18 SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Stringer: More DOE students should bike to school
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
In order to prompt more children
to bike to school – and an overall
boom in cycling – city Comptroller
Scott Stringer is asking the Department
of Education to adopt a program
with Citi Bike as in-person classes are
expected to resume on a limited basis
on Sept. 21.
Stringer cited data gathered between
2009 and 2015 that showed
the number of kids pedaling to and
from home dropped from 23 percent
to 18 percent. His proposal points to
biking as a potential solution as the
DOE considers how to get students to
and from safely considering COVID-
19 and reduced capacity on buses.
The comptroller’s proposal includes
the implementation of a half
mile of bike lanes around 50 schools
in the city within the next year. Additionally,
it suggests that the DOE
provide free bicycles or Citi Bike
memberships to every low-income
public high school student.
“Reimagining our streets is not a
job we can postpone until aft er the
pandemic. Congestion is soaring, bus
speeds are falling, and New Yorkers
are concerned for the quality of life
in their neighborhoods. We should
rethink our transportation strategy
and encourage sustainable alternatives
both now and in the years ahead,”
said Stringer.
According to the comptroller, the
ability of students to get to class may
be increasingly limited, not just because
of limited school bus service,
but due to expected changes in service
from New York City Transit buses and
subways. With a diabolical fi nancial
situation facing the MTA as a whole
due to decimated ridership numbers
from the pandemic, transit leaders
have said in recent weeks the service
cuts may be as drastic as 40 percent
and fares could be raised by a dollar.
“Building out bike lanes around
New York City high schools and
providing bikes to lower-income
students would open the door to
biking for hundreds of thousands
of young people,” Stringer continued.
“By taking this action, we can
allow New York City’s youth to get
around their city, improve health and
educational outcomes, and connect
with their communities. We have a
unique opportunity to make biking
easier, safer and more accessible
and fundamentally shift how the
next generation thinks about getting
around our city.”
In July, CarGurus.com reported that
of 779 shoppers surveyed 22 percent
had not considered doing so before the
epidemic and 33 percent expect to use
cars more oft en going forward. Up to
44 percent of shoppers nationwide
said they planned to avoid mass transit
entirely. Stringer hopes his bike-toschool
plan will prevent congestion
and greenhouse gases.
“We’re working to finalize safe
transportation plans by the fi rst day
of school, and we gave bus companies
their route assignments this week,”
said Danielle Filson, a spokeswoman
for the DOE. “Busing is a top priority
to have in place by the fi rst day, and
we’ll be providing families with their
student specifi c bus information soon.
All transportation will have the necessary
health and safety protocols in
place and students with IEPs will be
prioritized. We’re in conversations
with companies and the process continues
to move — we hope to fi nalize
contracts in the coming days.”
Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech
contributed to this report.
Photo by Mark Hallum
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��HE PROSTATE—the
small gland sitting just
below the bladder that
supplies an essential ingredient
of semen—may provide
a variety of clues that
something is wrong. Use this
primer about three common
prostate conditions to get to
know the signs that you need
to see your doctor.
������������������������������������
The most common nonskin
cancer, prostate cancer
shows no symptoms in the
early stages. However, in later
stages, prostate cancer can
cause many of the same symptoms
as other prostate-related
conditions, especially BPH.
These symptoms include frequent
and sudden urges to
urinate, difficulty initiating
urination, weak or erratic
urine flow, trouble emptying
the bladder and painful urination.
Treatment for prostate cancer
depends on a variety of factors,
including the stage of the
disease and the patient’s overall
health. For men with early,
low-grade disease, we may simply
need to monitor the cancer
over time. Others may need
surgery to remove the prostate
or other treatments to kill
cancer cells or inhibit their
growth, such as radiation therapy,
chemotherapy, hormone
therapy or immunotherapy.
����������������������������
Prostatitis—inf lammation
of the prostate—occurs
in two main forms, bacterial
and nonbacterial. Prostatitis
can make urination difficult,
painful or more frequent. It
can also cause fever, low-back
pain, discomfort in the penis
and testicles, and blood in the
urine.
Bacterial prostatitis is
treated with antibiotics, but
the length of time depends on
whether the patient has acute
or chronic prostatitis. Someone
with chronic bacterial
prostatitis may need to take
antibiotics for an extended period,
whereas someone with
the acute form may only need
antibiotics for a week or two.
In the case of nonbacterial
prostatitis, doctors may also
prescribe antibiotics to help
treat an underlying bacterial
infection but will likely use a
variety of other medications,
too, such as nonsteroidal antiinflammatory
drugs.
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����������������������
The prostate grows for
most of a man’s life, but if
it becomes too large, it can
squeeze the urethra, making
urination difficult. That abnormal
enlargement of the
prostate is called benign prostatic
hyperplasia (BPH). The
oversized prostate may also
contribute to weakening of
the bladder, which prevents it
from emptying completely.
If you have BPH, you may
feel the need to urinate much
more often than normal, especially
at night, and with
an abnormal urgency. You
may have trouble initiating a
urine stream, and when you
do, it may be weak or intermittent.
After urinating, your
bladder may still feel full because
it is not emptying completely.
At the extreme end of
the spectrum, kidney damage
may occur.
Fortunately, doctors can
prescribe a variety of treatments
for BPH, including
long-term monitoring, medications,
minimally invasive
surgeries—procedures that
shrink or lift the prostate out
of the way—and laser surgery
to remove part of the prostate
causing blockage. Open surgery
for BPH is rarely necessary.
If you are experiencing any
of these symptoms, or have questions
about prostate health,
make an appointment with a
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens
urologist by calling 718-303-
3720
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