Biking Is Up. So Is Bike Theft.

Can NYC be a true bike city without safe bike parking? [View this email in your browser]( The Demand For Bikes Is Up. So Is Bike Theft. Plus: Bodycam footage shows a cop punching and pepper-spraying a homeless man in a subway station. Congestion pricing is on hold. And NJ Transit is opening trains and buses for full capacity again. By [James Ramsay](mailto:james@wnyc.org?subject=We%20the%20Commuters) [a bike wheel is locked to a bike parking stand] Guy Dickinson/[Flickr]( The NYPD says 413 more bikes have been stolen so far this year compared to the same time period last year, [marking an 18% increase](. Expensive bikes — the ones that cost more than $1,000 — are being stolen the most. Thefts of those bikes increased 54%. New York City's bike shops have remained open for the entirety of the pandemic, having been designated early on as [essential businesses](. By now, many shops have [sold out]( of bikes, while others still see 20-person lines outside. With mass transit ridership down and Open Streets initiatives still in place, cycling has become a more attractive way to get around in New York City. And given both the environmental impact of cars and the relative affordability of creating biking infrastructure ([as opposed to more roads]( the idea of turning New York into a Copenhagen-style biking city is gaining [mainstream]( [traction](. "On one level, I think it's wonderful we've installed more bike lanes," New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman [told Brian Lehrer]( this week. "But there are all sort of gaps. There are loads of places where the bike lane is just painted on the street. It isn't yet a safe and functioning system like New York City should have." Alongside the obvious lack of protected, continuous bike lanes, another major gap is the lack of secure bike "parking." Hence the uptick in bike theft. The Department of Transportation announced recently that a pilot program intended to put staffed bike parking facilities in two locations has been cancelled. A DOT spokesperson [told Streetsblog]( that it wasn't financially "feasible." But it's also not feasible for cycling to become a more common, equitable transit option in New York City if people can't count on their bikes being safe. "A significant fraction (7-10%) of people who lose their bikes to theft never replace them," [tweeted Shabazz Stuart]( the founder of an automated bike parking company called Oonee. "Think about that in the context of the increasing popularity of sustainability transit. Three steps forward, one step backwards." Bodycam Footage Shows Police Punching, Pepper-Spraying Homeless Man In Subway System [a screenshot from police bodycam footage of a cop standing over a homeless man who's seating inside a subway car] Legal Aid Society Joseph, a 30-year-old hairstylist from the Bronx who's currently without a permanent home, was on the 6 train at 12:30 a.m. on May 25th when two NYPD officers told him to get off the train because he was taking up more than one seat. "Why am I holding up a train when I'm sitting on here, when I'm going to Brooklyn?" Joseph is heard saying in police body camera footage released by the Legal Aid Society. The video shows the cops removing Joseph from the train, with one of them — Officer Adonis Long — punching him twice in the face. Joseph then loses his glasses, is thrown to the platform, gets up, and is pepper-sprayed by Long. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance initially charged Joseph with second degree assault and resisting arrest. A criminal complaint says Joseph kicked Long's hand, forcing him to take two weeks off work for a knuckle injury. But the footage obtained by Legal Aid does not show Joseph kicking Long's hand. (The injured hand in question is, however, the one Long used to punch Joseph in the face.) After Gothamist initially published an article about the incident, a spokesperson for Vance said Joseph's felony assault charge would be dismissed. The DA's office said it would offer an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD) for the separate misdemeanor charge for resisting arrest, meaning the case would be dismissed and sealed if Joseph is not arrested for six months after taking the ACD. Vance's office added that "potential police misconduct" was also under review. When asked about the incident Thursday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he hadn't seen the video and knows nothing about the investigation into the incident. The video has been viewed [3.4 million times]( on Twitter. — [Reporting by Sydney Pereira]( Will Congestion Pricing Ever Happen? [traffic coming over the Williamsburg Bridge] Gothamist The congestion pricing plan approved by Albany last spring was supposed to go into effect by the start of 2021. Instead, the plan — which would tax drivers in the busiest parts of Manhattan and raise billions for a mass transit system currently on financial life support because of the pandemic — won't start until at least 2022. Because tolls would be levied on roads that receive federal funding, the federal government has to weigh in on what kind of environmental assessment the proposal needs. "Since April of last year, we have met with the federal government more than a dozen times to discuss the Central Business District Tolling Program," said an MTA spokesperson. "It's now July and we still have not heard back from the feds on whether we need an Environmental Assessment Statement or an Environmental Impact Statement to proceed. We continue to move forward internally with all we can do, including preliminary design work, to be ready once the federal government makes a decision." While congestion pricing remains in a bureaucratic sinkhole, private vehicles are already clogging city streets. Traffic engineer Sam Schwartz has predicted that "by Labor Day, it will be Christmas season-level traffic every day." — [Reporting by Christopher Robbins]( Here's What Else Is Happening As more people return to the subway, tensions are flaring over who is or isn't obeying the pandemic safety rules. With ridership now at about 25% of normal levels, it can be a challenge during rush hour to keep six feet away from other passengers. And while NYC Transit leader Sarah Feinberg says more than 90% of riders are covering their faces, it only takes one person flouting the rules to get other passengers unnerved. When asked if comments or dirty looks from strangers would get him to change his behavior, a Brooklyn construction worker who refuses to wear a mask on the train replied, "Those people are always angry." ([The Wall Street Journal]( A Brooklyn bus driver was punched in the head and hospitalized after asking a passenger to put on a face mask. The attack earlier this month, which left the bus operator with a broken bone near his left eye, was among 76 assaults or verbal attacks against transit workers by riders upset over social distancing or face covering rules. TWU Local 100, the union representing bus drivers, has said it wants cops on buses and trains giving out $100 fines to passengers who don't wear face masks. ([THE CITY]( NJ Transit is now operating at full capacity. As of Wednesday, NJ Transit buses, commuter trains, and light rail are able to fill up, having previously been operating with 50% capacity limits. However, Gov. Phil Murphy said this week that aside from rush hour, he doesn't anticipate trains being anywhere near full. He also added that face coverings will be mandatory both on buses and trains, and at indoor train stations. ([NJ.com]( The finalists have been announced in the City Council's Brooklyn Bridge redesign contest. Several of the ideas would ban cars from the bridge. One would add parks at either end. And another would replace the wooden bike-and-pedestrian path with glass, so you could see down to the water. Online public voting to select the winner will begin on July 23rd. There's no immediate indication that any of these ideas will become a reality, but the finalists in the contest all get $13,000. ([New York Post]( [the logo for WQXR's classical commute playlist, featuring an illustration of Mozart in a conductor's car] For the intrepid [#vanlife]( enthusiasts out there, this seems like an ideal summer to hit the road and take in the American scene. For the rest of us, there's William Grant Still's The American Scene (The Southwest), part of which is [streaming for free]( in this week's Classical Commute playlist on Spotify. Weekend Service Changes: Night of July 17th – Early Morning on July 20th This is a partial list of major service disruptions scheduled for the weekend. For a complete list of the MTA's Weekender updates, [check here](. Note: The entire subway system is closed each night from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. until further notice. On Saturday and Sunday, South Ferry-bound trains will skip 238 St, 231 St, 225 St, 215 St and 207 St. On Saturday and Sunday, there will be no train service between 241 St and E 180 St. On Saturday and Sunday, Flushing-bound trains will skip 33, 40, 46, 52, 69, 74, 82, 90, 103 and 111 Sts. Downtown trains will skip 163 St, 155 St and 135 Sts. On Saturday and Sunday, downtown trains will skip 163 St, 155 St and 135 St. World Trade Center-bound trains will skip 67 Av, 63 Dr, Woodhaven Blvd, Grand Av, Elmhurst Av, Briarwood, and 75 Av. Jamaica Center-bound trains will skip 36 St, Steinway St, 46 St, Northern Blvd and 65 St. Norwood-bound trains will skip 155 St, 161 St, 167 St, 170 St and 174-175 Sts. Brooklyn-bound trains will skip Sutphin Blvd, Briarwood and 75 Av, and no trains will run between Church Av and Coney Island-Stillwell Av. On Saturday and Sunday, Bay Ridge-bound trains will skip 67 Av, 63 Dr, Woodhaven Blvd, Grand Av and Elmhurst Av, and Forest Hills-bound trains will skip 36 St, Steinway St, 46 St, Northern Blvd and 65 St. trains will not run between Hewes St and Broad St. [Check here]( for complete details about the Long Island Rail Road. For NJ Transit, [check here]( for the latest service advisories. [a close-up of James Ramsay sitting on a vespa] James Ramsay does not personally need to be one shattered glass pane away from falling into the East River. (Photo by James Ramsay) Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential transportation coverage and more. [Donate]( Copyright © 2020 New York Public Radio, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: New York Public Radio 160 Varick Street New York, NY 10013 [unsubscribe]( [update preferences]( [privacy policy](