Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff: Bike Commuter

2:52 PM EDT on June 21, 2007

bike_bkbridge.jpg

Adrianne Pasquarelli profiles New Yorkers who commute by bicycle for Crain's New York. You have to subscribe to read the entire article, but here she introduces Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, cyclist:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave bike commuting a boost with PlaNYC 2030, his administration's blueprint for sustainability. It calls for 1,380 additional miles of bike lanes--more than three times the current number--by 2030 and 1,200 more on-street bike racks by 2009.

In fact, one of the city's most high-profile cyclists, Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, is in charge of implementing PlaNYC. In an effort to combine exercise with his commute, the 48-year-old has been biking to City Hall from the Upper West Side--in fair weather--for the past five years.

"It's the most environmentally friendly way of commuting other than walking," Mr. Doctoroff says. "It contributes to our efforts to reduce air pollution and global warming." Other prominent New Yorkers who pedal to work include Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and Village Voice columnist Michael Musto.

"People get it; they can feel good when they're biking," says Mr. Budnick, 29, who cycles 12 miles between Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and his Chelsea office.

Health concerns prompted Monica Gonzalez, 38. Three years ago, the preschool teacher weighed 220 pounds. She began riding to her workplace--making a seven-and-a-half mile trek over the Queensboro Bridge from Sunnyside, Queens, to the Upper West Side. Now 160 pounds, she says biking has also become her therapy.

Photo: jglsongs/Flickr

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Why Sustainable Transportation Advocates Need to Talk About Long COVID

Covid-19 transformed many U.S. cities' approach to sustainable transportation forever. But how did it transform the lives of sustainable transportation advocates who developed lasting symptoms from the disease?

September 24, 2023

Analysis: ‘Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program’ is a Failure By All Measures

The Department of Transportation wants the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program to simply expire in part because it did not dramatically improve safety among these worst-of-the-worst drivers and led to a tiny number of vehicle seizures.

September 22, 2023

School Bus Driver Kills Cyclist in Boro Park, 24th Bike Death of 2023

Luis Perez-Ramirez, 44, was biking south on Fort Hamilton Parkway just before 3:15 p.m. when he was struck a by school bus driver making a right turn.

September 22, 2023

‘Betrayal’: Adams Caves to Opposition, Abandons Bus Improvement Plan on Fordham Road

The capitulation on Fordham Road is the latest episode in which the mayor has delayed or watered down a transportation project in deference to powerful interests.

September 22, 2023

Friday’s Headlines: Yes He Said Yes He Will Yes Edition

That headline above is a reference to the last line of James Joyce's Ulysses, which we won't pretend to have read. But we have that ... and other news.

September 22, 2023
See all posts