Tuesday Links
Surprise in Greenpoint Over New York Mag Ranking [NY Times] Bill Would Allow Layoffs of Teachers With Seniority [NY Times] Bushwick Chase Ends in Rooftop Plunge [NY Post] Marty calls DOT Chief a ‘Zealot’ Over Bike Lanes [NY Post] Bikers Battle Tourists on Brooklyn Bridge [NY Daily News] Savings in Brooklyn: Kensington Treasures [NY Daily…
Surprise in Greenpoint Over New York Mag Ranking [NY Times]
Bill Would Allow Layoffs of Teachers With Seniority [NY Times]
Bushwick Chase Ends in Rooftop Plunge [NY Post]
Marty calls DOT Chief a ‘Zealot’ Over Bike Lanes [NY Post]
Bikers Battle Tourists on Brooklyn Bridge [NY Daily News]
Savings in Brooklyn: Kensington Treasures [NY Daily News]
New Left-Turn Bans on Flatbush Start April 15 [Brooklyn Paper]
Marty Praises New Domino, But Has Conditions [Brooklyn Eagle]
The Pain of Selling at a Loss [The Real Deal]
Last AY Case Postponed Til May 12 [AYR]
Secrets of Corporate Subsidies in NYC [Gotham Gazette]
Photo by zlandr
UGH Marty Markowitz. I wholeheartedly agree with MGLT. It’s quite unpleasant jogging the east side of the park when the cars are all zooming by in the morning, going way too fast and taking no notice of the bikers right next to them, except to honk.
I know that people are always going to have their cars, but I do not get this sense of entitlement that overrides thousands of joggers, walkers and bikers trying to use one of the nicest, biggest green spaces in the borough.
When is Marty (and the Windsor Terrace Community Board, who also battles any attempt to reduce park traffic) going to learn that more constituents use the park for exercise than drive through it to shave a few minutes off their work commute?
And how did someone who holds so many outdated, discredited notions about urban planning, traffic calming, etc. get to be elected Borough President 3 times??
many tourists come from cities without a culture of bike-riding on the sidewalk…
BTW, if that photo means Gowanus Yacht Club is open for the season, that would be a great place for a small gathering.
“many tourists just don’t pay attention”
I agree that SOME bikers ride much too fast on the Bridge (and I’m a walker, not a biker). But I think tourists are really the problem, though, in their defense, possibly the signage could use improving.
But, forget walking 4 across, they walk in hordes, in the walking lane and in the bike lane, and they are SLOW. As a walker, the bike lane is usually the only place you can pass these hordes. Walking behind them is out of the question if you EVER want to get home, and forget about waiting for them to snap the perfect photo! Most picture-taking tourists end up with a photo of me walking in front of them.
The other night, I got hit by a biker (who WAS going too fast) as I walked ON the white line, NOT in the bike lane, trying to pass a tourist horde. That said, I don’t know what the solution is, since I don’t favor banning bikers, and I don’t suppose it would be good for the City’s tourism industry to ban tourists, lol.
Another reason we should vote Markowitz out (apart from his ridiculous support for Atlantic Yards). First of all, there should not be any cars in Prospect Park, ever. The lane for walkers and bikers is too narrow when there are cars zooming around at rush hour. And if you count the number of people who benefit from driving in the park (i.e. the number of people in cars) during the rush hours vs. the number of people trying to walk, run, and bike (all activities which are healthy, I might add) you will see that the majority of people are having to squeeze into the narrow bike/walk lane to let a small number of cars speed by.
The city needs more bike lanes! I think a bike lane on Prospect Park West would be great, but then again, I think 4th Avenue would benefit from one, too – if they really want to make it the park avenue of brooklyn, why not put in some “park”.
Marty Markowitz should get off his fat duff and walk a bit. Then he might live like a real Brooklynite.
Kicking the vendors of water and keychains off the bridge would free up a lot of real estate for bikers and walkers.
Long term, we need a new bike lane over the existing roadway — would be cheap and easy to install, but the required environmental impact statements, historical impact statements, fights from various groups, etc. will kill it.
Bikes go wayyyyy to fast on this damn bridge. Sure the tourists wander. That’s what tourists do, but reference to tour de france speeds is unfortunately all too accurate. Gotta be a special kind of moron to travel that fast that close to people, regardless of location.
As long as I can still buy my Gorilla Coffee beans by the bag, I’m happy. But I’m dying to know what the issue was between the workers and owner.