Maybe he was just making the "de Blasio stop"!
Friend of Streetsblog Jake Schmidt sent us a time-lapse video of the supposedly protected Second Avenue bike lane being completely ruined by illegally parked trucks — two days after the NYPD started what it claimed would be a ticketing crackdown on drivers who endanger cyclists. Schmidt said the video was filmed for 20 minutes on July 3 and shows the block between 50th and 51st streets.
Watch the snippet below and count along as we tabulate how many cyclists are forced into the roadway, first by the rogue white van and then by a succession of other vehicles who follow its dastardly lead (you'll want to use the sound, too, as Schmidt picked the perfect accompanying music):
In all, we counted 32 cyclists or scooter riders forced into traffic, several in extremely dangerous fashion as trucks pulled in front of or behind the rogue white van, which remained in place throughout, unticketed.
"Here we are, a week into Bill de Blasio's three-week 'major enforcement action' against NYC bike lane violations. Let's stop by Second Avenue and see how it's going!" Schmidt tweeted with the video.
