By Helaina Hovitz

Last week, 330 CitiBike stations were installed in Manhattan and Brooklyn, garnering a reaction from most Manhattanites that can essentially be boiled down to this: not on my block.

Or, at least, not where it’s currently installed.

The CitiBike program, also called Bike Share, will place bike rental stations throughout parts of the city, allowing riders to pick up a bike at one location and drop it off at any other CitiBike spot.

Sponsored by CitiBank, the program is under the purview of the Department of Transportation (DOT).

On Thursday, May 2nd, Community Board 2 held a meeting at P.S. 41 to give West Village residents a chance to voice their concerns about the Bike Share program, but it wasn’t just West Villagers who showed up to gripe. People from all over the city came to speak their peace about the program — but some of it wasn’t so peaceful.

Chair David Gruber said that the board received 160 calls and emails, 70 percent of which were negative comments.

“The DOT chose not to come to this meeting, we don’t know why,” he said.

“People are upset about the size and volume, and once we saw it in place, we realized red dots on a map aren’t the same as something actually being on a street and installed,” Gruber said of the major complaints about Bike Share.

While most people in attendance said that while they actually weren’t “against” the program, they weren’t happy with the way it was being implemented.

“I’m shocked that this showed up on my block. The magnitude of it and the lack of notice provided to residents by DOT is unconscionable. They’re too big and too clunky on residential streets, and the community was not properly informed,” said West Village resident Lisa Cannistraci, who spoke for many when she added that “they obstruct building entranceways,” a problem that will worsen when the stations are filled with an average of 40 bikes each at the end of the month.

While many in attendance weren’t opposed to the bikes or the bike program, they were “opposed to the way that the city handled placing the bike racks around the city — mainly, in front of their entranceways.”
The bike racks on Barrow Street, for example, are located directly in front of residential buildings with 170 units. Residents claim that elderly people can’t get to their Access a Ride busses, and that ambulances can’t access the building, either.

“That means elderly and children will have to navigate around the bikes to get a cab or Access A Ride. We’re not opposed to the rack, but it needs to be moved, and we have alternative locations in mind,” said Cannistraci. “These bike stations located on historic landmarked blocks are a travesty. They need to be moved to more commercial locations, perhaps in front of the Citibanks, since this is their project.

West Village resident Charlie Decker, 69, wasn’t just concerned about the rack placement, though; he thinks that allowing inexperienced riders to hop on bikes whenever they feel like it, especially after they’ve had a few drinks, is a recipe for disaster.

CitiBike stations will be placed throughout downtown Manhattan.

“It’s dangerous to promote neophytes grabbing a bike in New York, especially tourists. Are you going to wait until 10 people are slaughtered to see that? Inexperienced bikers are going to get hurt riding around New York City,” he said.

Bikes lined the fence outside, and pro Citi Bikers with signs lined themselves up in front of the school’s entrance, eagerly awaiting press.

Hilda Cohen, who works in the West Village and lives in Fort Greene, said that those showing up to protest on Thursday were most likely absent at meetings held to discuss the plans.

“We’ve been involved since 2011, and we’ve been here every step of the way. We’re excited,” said Cohen. “I’ve never experienced a more inclusive community process than the one they did with Bike Share.

Jane Brown, who lives on West 4th between 7th Ave South and W. 10th, said that sanitation trucks haven’t been able to get through the racks, and piles of trash and water have been attracting mice.

“There’s no way for them to clean. It’s a health hazard. Someone’s going to get hit by a fire truck this summer pulling out,” Brown said. “If they’re benefiting and making money off of it, why doesn’t Citibank but them in front of their branches? Let them see the trash, the water, and the mice.“

Residents of 99 Bank Street, among other West Village Streets, countered that they were never alerted of their block being a potential location in the first place, that it was never a red dot on the map they were given.

Ed Zimbalatti, board president of 99 Bank Street, filed a lawsuit last week that has been re-filed as a petition. “The space in front of our building was never designated as a planned site. There was no outreach, it just showed up. Who made this decision, after all this outreach? That’s what we want to know,” said Zimbalatti.

In the middle of the night, a portion of the racks were removed and, for some reason, replaced by a giant slab of rock.

“Clearly there were a lot of plants here,” said Jeff Barr, referring to the group standing with signs and countering their comments to reporters. Barr, who filed the lawsuit at 99 Bank, spoke while leaning on his own bike.

“They’re a great way to ride around, but this location was not properly thought out. The size of the stations are too big for where they are,” Barr said. “Nobody wants to stop the program. But it’s not safe. People will ride on the sidewalk to pull up to the posts.”

His sentiment was echoed by Decker, who expressed concern that “people are going to be popping out of nowhere, buses and trucks are going to be swerving and hitting either them, buildings, or pedestrians.”

Inside, the criticism continued.

“It’s going to be creating more traffic and congestion, and I don’t know how green that amount of pollution is,” said Marna Lawrence. “I also have an objection about using public land for private gain. Citibank has no right to steal public space.”

Michael Murphy, communications director of Transportation Alternatives, a biking/walking/mass transit advocacy group, said that he thinks “the burden of proof lies with the people raising these phantom concerns.”

“Since none of the other major cities currently operating a bike share program endure these problems, what possible reason do we have to think we will in New York City?” he said. “This isn’t a he said/she said situation – we can actually look at the cities where this program is underway and verify whether or not these concerns make any sense.”

The DOT did not respond to specific questions regarding community members’ concerns about safety of riders, garbage truck and emergency vehicle access, or whether some bike rack locations might be relocated. A spokesman said that Citi Bike in conjunction with DOT held 400 meetings with community boards to determine the best locations for the racks, and also consulted the 65,000 online requests and comments.

By Mayor Bloomberg’s estimates, the program will be “great for local businesses” and generate 170 new jobs along with $36 million in revenue for “the city.”

Still, citizens of Gotham remain skeptical.

“I’ll bet you Mayor Bloomberg has never been on a bike in New York City in his life,” Decker challenged on his way out. “And if he has, it wasn’t without an entourage of ten people riding around him.”

Josh Benson, a representative from the Department of Transportation, said that construction would begin by the end of this year, and be completed in only a few months. During the Community Board meeting, dozens of bike riders wore pink “I Heart Bicycles” stickers handed out by the advocacy group, Upper West Side Streets Renaissance, in favor of the proposition.

“This is a complete street solution,” said Joseph Barkowski, 26, an Upper West Side resident who bikes to the East Side every day. “It allows cyclists to slow down, feel safe and make their way downtown. The goal is zero pedestrian and cyclist fatalities.”

Seven out of the 10 community board members voted yes, agreeing that longer, protected routes for bicyclists would be safer. Also, the new lane would hopefully encourage more people to use this greener form of transportation.

“I dream of a more livable city,” Mary Beth Kelly said during the public session. Kelly is an Upper West Side resident whose husband died in a cycling accident.

But not everyone in the community approved of the Columbus Avenue bike lane plan. For one thing, the plan takes away approximately 90 parking spaces. For another, the bike lane would also run through the extremely dangerous three-way  “bowtie of death” intersection of Broadway, Amsterdam and 71st Street, and the construction site of the third water tunnel, which is not expected to be complete until 2020.

“We think that bringing anything into the bowtie before construction of the third water tunnel is finished is unsafe,” said Monica Blum, director of the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District. “We’ve also spoken to businesses who are against these bike lanes; it would be directly where their loading zones are.”

Because of these objections, Mark Diller, chair of CB7 chair added said amendments were added to the resolution. First, the board will speak with schools whose students board and disembark buses on Columbus Avenue. For concerned businesses, the board proposed specific loading and unloading zones and times for deliveries.  Finally, Diller also said that the board is working on a solution for blind pedestrians who will be crossing directly into the path of moving bikes.

“It’s not a ‘we vote yes and go home’ kind of thing,” Diller said.

The next step in the process would be vote for the Department of Transportation to review the board’s plan before construction can begin.

The DOT reached out to CB1 regarding delivery bike safety. Photo by New York Press file photo

By Paul Bisceglio

Following the City Council’s approval of new safety regulations for commercial bicyclists earlier this month, a Department of Transportation representative met with Community Board 1’s Quality of Life Committee last Thursday to detail the expected changes.

“This is not about hammering down on small businesses that are already feeling pressure from the Health Department,” said Suchitra Sanagavarapu, the representative. “This is to educate them.”

Restaurants throughout the city are notorious for hiring reckless delivery cyclists, who bike against traffic or on sidewalks en route to customers’ homes. The new legislation will require commercial cyclists to wear reflective vests that display their business’s name and a three-digit identification number unique to each rider. The bikes, too, will be required to have front and rear lights, a bell and a rear sign with the business’s name and the bicycle’s own unique ID number.

In addition to new equipment, the legislation also will make the completion of bicycle safety courses mandatory for all commercial cyclists, to ensure that all riders have no excuses not to be riding with care. This particular bill is named after Stuart C. Gruskin, a man struck and killed by a bicyclist in Midtown three years ago.

Sanagavarapu explained that these new rules aim to increase delivery bikers’ knowledge and visibility, as well as to hold businesses accountable for their unlawful riders. To this latter end, the legislation includes a final bill that will grant DOT power to enforce the laws, allowing the department to issue summonses to businesses whose riders fail to comply. Sanagavarapu said that the New York City Police Department will continue to penalize individual cyclists for traffic violations, but DOT enforcement will push businesses themselves to encourage safe riding, because they are the ones held accountable.

The Quality of Life Committee expressed mixed feelings about the legislation. Though all committee members agreed that unruly cyclists pose a danger to pedestrians—“Soon we’re going to need to wear helmets on the sidewalk,” one member remarked—some were pessimistic that the laws would actually be enforced.

“Nothing is going to happen,” argued one committee member after Sanagavarapu mentioned that the DOT’s summonses would be complaint-driven; i.e. issued when citizens called 311 to report a commercial cyclist breaking the law. The member speculated that complaints would likely get lost in bureaucratic tangles and fail to result in penalties. He agreed with Sanagavarapu that at least attempting regulation is a good step, but emphasized that enforcement should be strict. “I think you should really go after [violators] and tell them that this is serious,” he said.

The committee did not go into any detailed discussion of the legislation’s effects on small businesses, though the bills’ opponents argue that the laws unjustly target lower-income residents to garner easy revenue for the city. “I guess Chinese food prices are going to go up now that all the restaurants are going to be ticketed,” quipped one attendee.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to sign the legislation within the next two weeks. DOT has said that they will begin to enforce the new laws in January, and will work to educate all businesses owners about the rules before then. The department will hold two information sessions downtown for businesses owners at Pace University on Nov. 5 and 16.

Check your tire pressure, lube that chain, rinse out your trusty old water bottle: There’s still plenty of time to sign up for one of the city’s favorite outdoor mass participatory events, the Oct. 21 bike ride to benefit the fight against multiple sclerosis.

Formerly known as the MS Bike Tour, Bike MS NYC was inaugurated in 1985 and has since become a premier regional fundraiser. The ride is organized by the local chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (New York City-Southern New York), which serves the 10,000 people living with MS in the five boroughs as well as Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange and Sullivan counties.

MS is a progressive debilitating disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the central nervous system, interrupting important signals and causing an unpredictable variety of symptoms ranging from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. It is usually diagnosed in young adulthood and there is no known cause or cure. Between 400,000 and half a million Americans have been diagnosed with MS; the disease affects more than 2 million people worldwide.

Bike MS NYC features a 30-mile traffic-free circumnavigation of Manhattan, as well as two other longer options. Last year, it drew about 4,500 cyclists who raised roughly $2.5 million; this year’s projected 5,000 riders are expected to cross the $3 million threshold.

Although participants are individually responsible for soliciting and submitting donations, many of them organize themselves into teams for the ride. Some of the larger ones come from brand-name Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs, Barclays Capital, JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley as well as other corporate heavy-hitters. There are also numerous strong fundraisers in the Friends and Family category. All tap into a spirit of friendly competition in service of a good cause.

Among the many remarkable individual riders is Veronica “Ronnie” McTiernan, 61, a social worker and children’s behavior therapist from Tarrytown. McTiernan was an avid cyclist and veteran of long tours in places like New Mexico and Ireland; she also completed the Boston-to-New York AIDS ride. After a cycling accident and knee surgery in the mid-1990s, she started to lose strength in her right leg, which curtailed her riding.

As is typical in MS cases, it took many doctor’s office visits and tests over several years before her MS diagnosis was finally confirmed, in 2004.

McTiernan and her friend Karen Kosits organized a team they dubbed “Vicious Cyclers,” largely spurred on by physical therapist Herb Karpatkin, an MS specialist based in Midtown.

“Herb worked with me to develop a home exercise program, and he taught me it’s important to do it every day,” said McTiernan. “He wanted me to get back on my bike and he was the one who suggested I do the MS ride. I told him, ‘If I’m going to ride 30 miles around New York City, you’re coming with me!’”

Karpatkin rides every year; McTiernan calls him “Coach,” and he calls her “Cap’n.”

The Vicious Cyclers fielded about 15 riders for the 2011 event and are expecting to double that turnout this year, their eighth; they’ve raised a cumulative total of $91,000 as of this writing, with a goal of $110,000. The team includes Merrill Hesch, another patient of Karpatkin’s, as well as Hesch’s husband, Richard Pieper, their son Aidan, and McTiernan’s orthopedic physical therapist Adam Pliskow.

McTiernan is modest about her inspirational role: “People have said that, but I know I don’t feel like it. Personally, I just want to live a good life. If [my participation] helps somebody else get up and move a little more, if it helps them realize they can do more than they think they can, then that makes me happy. I don’t like being sad, so I’m going to do everything I can to be happy.

“There are a lot of reasons I look forward to the ride every year. Part of it is to see if I can do it again. For friends of mine who don’t live nearby, who don’t see me every day and who may know some of the physical struggles I go through—and for my donors, too—it’s so they can see I’m hanging in there, I’m doing OK. Also, it’s important to spread the awareness, that there are treatments and medications that can help, that we’re getting closer to a cure, perhaps some way to restore nerve function.”

Steven Radoslovich, 31, of Tudor City, has been the leading individual fundraiser for the past two years, chalking up more than $54,000 in 2011.

“This year I’m trying for my third in a row, and it’s going well,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s going to happen, but I’m going to do my best.”

His wife, Dianna Fiore Radoslovich, 35, was diagnosed with MS in 2008, and he started his No MS’n Around team soon after. They have two sons, Steven Andrew, 2 and a half, and Matthew Carmine, 1.

Radoslovich works with his father-in-law Carmine Fiore in trucking insurance. Fiore solicits donations from longtime business associates and has pledged to match all funds raised by his son-in-law. “I can’t take sole credit,” said Radoslovich. “It’s definitely a team effort. My wife is very big on the fundraising, too. When she’s not at doctor’s appointments or taking care of the kids, she’s posting on Facebook and asking for donations.”

Their cycling team is also a family effort, with cousins from both sides joining up. “This year we’re expecting 27 riders—a lot of friends and family. My wife did it two years ago, and she jokingly said she was the last one to finish. She’s going to try again this year, depending on how she feels.

“I do this for my wife and for the society, which has done so much for us in the short time since she received her diagnosis. We’re trying to support the society so it can continue all the services it provides for everybody living with MS—all the legal, financial and family services—but also raise money for research and a cure.”

The 2012 Bike MS NYC ride begins shortly after 7 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21, rain or shine; its assembly, start and finish point is Pier 92/94 (near the Hudson River and 53rd Street).
The traditional 30-mile loop skirts the outline of Manhattan, clockwise, following the West Side Highway, the FDR and connecting streets. The two longer routes take the highway to the Holland Tunnel, cross over to Jersey City, then trace the western banks of the river past Hoboken, Weehawken and up picturesque River Road along the Palisades. The 55-mile route turns back in the vicinity of Piermont. The 100-mile one loops around and turns back south between Stony Point and Harriman, just this side of Bear Mountain State Park. All three routes afford spectacular views of the city and environs.

If you’re unable to participate but want to help out anyway, other options include signing up as a virtual rider or a support volunteer. For more information on the ride, to register or simply make a donation, visit the website bikenyn.nationalmssociety.org.

The DOT has been conducting a series of forums to educate restaurant owners and delivery cyclists on existing laws (Administrative Code 10.157) that have been enforced sporadically. The rules governing commercial cyclists, which are different than for commuters or casual bikers, come from both the DOT and the police, and the DOT is planning on stepping up enforcement of the areas within their purview starting in January.

They’re first targeting the Upper West Side, and will next move to the Upper East Side, because of the high numbers of complaints the city and the local community boards have received over dangerous and illegal practices by delivery cyclists, who flout the laws in favor of quicker routes (and thus more tips).

While the NYPD is responsible for ticketing moving violations—running red lights or riding the wrong way down a one-way street, for example—the DOT is going to be focusing on restaurant owners and hitting them where it hurts when their employees don’t follow the rules.

“It’s really going to be your job to educate your cyclists,” said Kim Wiley-Schwartz, DOT’s assistant commissioner of education and outreach, at the presentation.

The law requires that employers provide helmets and upper body apparel with their business’s name and the bicyclist’s unique three-digit identification number clearly visible. The workers must also carry a business ID card with their photo. On their bikes, they must have bells or other noise-making devices, a white front headlight and a red taillight (used from dusk to dawn), reflectors on the wheels, and brakes—a requirement that some laughed at as obvious, but Wiley-Schwartz said she’s seen many cyclists just use their feet as brakes. Owners are also responsible for posting safety laws and regularly training their workers on how to follow them.

Some business owners griped at the extra expense of providing these items to their workers; others commented that it’s just one more way the city is nickel-and-diming small businesses. When Wiley-Schwartz said that the fines for breaking these laws would be levied solely on the business owners and that they are currently in the range of $100-300, the room was audibly agitated.

“I’m struggling right now, so I’m really enraged,” said Francesca Vaquero, who owns a restaurant on the Upper East Side and came to attend the session. “I think it’s a great idea, but what about regular cyclists who break laws outside my business? Isn’t the city just kicking it to small businesses?”

Dimitrios Vezyrakis owns Caesar’s Palace, a pizza restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue that employs several delivery cyclists. He said that following the laws can make everyone safer, but it will also make his deliveries slower.

“You’re delivering 20 blocks and stopping at every light, it’s going to add 15 minutes,” Vezyrakis said after the presentation.

He asked that the DOT try to educate the general public about the necessary safety laws so that they don’t expect food they ordered to arrive in five or 10 minutes.

“My main problem is the customers need to know this,” Vezyrakis said, noting that some online ordering systems like Seamless Web allow businesses to give accurate delivery times and adjust them if necessary. “If you know when to expect it, you’re going to be patient.”

For now, the DOT is focusing on educating the owners before they begin sending their special enforcement team out to issue violations. The inspectors will watch businesses and write tickets when they see a consistent pattern—for example, if one cyclist forgets his helmet one time, that might not result in a violation. If all delivery cyclists are forgoing helmets, however, the business will be held responsible.

“I think people want to know the facts, and they appreciate the education before tickets,” said Council Member Gale Brewer, who sponsored the event and works regularly with bicycle issues through her office.

Brewer said that while she believes that business owners have been aware of the laws regarding commercial cyclists, the people who actually work with them aren’t always as clear.

“When I went door to door with the police—actually, I went with the cops way before any of these programs—I learned that the managers sometimes aren’t sure what the law is, and then they can’t communicate it to the workers,” she said. “Then the manager says, ‘I tell the workers but they don’t do it.’ So the fact that the workers showed up today, that’s fantastic.”

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Bike theft numbers are in, and they aren’t good. NYPD announced this week that it has seen a 25 percent increase in thefts across the city this year.

So far, 1,694 bikes have been reported stolen in 2012. New Yorkers documented 1,346 thefts by August last year.

Are thieves getting smarter? Are cyclists getting lazier? According to AM New York, police say they are not sure what to attribute the apparent rise in thefts to — if any one thing at all.

Thefts have spiked particularly in Williamsburg, but CB1 Transportation Committee member Ryan Kuonen thinks this is mostly because more people are reporting them.  “To say there were only 24 thefts [last year] is a laugh,” he told DNAinfo. “To say there are 100, yeah, that makes sense.”

The simplest explanation may be that there are just more bicycles on the roads. Bicycle commuters have more than doubled since the city added over 250 miles of bike lanes in 2007, so thieves now have at least 19,000 potential targets.

Photo by peffs, courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.

The increase in thefts “points to a lag in the infrastructure meeting the growth of bicycling in New York,” Michael Murphy of Transportation Alternatives told AM New York. “More New Yorkers biking means more places to secure bikes are needed.”

NYPD, bicycle shop owners and bike advocacy groups are now especially emphasizing the importance of secure, heavy locks and bicycle registration. Most owners never retrieve a stolen bike — though, with a little luck and persistence, there’s always the chance you can get the police to help you set up your own small sting operation.

The silver lining? NYPD also reported that car thefts are down 10 percent.

To the Editor:

Kirsten Gillibrand is a political hack and opportunist if ever there was one. (“Why Kirsten Gillibrand Could Have It All,” July 26). She shamelessly scouts for headlines to jump on and take what her handlers advise are “populist” positions. An example is Gillibrand jumping on the “Miracle in the Hudson” incident to call for an all-out war on Canada geese that resulted in the roundup and destruction of 751 geese just a couple of weeks ago from the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge—a refuge-turned-slaughterhouse, thanks to the political ambitions of Gillibrand. She should be road out of town on her broomstick come November.

—Patty Adjamine

Double Standard 

To the Editor:

Reading “Brewer Intros New Bike Legislation” (July 26), I would like to commend Council Member Gale Brewer and Queens Councilman James Vacca for new legislation, but was disappointed that they can only see one side of this problem of lawbreaking bikers. Why only concentrate on commercial bikers? Whatever laws they break are also broken by other bikers who do the exact same things—going through red lights, against traffic and on the sidewalk, shaking up pedestrians, especially the elderly. Why are these other offenders exempt from punishment? Why the double standard?

—Bunny Abraham

New Home: The Enterprise sits safely inside the Space Shuttle Pavilion its new home on the deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. Surrounded by dramatic lighting and a series of images and video stations, the Enterprise sits just 10 feet off the ground, allowing visitors to walk underneath and around the original NASA orbiter.

Brewer Intros New Bike Legislation

Following last week’s news from the Department of Transportation (DOT) that they will be unleashing a new education and enforcement team for commercial cyclists on the Upper West Side, Council Member Gale Brewer announced that she’s also introducing a new bill to reform the city’s commercial cycling laws at a Council meeting on July 25. Brewer teamed up with Queens Councilman and Transportation Committee Chair James Vacca to craft legislation that will give the DOT more enforcement power over businesses whose delivery cyclists break the law.

“The legislation…will relieve the burden on the NYPD to chase down commercial bicycle scofflaws and grant enforcement responsibilities to the DOT,” said Brewer in the statement. “We are all working together to come up with a new way to educate businesses and delivery cyclists about relevant laws. If businesses and their delivery cyclists don’t know the laws, we will educate them. Once they know the laws, DOT will have discretion to enforce them.”

“I am tired of hearing complaints from every corner of the city about commercial cyclists riding recklessly and with abandon,” said Vacca. “The creation of a civil penalty will give DOT what it needs to enforce the laws on the books.”

Right now, if a business fails to post signage explaining the rules of the road to their cyclists, it’s up to the NYPD to enforce the rule. Vacca’s bill would create a civil penalty up to $100 per violation for breaking the existing laws, and Brewer’s gives a special team of DOT inspectors enforcement power.

Former UWS Officer Remembered
Long time Upper West Siders may remember Det. Vincent Lupinacci as a community affairs officer who truly cared about the neighborhood. Lupinacci retired from the NYPD in 1992 after serving on the force since 1960; he passed away on Friday, July 13 of complications from a series of strokes, according to Sam Katz, the former 20th Precinct Community Council president.

Katz remembered Lupinacci as a “fixture” in the 20th Precinct and noted that he was promoted to the rank of detective in 1988. Current precinct Community Council President Ian Alterman said in an email that Lupinacci was the first police officer he got to know personally, meeting him when he was a teenager at I.S. 44 in the early ’70s. “Although he was no pushover, all the kids loved him,” Alterman recalled. “It may well be that his example (he practiced ‘courtesy, professionalism and respect’ long before it became an NYPD slogan) helped give me a view of the NYPD that ultimately led to my presidency of the Council four decades later.”

Land Mark West! Screens Indie Doc
Upper West Side preservation advocacy group Landmark West! is hosting a screening of the film The Vanishing City on Thursday, July 26 at 6 p.m. The movie takes a critical look at New York’s luxury developments and zoning policies while chronicling the loss of some of the city’s old neighborhoods. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the filmmakers.

At the Macaulay Honors College Screening Room, 35 W. 67th St. Tickets are $15, $10 for Landmark West! members. Space is limited and tickets must be purchased in advance by emailing landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org or calling 212-496-8110.

Meltzer Publishes Short Story book
Upper West Sider Dan Meltzer has been chronicling the goings-on of his neighborhood for years, and has now has released a book collecting his short fiction, often inspired by real life. The book is entitled Outsiders. Meltzer, who is also a playwright and a journalist, has won O. Henry and Pushcart prizes for his short fiction, and he brings his best work to the collection. The unidentified first-person narrator of many of the stories offers stark observations of a city that many will recognize as one they almost know. The characters could be real New Yorkers—only a touch stranger than reality.
Meltzer says in his author’s note that the stories are all about “individuals who live outside the fold, who can’t or won’t conform to the demands and customs of society. Some thrive; others either seem to get by or they don’t or they just drive those around them crazy, usually thanks to some peculiar need or idiosyncrasy.” The book is available on Lulu.com.

Economic Boom from Same-Sex Marriage
A year after the Marriage Equality Act was enacted, the city estimates that the law has generated $259 million in economic impact and $16 million in direct city revenue. The city issued 8,200 same-sex marriage licenses over the past year, resulting in a boost in the tourism and hospitality industries, as half of those couples held wedding celebrations somewhere in the five boroughs. NYC & Company, the city’s official tourism agency, and the city clerk’s office conducted an economic impact survey that found that over 200,000 guests traveled from outside the city for their same-sex weddings, leading to over 235,000 hotel room bookings.

The news follows the economic predictions many made before marriage equality was passed in the state.

“Marriage equality has made our city more open, inclusive and free—and it has also helped create jobs and support our economy,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a statement.

“As the legislative sponsor of the Marriage Equality Act, I couldn’t be more proud that so many same-sex couples have taken advantage of their long-awaited right to marry across our great state this past year,” said Upper West Side Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell, who married his longtime partner last year in the city.

Good Night's Sleep: A donation of mattresses and box springs from Long's Bedding & Interiors to Nazareth Housing Furniture Donation Service are loaded for delivery on July 12. On hand for the donation were: Mildred Perez, coordinator for client services, prevention and outreach; James Saracini, assistant for development and mission; Steven M. Edwards, member of the Nazareth Housing Board of Directors; and Terri and Bob Long, owners of Long's. The Nazareth Housing Furniture Donation Service provides furniture to low-income families and seniors across New York City at no cost to the recipient or donor.

Biberaj Hits Fundraising Limit in Four Months
Upper West Side City Council candidate Ken Biberaj has joined the ranks of the few in his campaign efforts. He is among a small handful of candidates in races around the city to have reached the fundraising limit with over a year to go before the fall 2013 elections. According to his campaign, Biberaj will report a total haul of $130,000 for the current filing period from over 850 donors; average contribution size, they said, is $150. This total qualifies the campaign for the full matching funds allowed for both the primary and general elections.

Biberaj said that this doesn’t change his campaign strategy, but it certainly frees him up to focus on things other than fundraising.
“Our plan all along has been to go door to door, person to person, to listen to the concerns of my neighbors and talk about how we can make the Upper West Side an even better place to live,” he said in an email. “The fact that we reached this point so quickly shows that people are excited about our message and excited about our plan to help the Upper West Side. This is a grassroots campaign and we worked very hard over the last four months to meet as many people as possible and raise the funds needed for this campaign.”

Biberaj, who works in real estate and is an executive at the Russian Tea Room, credits the campaign’s focus on small events in living rooms and getting many low-dollar contributions.

Free Summer Tennis Program for Kids
This summer until Aug. 24, accompany your child (ages 5-18) to the New York Junior Tennis League at the Brandeis High School Campus at 145 W. 84th St. There you can register your child for the free tennis program that runs every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 1-4 p.m. Loaner tennis rackets and balls are provided. The program is funded by the City Council.

Manhattan Ivory Ring Busted
Two dealers in the sale of illegal elephant ivory pled guilty on Tuesday to felony charges of illegal commercialization of wildlife, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance announced. Mukesh Gupta, 67, and Johnson Jung-Chien Lu, 56, entered guilty pleas for themselves as well as for their companies—Raja Jewels Inc. and New York Jewelry Mart Corp., respectively—for violations of the Environmental Conservation Law. Under the law, it is illegal to sell products made of material from endangered or threatened wildlife species without a permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Today, all classifications of elephants are listed as endangered or threatened animals under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

“Today’s cases are a small but important step in protecting the endangered and threatened elephant species,” Vance said in a statement. “This investigation is part of an ongoing and focused effort by my office to combat environmental crime and clamp down on the illegal ivory underground marketplace, which fuels the international poaching crisis.” Neither Gupta nor Lu possessed the proper permits required to legally sell ivory. The charges come after ivory valued at more than $2 million in total was seized from the two businesses during an investigation by the Major Economic Crimes Bureau, with aid from the D.A.’s Office, the DEC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Delivery Bike Crackdown
Cyclists flouting the law found themselves the targets of several attacks from the city last week. On Thursday, City & State reported that Upper East Side Council Member Dan Garodnick and Queens Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer called for legislation to double traffic violation fines for those riding electronic-assisted bicycles, which are illegal in the city. Even though the City Council overrode a mayoral veto to ban electronic bikes in 2004, both Garodnick and Van Bramer said at a press conference in Queens that motorists are still dangerously riding electronic bikes on the sidewalk, against traffic and through red lights. Noting that he had seen an electronic-assisted bike just minutes before the press conference, Van Bramer said there was an “epidemic of reckless driving” in his district and across the city. By doubling the fines, Garodnick said the city could step up enforcement.

“Navigating our city streets is dangerous and difficult enough without the reckless actions of many cyclists who are riding illegal electric bikes today,” Garodnick said. “We need to empower our law enforcement officials to help crack down on this illegal activity.”
The legislation, introduced by Garodnick and co-sponsored by Van Bramer and seven other council members in June of last year, is awaiting a hearing by the Council’s transportation committee this fall. In February, Council Member Jessica Lappin introduced a separate bill to double the $500 fine for selling or operating an electronic-assisted bicycle.

The next day, Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan held a press conference to announce the DOT’s new education and enforcement program for delivery cyclists. The commissioner was joined by Council Members Gale Brewer, Lappin, Garodnick and Council Transportation Committee Chairman James Vacca, as well as some restaurant owners, to introduce the efforts and explain the program that will target first the Upper West and then the Upper East Side.

A special six-person unit of the DOT will go door to door to businesses and explain to employers the legal requirements and safety information for their delivery cyclists. After a six-month period, businesses who violate the laws will receive fines ranging from $100 to $300.

The program comes after the Upper East Side community has called repeatedly for holding businesses accountable for delivery cyclists’ reckless behavior.

“New Yorkers believe they have a constitutional right to great food delivered to their door while it’s still hot—and they’re right,” said Garodnick. “That cannot mean that we will compromise the safety of our streets in the process.”

The education portion of the program will give businesses brochures on safety and the law as well as ID cards their cyclists can fill out and keep on them. Employers will be required to provide upper body apparel with the name of their business clearly identified as well as safety equipment like lights, reflective gear and helmets.

“We need to put the brakes on dangerous delivery bicycles,” said Lappin. “Education and enforcement will make us all safer on our streets.”

Cool Wheels: Lillian Vernon hands over the keys to Citymeals-on-Wheels' first ever refrigerated truck to Citymeals Executive Director Beth Shapiro on July 11. The new $54,000 truck has been funded by the Lillian Vernon Foundation in commemoration of Vernon's birthday, a Citymeals-on-Wheels board member.

Mayor Koch Endorses Mark Thompson
Mark Thompson is doin’ great after receiving the endorsement of former Mayor Ed Koch in his bid for City Council. Thompson, currently the chair of Community Board 6, will by vying for a seat on the council in the East Side’s 4th District when Council Member Dan Garodnick runs for comptroller, as he is expected to do.

In a letter announcing his support, Koch said that Thompson’s experience will be especially beneficial to a Council and city government with many newbies in 2014. “We need to elect people who understand how the city runs and how to get things done. I know that by electing Mark, we will be putting the city in good hands, no matter what challenges we face,” said Koch. He also noted that Thompson “has worked successfully for new school seats, reclaiming of parkland and many other issues.”

Thompson was happy to receive the support, saying it would make his run for City Council an “incredibly strong race.”

“The mayor is a true New Yorker who knows what it takes to govern successfully. His support will give my campaign the powerful push it needs to get started in these early days of the race,” he said.

Thompson works as a consultant for government relations firm Capalino+Company, where he helps not-for profits, cultural institutions and private companies “navigate through red tape.” He worked in the former mayor’s administration in what was then the Department of General Services.

Parking Garage Accident
Two people were hospitalized Tuesday morning after a car plummeted down the elevator shaft of an Upper East Side parking garage.
A parking attendant at the East 76th Street and 1st Avenue garage reportedly drove the vehicle into the car elevator on the building’s fifth floor, but the elevator was not there, CBS reported. He and the car plunged five stories before hitting the ground.

At around 9:45 a.m., the fire department arrived on the scene at 355 E. 76th St., which houses a Hertz Rent-a-Car location, according to NY1. Firefighters rescued the driver, who was trapped inside the vehicle, as well as an individual who was in the elevator on the ground floor at the time of the accident.

Neighbors reported that there were at least 10 emergency vehicles on the scene, in addition to a helicopter hovering over the building. Fire and police officials closed off the sidewalk to passersby on both sides of the street.

The rescued driver and victim were transported to New York Presbyterian-Cornell Hospital to be treated for what were believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.

Department of Buildings records show that the garage faced a code violation in May 2009 for noncompliance related to maintaining elevator service equipment. The complaint was later resolved.

Lappin Gets Cash for New RI Library
City Council Member Jessica Lappin announced last Friday that she has secured over $4 million for Roosevelt Island-based projects and organizations in the 2013 fiscal year city budget. Two million dollars are allocated to move the existing Roosevelt Island Library, which has been plagued by book-damaging water leaks, to a new location at 504 Main St. Another $1.85 million is slated to fund the completion of the FDR Four Freedoms Memorial, and $150,000 is for the FDR Hope Memorial.

“Roosevelt Island is going through a spectacular transformation, and I’m proud to support the groups that have been there in the past and will continue to shape the island in the future,” Lappin said. “It’s especially exciting that this funding will help build a new home for the island’s public library.”

Anthony Marx, president of the New York Public Library, praised Lappin, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Borough President Scott Stringer for their support of the new library, which he said will double in size and offer more access to programming, computers, classes and other library services.

Delivery Bike Crackdown
Cyclists flouting the law found themselves the targets of several attacks from the city last week. On Thursday, City & State reported that Upper East Side Council Member Dan Garodnick and Queens Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer called for legislation to double traffic violation fines for those riding electronic-assisted bicycles, which are illegal in the city. Even though the City Council overrode a mayoral veto to ban electronic bikes in 2004, both Garodnick and Van Bramer said at a press conference in Queens that motorists are still dangerously riding electronic bikes on the sidewalk, against traffic and through red lights. Noting that he had seen an electronic-assisted bike just minutes before the press conference, Van Bramer said there was an “epidemic of reckless driving” in his district and across the city. By doubling the fines, Garodnick said the city could step up enforcement.

“Navigating our city streets is dangerous and difficult enough without the reckless actions of many cyclists who are riding illegal electric bikes today,” Garodnick said. “We need to empower our law enforcement officials to help crack down on this illegal activity.”
The legislation, introduced by Garodnick and co-sponsored by Van Bramer and seven other council members in June of last year, is awaiting a hearing by the Council’s transportation committee this fall. In February, Council Member Jessica Lappin introduced a separate bill to double the $500 fine for selling or operating an electronic-assisted bicycle.

The next day, Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan held a press conference to announce the DOT’s new education and enforcement program for delivery cyclists. The commissioner was joined by Council Members Gale Brewer, Lappin, Garodnick and Council Transportation Committee Chairman James Vacca, as well as some restaurant owners, to introduce the efforts and explain the program that will target first the Upper West and then the Upper East Side.

A special six-person unit of the DOT will go door to door to businesses and explain to employers the legal requirements and safety information for their delivery cyclists. After a six-month period, businesses who violate the laws will receive fines ranging from $100 to $300.

The program comes after the Upper East Side community has called repeatedly for holding businesses accountable for delivery cyclists’ reckless behavior.

“New Yorkers believe they have a constitutional right to great food delivered to their door while it’s still hot—and they’re right,” said Garodnick. “That cannot mean that we will compromise the safety of our streets in the process.”

The education portion of the program will give businesses brochures on safety and the law as well as ID cards their cyclists can fill out and keep on them. Employers will be required to provide upper body apparel with the name of their business clearly identified as well as safety equipment like lights, reflective gear and helmets.

“We need to put the brakes on dangerous delivery bicycles,” said Lappin. “Education and enforcement will make us all safer on our streets.”