Southern bike lane debate rages online
City offi cials must reconsider
their plan to build a bike lane
along the Southern Brooklyn
coast, according to Bensonhurst
civic gurus, who called the city’s
current proposal unsafe because
it lacks proper protection for cyclists
on car-heavy roads. (“Bensonhurst
civic leaders push DOT
to reconsider bike lane plan” by
Aidan Graham, online May 17).
The Department of Transportation
unveiled its proposal, calling
for a one-and-a-half mile bikeable
route along Shore Parkway,
at an April 24 Community Board
11 meeting.
The planned route would run
from Bay Parkway to Bay 53rd
Street, connecting existing lanes
on either side to create a continuous
bikeable path from Bay Ridge
to the Coney Island peninsula. The
largest section of the department’s
plan calls for a two-way protected
bike lane on Shore Parkway, on the
side of the road closest to the water.
Ahead of the unanimous rebuff
of the proposal on May 9, the
board’s Transportation Committee
chair blasted department reps
for valuing expediency rather than
safety.
Readers debated the topic online:
More bike paths are not the answer.
Safer riding is. Bicyclists need
tough love and not pandering, otherwise
the fatalities will increase.
James Maggio from Marine Park
More bike lanes are great, but
more enforcement against self-entitled
motorists is key. Too many reckless
drivers on the road. Massive
fi nes, then jail should do the trick.
Henry Ford from Bay Ridge
Henry Ford, I will support that if
the same will apply to cyclists who
tend to fl out the traffi c laws, which
they do very constantly.
Tal Barzilai
from Pleasantville, NY
The NYPD already cracks down
on cyclists, even after one is killed by
a motorist. So glad to hear you’re on
board! Henry Ford from Bay Ridge
I’m glad that DOT is increasingly
going ahead with safety projects over
the objections of community boards.
Mike from Williamsburg says:
It looks like Bensonhurst might
have its fi rst meaningful improvement.
I’m not holding my breath
that the times are changing, or that
the Community Board 11 suddenly
changed its thinking and take safety
of the residents in consideration.
It seems more of a response to
morbid statistics coming from South
Brooklyn at large, and gentrifi cation
of Bay Ridge, than planned infrastructure
improvement for Bensonhurst.
Still, we’ll take even those
scraps as a sign that not all our taxes
are syphoned out to neighborhoods
with louder voices. Peter
from Dyker Hights
Bikes are unsafe in the streets.
That’s it. They shouldn’t be there.
Ten bike deaths in 4.5 months. And
if the government is going to continue
to allow it, bikes at least need
to be registered with plates to hold
them accountable for the law that
none obey today. They are a menace.
Bikes Unsafe in the Streets from
Brooklyn
Hey, bikes unsafe, get a life. It’s
not the bikes that are unsafe, it is the
drivers who think they own the road.
What ever happened to the 25 MPH
speed limit?
I am a driver and bike rider for
over 50 years and I think BOTH have
a right to share the streets!!! Jeff
from Brooklyn
Fur-free NYC
To the Editor,
There is no room for an industry
which causes innocent animals to be
drowned, electrocuted, stomped on,
painfully trapped, and skinned alive
in a civilized society in the year
2019. Just because this has been happening
for hundreds of years doesn’t
make it right (“Op-ed: Banning fur
is bad for New York” by Karen Giberson,
Mill–Marine Courier, May
17–23). There is no such thing as ethical
fur. No sentient being wants to
die, and there is no humane way to
get fur from an animal. It is their
fur, not ours. How would anyone in
48 COURIER LIFE, MAY 24–30, 2019 PS
the fur industry like it if this was
done to their dog or cat? All animals
feel pain, just as we do.
I applaud Corey Johnson, and
those cosponsors of HR 1476, for being
on the right side of history. The
progressive city of New York will
now be seen as a compassionate one,
along with San Francisco and Los
Angeles, once the Fur Ban is passed.
There are plenty of alternatives, and
many designers — including Gucci
and Burberry — have ditched fur already.
Fur is not a fabric! Join us in
our chants “No blood for vanity,” and
Fur trade=Death trade, as we set foot
into a fur-free NYC!
Rochelle Goldman
Brighton Beach
Cuomo’s magic
To the Editor,
Our newly minted civil engineer,
Govern-mayor Cuomo, is now pushing
for the swift completion of the
Kosciusko Bridge. (“Second span to
open in September” by Mark Hallum,
Mill–Marine Courier, May 10–16).
It seems when he fl exes his expansive
inexperience in both civil and
electrical engineering, things go expensively
wrong.
A year ago he pushed for the opening
of the Tappan-Zee Bridge. That
led to a beautiful opening day and
subsequently, months of additional
and costly work to fi x and make safe
the work that was rushed.
Then came his meddling with the
MTA and the Second Avenue “Stubway.”
Here, too, work was pushed
along to meet his imposed opening
day. To accomplish this feat, he ordered
regular transit workers away
from much-needed inspections and
repairs. Today, there is an investigation
underway as to why overtime
costs went through the roof. I guess
people forgot his edict to transit after
all too many delays and problems, to
fi x it at all costs.
Anytime our illustrious leader
thinks of himself, a Trump, a proven
builder, able to build anything, watch
out! Robert W. Lobenstein
Sheepshead Bay
Jailhouse knocked
To the Editor,
I do not agree with our mayor’s
plan to enlarge jails, although I do
agree that the jail on Rikers Island
should be closed. However, what our
city really needs is not more, nor bigger,
jails, but more crime prevention
programs. Instead of spending more
money on keeping offenders locked
up, the money should be spent on
improved schools, social services,
vocational training programs, and
rehabilitation programs and facilities.
I am horrifi ed whenever I see a
news story about a child who has
been abused or murdered by his parents.
Many of these families have
been known to social services, but
overworked caseworkers have done
nothing. The last death that occurred
a week or two ago was of a
young boy who had been removed
from his home because of abuse and
later returned to his parents, only to
be beaten to death. The parents will
spend many years in jail and their
other children may have psychological
problems that will could cause
them to become criminals or addicts
because of the trauma they have endured.
Increased funding would enable
the city to hire more social workers,
give them smaller caseloads, and
improve their training before more
children die.
I also believe that with better social
and psychiatric services, as well
as improved educational programs
in the schools, both public and private,
many troubled children who
would otherwise end up in prison
can be helped to lead healthy, useful
lives rather than ending up in gangs
or on drugs.
There is also a need for more and
better rehabilitation centers for drug
addicts rather than just throwing
them in jail when their addictions get
them into trouble.
Many prisoners in Rikers and
other prisons are there awaiting trial,
which means they have not yet been
proven guilty of a crime. I think that
people who have committed minor
crimes and can’t afford bail should
be given the option of doing community
service or going into rehabilitation
programs instead of being stuck
in jail until their trials. No one, unless
he or she is a danger to the community,
should spend months in jail
without a trial.
I strongly believe that if every
potential criminal, whether adult
or child, is given the help he or she
needs before he or she ends up in
jail, there will be no need for more or
larger jails. Elaine Kirsch
Gravesend
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