Theft on Wheels

• A 35-year-old Upper East Side man had the phone taken out of his hand June 29 at 11 p.m. Police said the man was walking on Second Avenue between East 89th and 90th streets when a man on a bicycle grabbed the Blackberry from his hand. The man chased down the thieving bicyclist but lost sight of him at East 93rd Street and Second Avenue.

Greenway Gap

To the Editor:
There already is a carless, safe, nearly complete north-south route on the East Side (“Changing Lanes,” Nov. 12). It is used by hundreds of bikers a day, offers excellent views of the river and even has space for pedestrians. I’m talking, of course, of the Greenway.

Oh, there is that pesky gap from 38th to 61st streets—where those cyclists using the official Greenway detour have been killed at a rate of almost one a year since 1995, according to Transportation Alternatives’ Crashstats 2.0. Read more

Changing Lanes

The pedestrian-cyclist-driver saga is familiar to anyone living in Manhattan today. Pedestrians loathe bicyclists who break traffic laws. At public transportation meetings, some residents have called for bicyclists to get licenses, like drivers. Bicyclists, meanwhile, say they just want a safe place to ride, away from motorists, who in turn often see bikers as a nuisance.

But this decades-old story may be about to change, as the city may install protected bicycle lanes on First and Second avenues. Unlike the painted lanes drawn on asphalt, protected lanes are strictly for bicyclists. Read more

No. 1 Pedestrian Threat

To the Editor:
Cycling group Transportation Alternatives claims the plan for new “class 1” bike lanes for First and Second avenues, which Community Board 8 approved, “would virtually eliminate sidewalk cycling, which is the recurring pedestrian complaint,” (“Support for Bike Lanes,” Oct. 29).
As a longtime activist for pedestrian safety (the traffic law-abiding kind), my experience finds the most dangerous and ubiquitous bicycle violations are red light-running, wrong-way riding and exceeding the speed limit. After dark, one rarely sees a bike with the headlights and taillights required by state law. Read more

SUPPORT FOR BIKE LANES

Community Board 8 is looking for new protected bike lanes amid a push to crack down on bicyclists who break traffic rules.

On Oct. 21, the board, by a vote of 38-1 in favor of the project, called for the Department of Transportation to create a plan for a “class 1” lane, which is separated from traffic by a barrier, usually by parked cars.

These lanes will likely run on First and Second avenues where there are dangerous intersections, such as the 59th Street Bridge exit.

“It’s definitely long overdue,” said Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives, a bicycle and pedestrian advocacy group. “To bike down First and Second avenues, you have to be well insured or deeply religious. These are two very dangerous streets.”

A reoccurring pedestrian complaint is that bicyclists illegally ride on the sidewalks. Protected bike lanes, Norvell said, would “virtually eliminate” sidewalk cycling.

BIKE BILL GETS COUNCIL HEARING

The City Council’s Transportation Committee heard testimony on Oct. 8 about legislation that would shift the liability of bicycle scofflaws from the rider to the business owner.

“I hear from children, seniors and everyone in between about dangerous bikes illegally on sidewalks or [riding] the wrong way on the street,” said Council Member Jessica Lappin, the bill’s lead sponsor.

East Siders testified at the hearing in support of the bill, telling legislators about numerous hits and near-misses from restaurant deliverymen on bicycles. Nancy Gruskin, a New Jersey woman whose husband died after he was struck by a bicycle deliveryman going the wrong way on a one-way street this year, pleaded with the committee to pass the legislation.

The committee must approve the bill before the entire Council weighs in on the proposal.

Delivery Dangers

New York City business owners who use bicycle delivery, beware: you may soon have to pay up when your delivery workers break the law.

Until now, commercial cyclists have been fined $100 to $250 for infractions like speeding, running red lights or riding on sidewalks. A new law would shift the fine from delivery personnel to employers.

“By putting the onus for penalties on the businesses that employ delivery riders, we give the businesses extra incentive to ensure that their employees are being responsible on the road,” said Council Member Jessica Lappin, the bill’s sponsor. Read more

Bike Thief Caught

A 38-year-old man was arrested when cops witnessed him trying to steal a bicycle. On Aug. 30 at 3:42 a.m., police saw Joseph Barnes using yellow bolt cutters to break a chain on a bicycle. The officer told him not to move, but Barnes hopped into the 86th Street and Lexington Avenue subway station. Minutes later, he came back for the bicycle. Cops finally stopped him at Park Avenue and East 75th Street. Barnes reportedly told police, “I just took it from a homeless guy.” He was charged with criminal mischief.