April 15th, 2019: Going Back to the Classics

You commute could be rainy this morning:

Monday Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 10am, then a chance of showers between 10am and 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Areas of fog before 10am. Temperature falling to around 57 by 5pm. Breezy, with a southwest wind 11 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 42. Breezy, with a northwest wind 17 to 24 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph.

Sunrise: 6:18am

Sunset: 7:35pm

And if you were hoping for a pedal-assist Citi Bike today you're out of luck:

We have been hard at work on a new pedal-assist bike, and are excited to bring that to you soon. The new bike model will be accessible just by scanning a QR code and overall will be more fun to ride. In the meantime, we will quickly replace the pedal-assist bikes with classic pedal bikes. 

"Classic," is that what we're calling them now?

OK then.

Assembly Member wants to put cameras in the bike lanes, and he may be onto something:

Yes, there's no space on which drivers won't encroach:

Meanwhile, try to install a single bike corral and it requires a public meeting:

Sure, it will hold multiple bikes instead of one car, but it still counts as a loss of parking for some reason.

Speaking of public meetings, Queens CB 2 Chair Denise Keehan-Smith finds it "disconcerting" that the DOT doesn't follow their recommendations.

Last June, Community Board 2 voted 27-8 in opposition of protected bike lanes along Skillman and 43rd avenues after the issue had been brought to the board in November 2017. However, Mayor de Blasio gave the Department of Transportation the order to proceed.

CB 2 Chairwoman Denise Keehan-Smith said the board’s vote being shrugged off is “disconcerting.”

She said she believes the term limits are a sign that members are not being appreciated though she did acknowledge the boards are advisory and don’t dictate policy.

When she says "disconcerting" she must mean "reassuring."

In oher CB 2 news, the DOT wants them to support changes to better connect the neighborhood to the impending Kosciuszko Bridge bike path:

The DOT aims to make these changes in the late summer in order for the network to be ready for when the new Kosciuszko Bridge span opens. It is looking for Community Board 2 to provide a letter of support.

Nicole Garcia, Queens DOT Commissioner, said the agency is currently taking feedback.

She reiterated that there will be no loss of parking and that it won’t lead to street congestion.

No doubt CB 2 will find it "disconcerting" regardless.

Also in Queens, Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce President Leslie Brown has started a petition to block further Queens Boulevard bike lane improvements:

Not only to those pesky bike lanes require drivers to watch where they're going, but they also destroy businesses and kill residential real estate values:

“Who wants to invest in homes, condos, co-ops and or pay high rents in a community that does not have the shops and services needed to make a community thrive,” the post said.

Except when they cause rampant gentrification, of course, but nobody seems willing to commit fully to either argument.

Finally, the 76th Precinct has been addressing its "reckless bicycles" tweet from last week:

It's good to see they're open to dialogue.