16 THE QUEENS COURIER • NOVEMBER 28, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Jackson Heights Assembly challenger launches her campaign
BY MAX PARROTT
mparrott@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Reproductive health advocate Jessica
González-Rojas, an insurgent candidate
the Assembly seat in District 34, offi cially
launched her campaign to a crammed bar
of supporters on Monday, Nov. 18.
González-Rojas, who has served as
National Latina Institute for Reproductive
Health executive director since 2006,
detailed her platform of healthcare, racial
justice and immigration reform.
“It takes a grassroots leader who understands
Citi Bike delays rollout of e-bikes in New York City
BY VINCENT BARONE
Citi Bike is delaying the re-introduction
of its e-bike fl eet aft er it had removed its
bikes from service due to brake issues earlier
this year.
Th e Lyft -owned bike share fi rst promised
to fi x and roll out the pedal-assist
bikes again in the fall, but Citi Bike is now
aiming to relaunch its e-bikes this “winter”
along with a new payment structure,
according to an update sent to riders
Friday aft ernoon.
“It’s taken longer than anticipated to
get all the necessary components for the
new bikes and complete safety testing, but
we’re making progress,” Citi Bike wrote
to riders.
Th e bike share pulled its popular, battery
powered bicycles from docks in New
York City, San Fransisco and Washington,
D.C., aft er riders reported unusually
forceful front-wheel braking. One seasoned
cyclist in the city said he broke his
hip aft er a gentle tap on his e-bike brake
locked his wheel and threw him from
his bike.
“As you know, earlier this year we
removed e-bikes aft er some riders experienced
stronger-than-expected braking
force on the front wheel,” Citi Bike continued
in its update. “Several months aft er
that, we also experienced challenges with
batteries on our e-bikes in the Bay Area.
Th ose issues led us to work with a new
battery supplier while we simultaneously
redesigned the bike’s brake setup.”
When the bikes fi nally do return
though, they’ll come without a $2 charge
per ride. Citi Bike will be eliminating
the fl at fee altogether, instead charging
an additional 10 cents per minute for
annual members and 15 cents per minute
for non-members. Members will have
their e-bike fees capped at $2 for any trip
that starts or ends at a dock outside of
Manhattan. Th e two-minute wait period
between rides will also be eliminated to
allow users to more quickly swap between
a pedal bike and an e-bike.
Extra time fees will also be adjusted as
well, beginning Jan. 15, to more accurately
charge riders for time spent with their
bikes, according to Citi Bike. Members
will pay $0.15 per minute aft er the included
45 minutes — a change from the current
$2.50 charge every 15 minutes. Riders
with a single ride pass will pay $0.15 per
minute aft er the included 30 minutes.
Th e update came shortly aft er Lyft
announced it would redeploy its e-bikes
in San Fransisco this December. A spokesman
for Citi Bike said the Bay Area’s bike
models — a hybrid fl eet of deckles and
docked rides — diff ered from New York’s,
allowing Lyft to give a more defi nitive
timeline for their return.
Citi Bike fi rst introduced its e-bikes in
New York City in August 2018, with plans
to eventually grow to a fl eet of 4,000. Th e
bike share had roughly 1,000 e-bikes in
circulation when they were pulled.
Lyft still plans for a goal of 4,000 bikes
in the city’s system, but the timeline for
that is not yet clear, according to the
spokesman.
“We expect to initially launch several
hundred e-bikes this winter and will
gradually ramp up to a larger fl eet,” Citi
Bike said.
and connects to the experiences
and struggles of our community to be an
eff ective representative. We need a leader
who will fi ght for all of us,” González-
Rojas said.
González-Rojas will challenge six-term
Assemblyman Michael DenDekker in
the Democratic primary, joining another
insurgent Nuala O’Doherty Naranjo,
a Manhattan prosecutor. DenDekker has
not faced a primary or general election
since he was fi rst elected to represent
parts of Jackson Heights, Woodside and
East Elmhurst in 2008.
Her speech framed her campaign as
an extension of her work advocating for
healthcare access and immigrant rights.
“Th is fi ght is personal,” González-Rojas
said, recalling how her grandmother’s struggle
with polio aft er migrating from Puerto
Rico pushed her to fi ght for health justice.
“It’s because of her story and the story of
so many others that are working in unsafe
and unhealthy conditions that they’re facing
health disparity,” said González-Rojas
said. “And I’m ready to take that fi ght to
Albany.”
Linda Prine, a doctor who met
González-Rojas through reproductive
health advocacy work, said that it was her
desire to see González-Rojas help push
through a single-payer health act, that
brought her out to support her candidacy.
Th e New York Health Act, a bill that
would implement single-payer care at the
state level, is expected to come up for a
vote in the next legislative session.
“If New York State could get single
payer health reform, we could show the
whole country how good it is, then
we could have a wave of states
passing it,” said Prine.
Queens Community
District 3, which overlaps
with most of the Assembly
district, is 66 percent
Latino and 60 percent foreign
born.
In addition to the
National Latina Institute for
Reproductive Health, which
specifi cally works to advance
health care, abortion
rights and gender
justice for Latinas
across the
U.S., González-
Rojas touted
her experience
as a founding
member
of New
I m m i g r a n t
Community Empowerment
as a cornerstone
of her
advocacy
for immig
r a n t s ’
rights.
G o n -
zález-Rojas
expres sed
her excitement
that
Democratic control in both chambers of
the legislature has made it possible to pass
sweeping progressive legislation. González-
Rojas told QNS that out of the bills that did
not make it through last session, she would
prioritize a pied-à-terre tax, the “good cause”
eviction bill and the New York Health Act.
“Th is race is not just about me,” said
González-Rojas. “It’s about a whole cadre
of us who are bold and progressive and
willing to take the political risk to get
these things passed.”
A Citi Bike user pulls out a bike at a dock station.
Photos: Max Parrott/QNS
Jessica González-Rojas
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