorkers. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. [Free, plus discount coupons for nearby stores]
- The Brooklyn Children’s Museum is free today, with extended hours. 3 to 7 p.m.
- Save some room for sacred Renaissance polyphony: St. Bartholomew’s Church in Midtown serves up a lunchtime concert. 1:15 p.m. [Free, $10 suggested donation]
- There are choirs aplenty at the St. Patrick’s Cathedral Christmas concert, but it fills up, so get there early. 7 p.m. [Free]
- A 17-piece band plays East Asian infused Jazz in Sunnyside, Queens. 7 p.m. [Free, donations welcome]
- Beyonce’s Mrs. Carter Show World Tour arrives at Barclays Center at 8 p.m. [Tickets start at $174]
- For more events, see The New York Times Arts & Entertainment guide.
IN THE NEWS
- The city’s immigrant population is at an all-time high of 3.1 million, and the Chinese community has grown the fastest. [New York Times]
- New Yorkers’ life expectancy is rising, thanks in part to the influx of immigrants. [New York Times]
- The City Council took a step toward banning e-cigarettes in the same public places where regular cigarettes are banned. [NY1]
- The city’s largest school bus operator is shutting down, leaving up to 40,000 public school students busless after the winter break. [New York Daily News]
- iPhone-wielding Williamsburg residents are hounding a man who may be Bill Murray. [Gothamist]
- Scoreboard: Knicks outlast Bucks in double overtime, 107-101. Wizards whip Nets, 113-107. Devils beat Senators, 5-2. Penguins nip Rangers in a shootout, 4-3.
AND FINALLY…
Most New Yorkers still rent their slice of the city, a new census survey found.
While in many Midwestern cities close to 50 percent of people owned their homes, in New York City just under 33 percent of people do.
The website Curbed took a closer look at the maps to see where homeowners live within the city.
It found heavy concentrations:
- Along Central Park on the East Side.
- In a chunk around Union Square and N.Y.U.
- On a curving expanse of the Northern Brooklyn Waterfront.
Joseph Burgess contributed reporting.
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