Bike Month NYC Updates

I just received the following e-mail from Transportation Alternatives and thought it would be good info to share.


Greetings Bike Month NYC Team!

Transportation Alternatives has been working hard to organize the 2010 Bike Month NYC Campaign, and we thank you for all of your help. This year, we had the pleasure of working with NYC & Co. and the New York City Department of Transportation in developing many of the details. They're great partners. We hope you love what we've done!

The Bike Month NYC calendar is online now, but you can make last minute changes, so if your event's details are sketchy, be sure make your changes soon. Or if you forgot to add your event, please take this moment to register at BikeMonthNYC.org.

To show our gratitude for all of your help and hard work, we'd like to invite you to the official 2010 Bike Month NYC Launch Party on May 1st from 1-5 pm at Brooklyn Bridge Park (Pier 1). We're throwing it in collaboration with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation, the Department of Transportation, Recycle-a-Bicycle, Bike New York, the New York Police Department and T.A.'s volunteer committees, so it's sure to be an awesome event, as well as an opportunity to hang out with great people.

Some of the activities we have lined up for the day include:
1. Guided rides from each borough by T.A. volunteer committees. Check out locations and start times here
2. Learn to Ride for Kids, by Bike New York (register your child here)
3. NYC Cycle Maps by the Department of Transportation
4. Light bike repair by Recycle-a-Bicycle
5. Bike registration by the NYPD
6. Biking Rules PSA 2009 Film Festival Screening by Transportation Alternatives

This is also your chance to pick up Bike Month NYC Calendars, Biking Rules handbooks and the new NYC Cycling Map for your organization or for yourself.

If you can't join us for the party, you can request a calendar at BikeMonthNYC.org or if you need more than 10, swing by our office located at 127 West 26th Street, Suite 1002.

Best of luck with your event and bike often!

Nora Peña
Events Director
Transportation Alternatives

May is Bike Month in NYC

Take note: May is Bike Month in New York, a month long celebration of cycling.

Bike Month NYC has not posted any events yet but I contacted Transportation Alternatives and their response to my e-mail was: 

We will be launching the website in the third week of April. All of the events will be posted and available online. The print calendars will be distributed throughout the boroughs beginning next week. We hope that you enjoy Bike Month 2010!

I will be excited to see what events are happening this year.

Additionally, the organization's "bike tips" are pretty good. I was pleased to see that they posted bicycling laws, which included a reminder to all to not only wear a helmet but also not to ride on the sidewalks if you are over the age of 12 and not to wear headphones.One of my pet-peeves in this city is that so many people ride on the side-walks and I have seen dogs and people hit because the bike rider was unable to stop or they were wearing headphones and not paying attention. So while I try to keep this blog cheery and enthusiastic, I am also enthusiastic about personal safety and the safety of those around you... so please remember to wear a helmet, stay off the sidewalks and park foot paths and don't ride with headphones. 

And back to our regularly scheduled programing:

Bike Month NYC posted links on their web-site to NYC Century Bike Tour's bike rental page (very helpful if, like me, you do not keep your bike in town but occasionally find yourself wanting to feel the wind on your face and go for a ride).

And on a related note, please note that the NYC Century Tour event will take place on September 12, 2010 and registration is now open.

How do you plan on celebrating Bike Month??

Looking for a Place to Park Your Bike?

So in honor of everyone wears green day, I thought I would share an awesome tip from Transportation Alternatives (a really worthy and important organization) to help make living a greener life a little easier. Because not everyone is allowed to take your bike inside buildings or restaurants and you might not want to chain your bike to the nearest parking sign, Transportation Alternatives has been kind enough to compile a list of bike parking garages all over the city.

For your convenience I have copied the list below, but please go and check out the original list here.

Manhattan 
85 4th Ave (at 10th St.) - Secure bike room $25 per month 
888 Eighth Avenue (at 53rd Street) - $10 per 10 hours 
J & S Rent-A-Locker, 147 W. 35th Street (b/w Broadway amd 7th ave) - $5 per day 
105 Essex Street (b/w Delancey and Rivington) 
80 Pine Street (West side of Water Street b/w Pine and Maiden) 
Best Parking, 310 W. 40th Street (b/w 8th and 9th) - $15 per hour 
Central Parking, 224 Mulberry Street (b/w Prince and Spring) - $40 per month 
Chelnik Parking, 200 E. 27th Street (at 3rd Avenue) - $6.50 per hour, $206 per month 
Chelnik Parking, 425 Park Avenue (at 55th Street) - $23 per hour 
FastPark, 49 W. 38th Street (at 9th Avenue) - $20 per day 
Gallant Parking, 182 E. 95th Street (at 3rd Avenue) - $21 per day 
Impark, 55 Water Street (south of William Street) - $30 per month for non-tenants 
Kinney System, 345 W. 58th Street (at 8th Avenue) - $37 per day, $16 per hour 
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Avenue (at 82nd Street) - open during museum hours

Brooklyn -Currently there are no garages listed in Brooklyn.

The Bronx
Jerome Avenue at Gun Hill Road
Jerome Avenue at 190th Street

Queens
Court Square (near Jackson Ave.)
90th Avenue (bet. Parsons Blvd. & 160th Street)
Archer Ave. at 165th Street
Queens Borough Hall
Queens Plaza South at Jackson Avenue

They don't list any for Brooklyn... but I have a feeling there must be at least one or two there and they also don't list any for Staten Island. Does anyone know of any garages either in Brooklyn or on Staten Island? Or do you know of any that aren't listed on Transportation Alternatives website?

That's all for now folks! I hope everyone has a chance to go outside and enjoy the day! Don't forget to wear your green, go watch the St. Patrick's Day Parade (on Fifth from 42nd to 86th Streets, from 11am-4pm), and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather we have been given.

Happy St. Partick's Day Everyone!