Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

SEE IT: Nine Candidates for a Queens Council Seat Roll With it on District-Wide Ride

3:35 PM EDT on March 15, 2021

Photo: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

"This is not a social ride — this is a policy ride."

Those words (from Queens activist Alan Baglia) pretty much sums up the extraordinary convergence of nine — nine! — candidates for a Queens city council district who participated in a bike ride through the Long Island City-Sunnyside district on Sunday.

Current Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, himself a supporter of protected bike infrastructure, is term-limited, resulting in an avalanche of candidates — 21 at last count. But getting nine to agree to a bike ride is a good start.

Here's the Streetfilms video:

Streetfilms auteur Clarence Eckerson Jr. managed to interview most of the participants, including Jonathan Bailey, who was once injured when a driver clipped him, and Julie Won, who said it's important for candidates to be cyclists if only so they can know what delivery workers go through on a daily basis.

The ride was organized by the Transportation Alternatives Queens Committee and Sunnyside Woodside Open Streets.

The concept of a campaign bike ride is one of the initiatives of the new civic group, City Rise, which is urging community groups to demand that candidates put their mettle to the pedals.

The idea, the group said in a mass mailing is to "take note of how [candidates] get around and what they don't know. ... Note what the candidate is up for and what piques interest."

The group said some districts will lend themselves to walking tours or group transit rides to highlight current problem.s

"Plan to use the mode of travel that best shows off the district’s issues (and successes): walks, bike rides, bus rides, Citi Bike rides, or combine them for a multimodal experience," the group said.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

The Toll of History: MTA Board Approves $15 Congestion Pricing Fee

New York City's congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.

March 28, 2024

Company That Fought McGuinness Safety Project Wants to Seize Bklyn Street for Private Backlot

Broadway Stages to Greenpoint residents: "Street safety for me, not for thee."

March 28, 2024

SEE IT: Hit-and-Run Driver With Fake Plate Seriously Injures Cyclist

The 5 p.m. crash occurred at Flushing and Waverly avenue near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

March 28, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines: Shakira Shakira Edition

Pop superstar Shakira performed for a crowd of 40,000 packed into the Times Square pedestrian plazas. Plus congestion pricing news and more.

March 28, 2024
See all posts