8 TIMES • JULY 14, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com Self-guided Queens cemetery bike tour causes uproar from community BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport Much confusion arose from concerned community members after The Courier announced that Spinlister, the world’s largest peer-to-peer action sports rental company, was providing cyclists with a tour guide of some of Queens’ most popular cemeteries. Many residents felt that a bike tour through a cemetery would be disrespectful to those laid to rest there, as well as their families. Several cemeteries that have been named as stops on Spinlister’s “Beyond Calvary Cemetery: A Queens Cemetery Cycling Tour,” including Cavalry Cemetery and Middle Village’s Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery, have noted that cycling is not allowed on the grounds. “Please be advised that the Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery has no knowledge of such bike tour,” Daniel C. Austin Jr., president of All Faiths Cemetery, wrote in an email to The Courier. “Nor, does the cemetery permit bicycles on the grounds due to the safety of our elderly lot owners as well as the cyclists themselves.” Spinlister has confi rmed that the bike tour is not an organized event that will bring hundreds of cyclists into the cemeteries. “This is not an organized bike tour. There are no groups taking this tour, nor is Spinlister — or anyone else — profi ting from it in any way,” explained Andrew Batey, chief marketing offi cer at Spinlister. “On the contrary, our Queens Cemetery tour is a selfguided, completely free, suggested mapped cycling route designed to allow visiting bikers, as well as those who live in the city, the opportunity to respectfully visit these beautiful cemeteries on their own time, learning about the borough’s history along the way.” The “Beyond Calvary Cemetery: A Queens Cemetery Cycling Tour,” highlights fi ve of the borough’s cemeteries that hold historical signifi cance for Queens. The self-guided tour brings cyclists to First Calvary Cemetery on the border of Maspeth and Woodside, New Calvary Cemetery, Mount Zion Cemetery, Mount Olivet Cemetery and, fi nally, Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery. “As we’ve done in great cities like Paris and Barcelona, Spinlister has identifi ed the necropoli of Queens to be of notable historical signifi cance, and have chosen to educate our community by way of a mapped bike tour and accompanying informative article,” Batey said. Photo: Plowboylifestyle/Wikimedia Commons NYPD commissioner orders of cers on patrol to work in pairs after Dallas attacks BY ROBERT POZARYCKI rpozarycki@ridgewoodtimes.com @robbpoz Following the July 7 murder of fi ve police offi - cers on patrol at a Dallas, Texas, protest, the NYPD is stepping up its efforts to keep both offi cers and demonstrators across the city safe. There is presently no credible threat to police offi cers in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a July 8 press conference. As of July 8, the NYPD was, however, investigating up to 17 threats issued through social media and by phone since the middle of that week. Even so, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has ordered that all offi cers on patrol work in pairs. Additionally, he has called for an increased presence at demonstrations similar to the one held in Dallas on July 7 that ended in bloodshed when a sniper shot 11 offi cers, killing fi ve of them. The demonstration was held in the aftermath of two high-profi le, police-involved shootings involving black men in Louisiana and Minnesota. Prior to being killed by Dallas police in a standoff, the gunman claimed that he was not affi liated with the demonstrators, and that he lashed out to kill as many white police offi cers as possible. Three individuals suspected of having a role in the shooting are in custody and being questioned. The Dallas shooting has had a profound effect on the law enforcement community in New York City, de Blasio said. “They’re doing their job, but they’re feeling an awful lot right now,” he said. “Their families are feeling an awful lot of fear.” Bratton said the Dallas murders bore an eerie resemblance to the 2014 murders of Detectives Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who were gunned down while sitting in a patrol car in Brooklyn at a time when the city and country were experiencing protests over police-involved shootings. “This is a continuing crisis in this country that needs to be addressed,” Bratton said regarding the strained relationship between police departments and the communities they serve across the U.S. “The murder of fi ve police offi cers and the injuring of many others need to serve as a catalyst to try and continue that healing process.” Local elected offi cials representing Queens residents also condemned the violence. “The murders of innocent men in Minnesota and Louisiana are truly appalling. The senseless murder of Dallas police offi cers during a nonviolent protest is utterly horrifi c,” Congressman Gregory Meeks said. “As Americans, we pray for the victims in Minnesota and Louisiana, the fallen offi cers in Dallas, and mourn with all of their families. We have got to work together, police and civilians, to discourage and stamp out violence in America.” “The unspeakably tragic events in Dallas, suburban Minneapolis and Baton Rouge shock the conscience,” added Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. “Sadness and despair have descended on America. Outrage is festering in many quarters. In times like these, America must rise to the occasion through unity under the umbrella of love. Violence is never the answer to injustice. We are all God’s children.” “I grieve for the offi cers who were murdered and pray for the recovery of those injured. My most sincere condolences go to the family members, loved ones and fellow offi cers who are suffering in the aftermath,” Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said. “This armed attack on police offi cers underscores the urgent need for our country to come together and work cooperatively to put an end to the senseless violence that plagues us all.”
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