Sen. Dan Squadron

On Monday, New York City Councilman Steve Levin drove around Brooklyn neighborhoods from Manhattan to Atlantic avenues monitoring flooding and gawking at residents who did not evacuate from their Zone A condos.

To read the full story, visit www.cityandstateny.com.

Cycle Safely - photo courtesy of Flickr Commons

It was an unfortunate day for an unsuspecting cyclist on Sunday when he hit a car door while riding his bike in Queens. The cyclist, 39, whose name is undisclosed, ended up dying at the scene.

According to the New York Post, the cyclist’s jugular was punctured by his bike’s handlebars, and witnesses’ efforts to stave off his blood were futile.

Police are not viewing the situation as a crime.

The accident does make one wonder, though, the risk posed to cyclists inNew York City. From environmentalists to food deliverymen, people bike all over the city, and perhaps without knowing the risks of it. Fortunately, politicians and the NYPD are aware of the increase in bicycle traffic, and are releasing statistics and proposing laws in effort to increase safety and awareness and reduce accidents.

In 2010, 256,000 New Yorkers rode their bicycles daily, 51,000 more than the previous year, said Transportation Alternatives that year. The article also said that New York has more cyclists than any other US city. In addition to the diligence of Transportation Alternatives, Gothamist reported that the NYPD will also begin tracking cycling accidents.

According to The Brooklyn Paper, NYC Councilman Steve Levin recently proposed a bill requiring the NYPD to investigate all cycling accidents that result in serious physical injury to someone involved. Currently, the police are only required to investigate a situation where death seems likely.

Also, police have begun writing more tickets for illegal cycling. Just this past February, officers wrote at least 695 tickets to cyclists for various offenses. The February prior, police wrote over 200 fewer, The Brooklyn Paper reports. However, this increase in ticketing hasn’t been welcomed warmly, and ticketed bicyclists are complaining that the sudden explosion of summonses is just a way for the city to make money.

Perhaps we should stick to the smelly backseats of cabs, but if you don’t plan it, check out the NYPD’s guide to safe cycling.

–Nick Gallinelli

Steve Levin

In Brooklyn, peace between rival factions of the county Democratic party is hard to come by.

Levin alleges that Restler, a persistent critic of Brooklyn Democratic chairman Vito Lopez, agreed not to challenge Levin for his Council seat in 2013, if Levin and Lopez ended their attempts to challenge Restler in his race for re-election this year.

“This year’s district leader race, and the possibility of him running against me in next year’s City Council race, were subjects we discussed,” Levin said. “[Restler] said that either he has zero races, or he has two races.”

“We did not come out of it with any reconciliation,” Levin added.

“I was hopeful there might be an opportunity for the Councilman to establish his independence from Vito Lopez, but given his ongoing and aggressive intervention in my District Leader race – clearly that is not going to happen,” Restler said.

Rather than accept the deal, Levin is actively supporting Christopher Olechowski, who recently formed a campaign committee to raise money for a run against Restler.

Lincoln Restler

Restler asked Levin for a beer summit to talk about rumors that Levin was aggressively seeking out challengers to run against him for district leader – including North Brooklyn Development Corporation President Rich Mazur, Greenpoint Gazette Publisher Jeff Mann, Community Board 1 District Manager Gerry Esposito, former district leader Steve Cohn and his son Warren Cohn, all of whom declined. Levin was also mulling a shot at running against Restler himself, sources said.

To read the full article at City & State click here.