***The Bike Forecast will be off for the Independence Day weekend. See you back here on Monday, July 8th!***
Mostly hot today, with just a chance of rain:

Wednesday A 20 percent chance of showers before noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable in the morning.
Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Light east wind.
Sunrise 5:30am
Sunset 8:31pm
As of now, July 4th looks like more sun, but we could get thunderstorms by the weekend:

And the Brooklyn Brewery Weekend Beer Forecast calls for...


Fourth of July weekend is a summer landmark, so we’re recommending Summer Ale for all your festivities. Don’t forget to stock up on grilling supplies and sunscreen while you’re at it, and be sure you have enough of everything—especially beer—to share.
Keep in mind of course that if you're making a last-minute trans-East River beer run tomorrow night you can expect full bridge closures:
#July4th/#IndependenceDay Travel Advisory. Closures & timing at the discretion of NYPD:
— NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) July 2, 2019
7/4 #WilliamsburgBridge & #ManhattanBridge: #bikeNYC/ped path, 7PM-11PM
7/4 2PM-7/5 1AM #BrooklynBridge: FULL vehicular roadway, bike/ped path
Additional closures: https://t.co/x4DSclqs0Q pic.twitter.com/6lnC5O8Q8X
And for next week, note that you may have to dismount if you're riding over the Queensboro Bridge after 10pm:
#QueensboroBridge work will require single lane closures 7/8-7/12:
— NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) July 2, 2019
Mn-bound lanes & pedestrian/Bike path, 10PM-5AM
Qns-bound lanes, 11PM-5:30AM
Pedestrians & #BikeNYC are advised to proceed with caution. Cyclists may be required to dismount as they approach the work zone pic.twitter.com/RnNL0zsZIE
Also, 5th Avenue is finally getting some paint:
New intersection treatments are being installed following the resurfacing of 5th Ave in Flatiron, Manhattan. Crews are updating #bikenyc intersections, adding off-set crossings to 22nd, 20th, 18th & 16th Streets. pic.twitter.com/tIxtrEAhxd
— NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) July 2, 2019
Meanwhile, another day brings yet another vigil for a lost New York City cyclist, this time for Devra Freelander:
Please join us tomorrow, 7/3 10am for a Vigil to honor Devra Freelander, the 15th person killed in NYC while riding a bicycle in 2019.
— North Brooklyn TransAlt (@NBk_TA) July 2, 2019
📅 Weds 7/3, 10am
📌 Bushwick Ave & Boerum St, Brooklyn, NY
RSVP: https://t.co/JFoDVmNw2q#DevraFreelander #BikeNYC #VisionZero pic.twitter.com/7yKvQAD8c5
On Monday, mourners gathered in honor of Ernest Askew:
Yesterday, I joined cyclists in my district at a vigil for Ernest Askew-the 14th bicyclist killed in NYC this year. We stood in support of safer streets for cyclist in Brooklyn and across NYC. @TransAlt @NYC_SafeStreets @BPEricAdams @zellnor4ny #bikenyc pic.twitter.com/XGDbzoEVJc
— Alicka Ampry-Samuel (@AlickaASamuel41) July 2, 2019
In a neighborhood in transit crisis that needs an "emergency-like response:"
State Senator Zellnor Myrie, who represents Brownsville, called Askew's death "a grave tragedy that compounds the built-in racism and classism that is our transportation system as it exists right now."
"In Brownsville we have subway stations that don’t have elevators, we have buses that are still using diesel fuel. We do not have the public transportation options that we deserve and when we encourage people to utilize bicycles and alternative forms of transportation, they are taking their life into their own hands every time they get on that seat," Myrie said.
"We are facing an emergency, and it needs an emergency-like response. You cannot drive a 2,000 pound piece of metal with impunity in this city," he added.
On Monday Mayor de Blasio pledged just such a response, and yesterday we learned that it will involve the NYPD doing what it does best: crackdowns!
NYPD Promises To Crack Down On Reckless Drivers For A Few Weeks https://t.co/YGBvHs2ld1 #bikeNYC
— Gothamist (@Gothamist) July 2, 2019
According to a memo released by the department on Tuesday, NYPD personnel have been ordered to pay special attention to parking and moving violations between now and July 21st. Those offenses include speeding, red light violations, failure to yield, distracted driving, and illegal parking.
Additionally, auxiliary officers will be dispatched to provide New Yorkers with "safer bicycle, vehicle and pedestrian tips to reduce injuries and fatalities." After 20-year-old Robyn Hightman was killed by a hit-and-run truck driver last week, Officer Carlos Negron offered the following tip: "Maybe if she had been on the bike lane, maybe she'd still be alive."
How this initiative differes from the innumerable crackdowns before it remains to be seen, though it does have a catchy name:
Introducing the Bicycle Safe Passage Plan, a citywide initiative focused on preventing hazardous parking & infractions that interfere with the safety of cyclists, specifically:
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 2, 2019
❌ Speeding, Red Light, Fail to Yield to 🚴♂️/🚶♂️and📱usage.
❌ Obstruction of 🚲 lane.
❌ Double Parking. pic.twitter.com/DYIj5JB4aC
Even so, it's fairly safe to say that a crackdown with a build-in end date will, in and of itself, not be transformative:
None of this will work as long as the city continues to do nothing to reduce the overwhelming number of cars and trucks operating on the streets in the first place.https://t.co/7NGYzZLySf
— Bike Snob NYC (@bikesnobnyc) July 2, 2019
Certainly credit is due to the NYPD precincts who are already with the program:
Deputy Inspector Malin from @NYPD20Pct regarding CPW proposal: "If you're gonna put a bike lane, do it right. Protected bike lanes are safer."
— Erwin Figueroa (@TransitErwin) July 2, 2019
“I was only parking for a second.” This is never an acceptable excuse. $115 ticket served. #BikeNYC lanes are for bikes! #VisionZero #UpperEastSide #UES pic.twitter.com/GJk0EZLIwG
— NYPD 19th Precinct (@NYPD19Pct) July 2, 2019
Nevertheless, so far it's business as usual for United Transit Mix:
A day after a driver operating a United Transit Mix concrete truck struck & killed someone bicycling in East Williamsburg, this United Transit Mix driver has their truck in the 1 Av “Protected” #BikeNYC lane at 14 St.#VisionZero is a joke & a disgrace in this town. pic.twitter.com/7oWdv9VRC5
— Maximillian (@MaxSholl) July 2, 2019
Who are clearly doing their part to solve what they see as the problem of "too many bikes on the road:"
A female Brooklyn cyclist, 29, became the 15th killed on city streets in 2019 — and the truck’s owner blamed it on “too many bikes on the road.”
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) July 2, 2019
The truck belonged to United Transit Mix. https://t.co/4yWxNdcuU5
“Too many bikes, too many bikes on the road,” said Mastronardi.
Mastronardi said it was the company’s first fatal crash in 45 years. But locals said the company’s trucks regularly speed through the neighborhood.
“These trucks think it’s a f-----g race track. They speed here all the time,” said Matt La Rosa, 25, who works nearby. “I rode my bike right over where she was killed this morning. I’m selling my bike.”
Yes, the problem with New York City is definitely that there are too many bikes on the road, and not enough cement trucks.
Finally, in happier news, the new Shirley Chisholm State Park in East New York will feature a "Bike Library:"
A former landfill along Jamaica Bay has been transformed into a green oasis, the 407-acre Shirley Chisholm State Park. #bkreader with @SenatorPersaud, @RepJeffries, @NYGovCuomo #eastnewyork #jamaicabay #shirleychisholmpark https://t.co/jFo1Hg0szS
— BK Reader (@TheBKReader) July 2, 2019
Under the initial $20 million phase, the park was set up with ten miles of biking and hiking trails; a bayside pier for picnicking and fishing along the park’s Pennsylvania Avenue side; and water access. Environmental educators and partnerships with groups such as Audubon New York will offer programs for children who visit the park.
In addition, Bike New York, a nonprofit that promotes bicycling and bicycle safety, will create the Shirley Chisholm State Park Bike Library, offering free loaner bikes to ride the crushed stone trails of the park.
Crushed stone trails?!? Those better be gravel bikes!