Williamsburg, NY – Cycling activists decked out for a New Orleans-style funeral – and singing “When the bikes go marching in” – braved the nasty weather yesterday to “mourn” the death of the Bedford Avenue bike lane.
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“An injury to one bike lane is an injury to all bike lanes,” event leader Ben Shepard told fellow cyclists gathered to mourn the loss of the Bedford Avenue lane, closed by the city last month.
About 35 cyclists wound along Wythe Avenue to the corner of Bedford Avenue and Wallabout Street, where taps played over a speaker.
They’ve been at odds with neighborhood’s Hasidic community over the Bedford lane, which ran from Flushing Avenue to Division Avenue. Residents had complained that scantily clad cyclists were distracting those meant to be concentrating on the Torah, not tank tops.
Please! Can both sides of the issue grow up and deal with life? There are more and bigger things to fight over than a silly bike lane! It is getting really tiresome to listen to each side’s complaints. Yes, the chasidim are upset about how they dress (but then take away the sidewalks as well because scantily dressed women will still be walking down the streets). Yes, they bikers want somewhere to bike and are upset about it unceremoniously taken away.
Just grow up- both sides! Bikers- deal with the lack of bike lane, keep riding down and then hopefully for safety’s sake they will find a solution. Chasidim- learn to control your thoughts, ideas and eyes! What- are they going to have separate hours for grocery shopping? Are the streets going to be labeled which gender can walk on which sides now?
Isn’t it ironic how 35 people vs. a community of 20 thousand plus can attract media attention so easily?
And when sane people cry anti-semitism, all those liberals start screaming “don’t play the anti-semitism card”!
What is it if not that?
To #1 What- are they going to have separate hours for grocery shopping? Are the streets going to be labeled which gender can walk on which sides now? It will be a wonderfull thing if we can make it in the jewish b”p & willi
I am proud of mr B.H. and the others who showed up in the rain. Bike lanes are important for the safety of bikers, drivers and pedestrians.
35 people showed up in the pouring rain. i was there yesterday. traffic was blocked up and down bedford ave. many chasidim said, “don’t blame us. it’s a few crazies that want to do this. we wish we could bike. we hate the mayor as much as you do. if our leaders really wanted to help us, they would fight for one day a week alternate side of the street parking, not a stupid bike lane.”
The media keeps on pulling out the trump card “scantily clad”. As a williamsburg resident myself, I can assure you that this was not my grievance against the bikelane, rather the bikers total disregard for pedestrian and traffic safety.
it was raining heavily so the crowds did not show.
to#2
since most of the leaders of the cycling protest are Jewish I doubt they are antisemitic, but against anti-stupidity and selflessness yes
jj you sound like you are the person who you are commending. no one else cares about the stupid bike lanes. they are a nuisance.
It was a peaceful and funny protest. Nothing wrong with it. The chareidim should learn a lesson from them. They got their message across and it was peaceful.
its very interesting how all theses who keep on spewing hate on the chasidim here. That when a yid gets in to trouble their the first to say that he broke the law and doesn’t deserve our support. And let’s see here. The chasidim are living here for 50 years+ and didn’t had a problem with anybody. Happens to be that the goyishe neighbors park their cars within the chasidic community because they know its safer. Now bloomberg comes shove this bike lane down our throats and no matter what the reason is we are american citizens and we have a right to oppose it. So what do we do? We didn’t broke the law and erase it. No. We went to the dot had a civilized discussion and they understood us and removed it. did we brake the law? No where we violent? No. Do we have a right to ask for our needs? Yes. Now here comes some selfish hipster who wants to ride his bike and brakes the law erases the bike lanes against the law. While committing a criminal act. And all the blame is on the chasidim.sorry but we “are” american citizens and we have a right to. And again we didn’t brake the law and didn’t force our needs on our neighbors. No. The hipsters are the ones braking the law. And the hipsters are the once forcing their needs on us. We don’t like it. And they can’t force us to except it
I am glad they dont have the bike lane there. The shkutzim were looking to antagonize the yiddin and now they have to try something else. The people who made the funeral are wakkos!
the bottom line is that its irrational that in williamsburg that the chasidim don’t ride bicycles. everywhere else in the world chasidim ride bikes. if the chasidim would start riding bikes they would be for the bike lane. it would be better for everyone.
Tough luck, would the bicyclists obey traffic and safety laws, no one would’ve object the bike lanes. Now you missed the boat.
why couldn’t the bikers ride on Kent ave. why do they need Bedford ave. its only because ‘we’ don’t want it
When people are supposed to show respect for an Arab neighborhood its called Mutual Understanding but in an old
established Jewish neighborhood which has a long standing tradition of been Orthodox plus – anything goes.
Ding dong the bike lanes the dead,
the wicked bike lanes dead….
How many people remember where that came from?