“Today, we are all breathing a sigh of relief as the suspect behind eight vicious muggings of Asian-American East Harlem residents has finally been apprehended by police,” Mark-Viverito said. “These brutal robberies have shaken all of us.”

FURRY FRIENDS FOR SALE!
This February, bring home a puppy or kitten without breaking the bank. Bideawee, the pet welfare center located on East 38th Street at First Avenue, will be holding a monthlong “Name your own price” sale. The sale is in celebration of Valentine’s Day, and is Bideawee’s first adoption promotion this year.

Plus, if you think your brand-new pet is super-photogenic, Bideawee will be taking photos of each new adoption and putting them up for a public vote. The winner will have their pet featured as Bideawee’s Facebook timeline image. This promotion will run until Feb. 28.

DOT ANNOUNCES NEW SAFETY PROCEDURES FOR DELIVERY BIKES
The DOT announced recently that they have teamed up with Delivery.com to provide 1,500 commercial cyclists with free bike lights, bells and reflective vests. Delivery cyclists from all over the city can attend one of the multi-language commercial bicyclist forums to receive the safety equipment. Other bicycle safety efforts include NYPD enforcement and inspector visits to businesses that use delivery cyclists. These inspectors serve to both inform and enforce regulations.

DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan notes, “Safety is everyone’s business, so it’s significant when the private sector steps up to the plate to make efforts in the public interest.”

Jed Kleckner, CEO of Delivery.com, is one of many who share in this sentiment. “In a city where food, groceries and wine can be at your doorstep in moments,” he said, “We empower the neighborhood economy by equipping our merchant partners with the right tools for making safe and speedy deliveries.”

TWO U.E.S. BAKERIES NAMED IN FOURSQUARE’S ‘BEST OF’ LIST
Foursquare, the social app that lets friends check in to restaurants, bars and other places, has sifted its data of more than three billion check-ins and pulled up a list of the best New York City has to offer—from best eateries and clubs to best sights and theaters. And there’s good news for Upper East Siders with a sweet tooth. Two of the top 10 New York bakeries are on the Upper East Side: Sprinkles Cupcakes on Lexington between 60th and 61st streets and Two Little Red Hens on Second Avenue between East 85th and 86th.

Both of these bakeries offer tempting cupcakes. At Sprinkles, many of the fans on Foursquare rave about the “best cupcake place in the city,” and suggest trying the Red Velvet. At Two Little Red Hens, fans love both the cakes and cupcakes, and suggest going for the “Brooklyn Blackout,” a dangerous, chocolaty confection.

SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY NEWS
On Wednesday, Jan. 30, MTA held its fifth Second Avenue Subway workshop at Temple Israel on East 75th Street. The meeting brought together MTA employees and contractors to discuss how negative impacts or effects from the construction can be mitigated.

“It’s impossible to build a subway here without disturbing the people and environment around us,” said MTA Capital Construction President Michael Horodniceanu. “We’ve learned from past experiences that building on this scale requires more than a business-as-usual approach, and that working closely with the community is one of the best means of learning how we can become a better neighbor.”

Phase One of the new subway line, which will extend the Q line, is expected to be complete by 2016.

On Foursquare, most people recommend the chocolate chip walnut cookies at Levain, which is known for its big gooey cookies. Bouchon, meanwhile, is more of a French lunch and pastry spot, known for its unusual flavors of macarons—like peanut butter and jelly.

FURRY FRIENDS FOR SALE!
This February, bring home a puppy or kitten without breaking the bank. Bideawee, the pet welfare center located on East 38th Street at First Avenue, will be holding a monthlong “Name your own price” sale. The sale is in celebration of Valentine’s Day, and is Bideawee’s first adoption promotion this year! Plus, if you think your brand-new pet is super photogenic, Bideawee will be taking photos of each new adoption, and putting them up for a public vote. The winner will have their pet featured as Bideawee’s Facebook timeline image. This promotion will run until Feb. 28.

DOT ANNOUNCES NEW SAFETY PROCEDURES FOR DELIVERY BIKES
The DOT announced recently that they have teamed up with Delivery.com to provide 1,500 commercial cyclists with free bike lights, bells and retro-reflective vests. Delivery cyclists from all over the city can attend one of the multi-language commercial bicyclist forums held all over the city to receive the safety equipment.

Other bicycle safety efforts include NYPD enforcement and inspector visits to businesses that use delivery cyclists. These inspectors serve to both inform and oversee the legal regulations such businesses are required to follow.

DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan notes, “Safety is everyone’s business, so it’s significant when the private sector steps up to the plate to make efforts in the public interest.”
Jed Kleckner, CEO of Delivery.com, is one of many who share in this sentiment. “In a city where food, groceries and wine can be at your doorstep in moments,” he said, “we empower the neighborhood economy by equipping our merchant partners with the right tools for making safe and speedy deliveries.”

Revised administrative procedures regarding bike safety will be enforced starting this April.

FURNITURE FROM COLUMBUS EXHIBIT UP FOR SALE

Remember the living room that was perched atop the statue at Columbus Circle? Now you can own a part of the former exhibit, “Tatzu Nishi: Discovering Columbus” which closed in December. Art Space is selling the furniture that completed the look of the “living room above Columbus Circle.” Much of the furniture has been gobbled up by art collectors (or people who really need a couch). But a $1,500 MG + BW chair is still available, as well as a $2,700 Samsung 48” TV, and several other items. And members of Art Space get a discount that slashes prices in half. According to Art Space, while it was still on display, the artwork drew more than 100,000 visitors from over 30 countries around the world.

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.”