Bicycling

Bill Thompson Rents Ads-by-Bicycle to Woo Borough Park Voters

Here's an ironic twist for the mayoral candidate who all but ignored bicycling and walking in his transportation platform: Bill Thompson has rented mobile advertisements-by-bike, with yellow-vested, red-helmeted riders pedaling around Borough Park with Yiddish-language advertisements for his campaign.

By Stephen Miller

5:36 PM EDT on September 10, 2013

Here’s an ironic twist for the mayoral candidate who all but ignored bicycling and walking in his transportation platform: Bill Thompson has rented mobile advertisements-by-bike, with yellow-vested, red-helmeted riders pedaling around Borough Park with Yiddish-language advertisements for his campaign.

Despite Thompson’s anemic transportation policy, it’s a step up from the last time around. In 2009, he made an anti-BRT campaign stop in Bed-Stuy and promised to remove a bike lane on Grand Street in Manhattan; now, he promises “a true BRT system,” but remains noncommittal on bike lanes.

Don’t forget: Polls close at 9 p.m. Before heading out to vote, check your voter registration status and polling location.

Stephen Miller

In spring 2017, Stephen wrote for Streetsblog USA, covering the livable streets movement and transportation policy developments around the nation. From August 2012 to October 2015, he was a reporter for Streetsblog NYC, covering livable streets and transportation issues in the city and the region. After joining Streetsblog, he covered the tail end of the Bloomberg administration and the launch of Citi Bike. Since then, he covered mayoral elections, the de Blasio administration's ongoing Vision Zero campaign, and New York City's ever-evolving street safety and livable streets movements.