“I have seen platforms at 53rd Street get so crowded during evening rush hour that there is no room for passengers to get off the down escalators, creating total chaos. And that’s when the escalators are working.”
-Clinton Hill resident Jessica Hollman, at an MTA board meeting

Mayor Says Help to Donor Was Business as Usual
New York Post
Mayor de Blasio claimed Wednesday that City Hall’s intervention in a contract dispute involving a major campaign donor was nothing unusual and is the sort of thing that happens regularly with ordinary New Yorkers. But when asked to give a single ­example, he balked. “I don’t have one for you today,” he said during an unrelated press conference in Queens. “I’ve experienced many.”

LaGuardia CC Boss Pushed Staff to Back Cuomo Plan
Gotham Gazette
Dr. Gail O. Mellow, the president of LaGuardia Community College, contacted fellow City University of New York (CUNY) presidents to gather statements in support of the proposed Excelsior Scholarship program on behalf of Governor Andrew Cuomo, before the proposal was passed and signed into law earlier this year.

Commuters Voice Rage at MTA Delays
WNYC
Dozens of commuters packed the MTA’s July board meeting Wednesday, the first since the so-called Summer of Hell began, as Amtrak launched its plan to conduct emergency repairs at Penn Station. Several of the more than 60 speakers signed up to speak at Wednesday’s meeting talked about declining service including crowded trains, extensive delays, and poor communication.

Times Square Demonstration Against Trump Transgender Ban
DNAinfo
More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered at the Times Square military recruitment center Wednesday to protest President Donald Trump’s proposed transgender military ban. Trump announced the ban on Twitter Wednesday morning, writing that the military needed to focus on victory and “cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” But protesters countered that a ban would infringe on transgender people’s civil rights.

East Midtown Rezoning Begins Final Chapter, Five Years Later
City & State
It was in 2012 that Mayor Michael Bloomberg indicated he wanted to rezone Midtown East in order to improve the office buildings in the neighborhood and keep attracting top tenants. That plan was at first voted down and then revived, and now, more than five years later, the Midtown East rezoning is set to be approved by the City Council Land Use Committee on Thursday afternoon.