One Community That’s Ready to Work With DOT on Bikes

4:27 PM EDT on September 11, 2006

It is unusual for the New York Times to print a letter to the editor in response to another reader's letter, but yesterday the Times did just that. And so continues the super-slow motion debate on the Department of Transportation's bicycling policies. We're looking forward to next week's installment...

To the Editor:
In a Sept. 3 letter ("New York Is Bike-Friendly"), Ryan Russo, the Department of Transportation's director for street management and safety, states that he and his colleagues "have to work hard to win local support for the bike lanes, as there is often significant community board and elected official opposition to these plans."
We have been working for two years with Queens Community Board 9 to establish a bike path on the long-abandoned city-owned former Long Island Rail Road Rockaway Beach Branch right of way. Returning it to public use as a greenway would seem to be a no-brainer, especially considering it was on the city's 1997 greenway master plan.
The city, however, has been less than helpful. Last year the Department of City Planning obtained funding for a feasibility study for this proposal, but could not go ahead because they were unable to secure a required implementation partner, even though they approached the obvious choices: the Parks Department and Department of Transportation. We ourselves were rebuffed in a meeting with officials from the Parks Department, who suggested that we assume full responsibility for conducting a study and amassing the funds for implementation.
Mr. Russo has our support. Do we have his?
Jordan SandkeRichmond Hill, QueensThe writer is chairman, Rockaway Beach Branch Greenway Committee

Aaron Naparstek

AARON NAPARSTEK is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparsteks journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. Naparstek is the author of "Honku: The Zen Antidote for Road Rage" (Villard, 2003), a book of humorous haiku poetry inspired by the endless motorist sociopathy observed from his apartment window. Prior to launching Streetsblog, Naparstek worked as an interactive media producer, pioneering some of the Web's first music web sites, online communities, live webcasts and social networking services. Naparstek is currently in Cambridge with his wife and two young sons where he is enjoying a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. He has a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Naparstek is a co-founder of the Park Slope Neighbors community group and the Grand Army Plaza Coalition. You can find more of his work here: http://www.naparstek.com.

Stay in touch

More from Streetsblog New York City

Protected Bike Lanes

DOT Testimony: Removing Bedford Ave. Bike Lane Will ‘Reduce Safety’

"Removing the protected bike lane won’t remove cyclists — it will only make the street less safe," the DOT said. "The city risks legal liability for knowingly reducing safety on a Vision Zero priority corridor."