EDITORIAL
RIGHT OF WAY
As New York City becomes more and more
bike-friendly, Citi Bikes stations continue
to pop all over the city as part of the current
expansion plan.
Citi Bikes are now available in all of Manhattan
and most areas in the Bronx and Brooklyn,
along with a relatively light population in Queens.
There are even Citi Bikes in Jersey City!
New York City, in general, has tried in the past
decade to become a much safer city for bikers.
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative
cleared the way for additional bike lanes and
paths to be constructed all across the city over
the past 7 ½ years, yet plenty of safety issues still
remain to be addressed.
Even so, for the most part, the city is headed in
the right direction when it comes to making the
city safer for bikes.
Citi Bike ridership has been surging in the
past year, suggesting people are in favor of biking
becoming a more realistic and available mode of
transportation. The added stations, however, are
taking up parking spaces.
Parking in the city had been a hassle long before
Citi Bike came to be, but it figures that drivers
will feel even more of a squeeze in the years
to come.
Some Citi Bike stations are physically on the
street, removing parking spaces that are already
few and far between. Citi Bikes have put parking
at even more of a premium. This has led to an increase
in the frustration of drivers.
Cycling is becoming a more popular activity
and parking will continue to be a casualty in the
effort to support it. That will continue to grow
as the city further develops its bike travel infrastructure,
and eco-conscious residents decide to
pedal themselves to work rather than hop on a
bus, train or cab.
There has always been contention between
drivers and cyclists on the street. NYC is much
more driver-friendly than it is bike-friendly, but
the added Citi Bike stations across the city are a
signal of change in that regard.
New York is headed toward being a bike city,
whether or not drivers are ready for it. Drivers
don’t have to like it, but they’ll need to adapt.
HOW TO REACH US
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.14 COM | JUNE 4-JUNE 10, 2021
ADDRESSING HATE CRIMES IN NYC
Mayor Bill de Blasio has addressed hate
crimes in the city and outlined what he believes
needs to be done.
Saying that all hate crimes are unacceptable,
the mayor put together various community
groups to fight against prejudice and hate. While this
is a good start, more needs to be done.
Children need to be taught at home by their parents
that they need to respect others who are different
than themselves — and that goes for schools, as well.
Additionally, community groups, houses of worship
and neighborhood watch groups need to band together
across the city to fight all this hate.
If you see a hate crime being committed, say something.
I’m reminded of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have
a dream” speech, during which he said, “When we allow
freedom to ring — when we let it ring from every
city and every hamlet, from every state and every village
— we will be able to speed up that day when all
God’s children — Black men and white men, Jews and
Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics — will be able to
join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual.
Free at last, free at last! Thank God almighty, we
are free at last.”
In my opinion, we will only be free as a nation when
we stop hating our brothers and sisters in America.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Bellerose
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New York is headed towards being a bike city, whether or not drivers are ready for it.
Photo courtesy of New York City Department of Transportation/Flickr
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