Before you start going ballistic over the title of the post hear me out.

I ride my motorcycle to work everyday from Brooklyn to Chelsea. And as a regular user of the same streets shared by cars, bicyclists and pedestrians, my observation is that when it comes to disobeying the rules of the road, no one beats the bicyclists.

On any given day, 90% of bicyclists I encounter blatantly flout the traffic lights. 1 out of 10 will stop for them the way they should. All the others just zig zag past oncoming cars or go down the pedestrian crossings.

Another very common issue is bicyclists riding in the opposite direction of traffic in bike lanes. Just because there is a bike lane does not mean that you can ride in any direction in a one-way street. And when pointed out, bicyclists dont even realize that they are breaking the law.

Yes, I will be the first to agree that bicycling is environmentally sound. And that more of us should be doing it. All of that is true. But that is another topic for another post.

As much as bicyclists have a chip on their shoulder about using the streets with others, I would really like to see some sort of enforced discipline, because surely they are not a self-disciplined lot.

Every single day I see at least one incident where a bicyclist misses being a casualty in an accident. All because they did not follow the rules.

So in that circumstance, I am amused when these same bicyclist target the cars and trucks and motorcycle for their misgivings.  Cities will have traffic and cars and stuff. That is why they are cities and not suburbs or the countryside. So if you want to exist in the city, it would be nice to first follow the rules and then fight with fellow users of the same streets.

Hello Spring! Walking on the streets in NYC in the springtime is one of my absolute favorite things to do. I was walking to a local restaurant to get some dinner last night and had two beard conversations! I ran into Ron whose beard is looking fabulous. I picked up my dinner and started walking back to my apartment. I ended up walking next to a spry looking guy with a full white beard lugging some big bags. He complimented my my beard right off and we started talking about all of beard styles we have ever had. He used to be able to grow a stomach length beard in 13 months’ time! Amazing! It takes me about a year to get to my maximum of about 6-7 inches. He was an absolute treat to talk to. It made me smile to talk with a random person on the street and have such a effortless conversation. Hint to all men: Grow a beard, it’s an instant conversation starter., and the ladies like it too!

An email pops in today from Reaghan Roper at MWW Group. It is a press release. This was in response to my post about FreshDirect. One of criticism was that FreshDirect was selective in which neighborhoods it delivers to.

And the press release continues to say

Leading Online Grocer Now Delivering to Residents in Bedford Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Red Hook and More

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz Welcomes FreshDirect Delivery

LONG ISLAND CITY, NY – April 17, 2008 – FreshDirect, one of the nation’s leading online gourmet grocers and prepared food purveyors, announced today its plans to heed growing customer demand and expand its delivery services to reach the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bedford Stuyvesant (“Bed Stuy”), Crown Heights, Red Hook and more. The new delivery areas are now open for delivery service, giving residents a whole new way to shop for the best in fresh produce, competitively priced groceries, and mouthwatering prepared food.

Communities in these neighborhoods can now choose from FreshDirect’s extensive product offering, featuring fresh foods and groceries, bulk items, local and organic produce and chef-prepared 4-Minute and Ready-to-Cook Meals. These neighborhoods add to a growing number of Brooklyn communities currently serviced by FreshDirect. In addition to Brooklyn, FreshDirect successfully operates throughout Manhattan and Queens as well as select areas in Staten Island, Westchester, Nassau County, and New Jersey.

It took a long long time for FreshDirect to correct its “social” injustice. Well better late than never. Welcome FD to BS….

PS….here you can see pics [1] [2] of Marty Markowitz sucking up to FD officials.

In what is a very symbolic blow to NYC, the congestion pricing plan was laid to rest even before it was brought to life. The honour for that misdeed goes to “Scumbag Silver” a.k.a. Sheldon Silver the speaker of the NY State Assembly.

The proposal would have brought much needed relief to Manhattan’s chaotic traffic during weekdays.

Mr. Bloomberg and his supporters — including a vast array of civic environmental organizations, as well as key city officials like the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, and other elected officials — viewed the proposal as a farsighted and essential step toward the city’s future growth. [link]

Even though I live in Brooklyn, I was for the congestion pricing plan and was pretty sure that it would go through. Of course I did not factor in the dumb-ass politicians from my own borough and others from Queens, Bronx and Staten Island.

…the plan was strongly opposed by a broad array of politicians from Queens, Brooklyn, and New York’s suburbs, who viewed the proposed congestion fee as regressive and Manhattan-centric.

This is not the first time that Scumbag Silver has derailed major environmental plans for NYC.

…The plan, which would have charged drivers $8 to enter parts of Manhattan during peak hours, was a huge blow to Mr. Bloomberg’s environmental agenda and political legacy, and his second major defeat at the hands of Mr. Silver and the state Assembly, which in 2005 blocked the mayor’s plan to redevelop the West Side railyards and allow a big sports stadium to be built there.

Seriously, if such nonsense continues for political gains, NYC is fast on its way to become a second tier world city lagging behind places like London, Tokyo and Paris. Why do smart people get stupid politicians ?

Today was the first Sunday of the Brooklyn Flea for the year 2008. Brooklyn Flea is a flea market that meets every Sunday at Lafayette Avenue at the corner of Cleremont in Clinton Hill. From the pictures below you will see that the fair was packed today, the gusty winds not withstanding.

This is Brooklyn’s largest flea market in its hippest neighborhood. Its definitely worth a trip for all the non-brooklynites.

Check out more pics at Clintonhill

Let me set the scene. It’s a sunny Monday afternoon and I was riding my bike along Bryant Park on my way back to work during my lunch hour. Riding east towards the beautiful public library. As I approach the green light at the corner of 5th Avenue I hit a stride and pedal swiftly while remaining alert and aware, as I always do, of the traffic around me. FUCK! No warning, no getting out of the way. Just the cold hard taxi door thrown in front of you like a roadblock. My left arm crashes sickeningly into the door as my healthy speed suddenly gives me flashes of Ghost Bikes. With amazing acrobatic grace I hit the pavement in a roll. The bicycle Gods were smiling on me. Nothing prepares you for this happening. The years of watching rear view mirrors and the head movements of passengers in taxis is far more scary than the actual event. During the Batman-esque tuck and roll I didn’t feel any pain. It’s slow motion in fast forward. It all catches up in an instant and I am there on my knees in the middle of the street evaluating my still intact body. Are my brains still in my head? Check. Junk in the trunk? Check. Arms still attached? Check. Then the lawyer who just doored me is frantically asking if I am alright. AM I ALRIGHT? Shit, I’ve barely checked if my junk is still in my trunk and you want to know if I’m alright?!?! Thankfully I am alright. A swollen, bruised forearm and a bit of disorientation is all the damage done to me physically (says my Dr.). I needed to replace my helmet though. After any accident a helmet needs to be replaced since the life saving protective foam can be compromised or have unseen stress fractures.

There is a lesson in all of this: You will eventually get doored if you ride long enough in New York City. The second lesson is: Fuck that guy for not looking!

Tonight from 11 pm-2 am, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel will be closed for the elephant walk from Queens into Madison Square Garden for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Each year, the elephants and other animals and circus performers arrive in New York via train and then walk through the tunnel and across town on 34th Street to the Garden. Usually the elephants show up before midnight. I saw the police setting up barricades on the curbs all along 34th Street this morning in preparation. There’s usually quite a crowd, including animal-rights protesters, so you may want to get there early, though if it rains tonight as predicted, the crowd might not be so bad.

If you go and take pictures, let us know in the comments!

image by Gabe Gross from last year’s elephant walk
via Gothamist

The first weekend of March my fiancee and I were wandering east on 22nd street between 7th and 8th Ave. after visiting a far west side boutique. We came upon a store that caught our eye immediately and we were sucked inside. We didn’t catch the name of the place at first, as the mid century treasures had our minds occupied. We were transported into a Hollywood prop house from the 50’s! We ended up walking out with a 1930’s sign that read “TATTOOING”. A wonderful addition to our love of tattoo art. The gentleman behind the counter let me take a few photographs (using a Leica M6 with 21mm Zeiss lens) and handed me a card so I could share some of the treasures from Mantiques Modern.

The New York Times building right across Port Authority (take the subway A, C, or E to 42nd street) has an amazing display which randomizes the day’s news, obituaries, wedding announcements, and numbers as they appear in the TIMES.

The screens have a Bose surround sound system on the bottom and cool sounds/effects are created. There are even digital waves of information that shoot across and around the room. It’s pretty magnificent. See the video below for more info.

As we walked down 42nd street from 8th avenue till 7th, a huge swarm of cars carrying the American flag and what looked initially to me like the Spider-Man logo drove down the block honking their horns and waving the flag about incessantly.

As we walked a bit further down we noticed that as far as the eye could see, this was the scene all over Times Square.

Kosovo has gained its independence with huge support from the U.S.A. And to be quite honest, I’ve never seen a bunch of people be so patriotic and have so much gratitude for the U.S. ever in my life. It was quite spectacular and the excitement was palpable.

photo courtesy: abcnews
news updated: John Morris - thanks