Full write-up of the Marty Zap!

**please forward**

Time's Up! Love Your Lane Bike Clowns serenade Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz with singing telegrams, and deliver a "Golden Bicycle" Holiday Gift.

Awesome Video by Time's Up! video collective

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLOgvdhx_Gs


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Fabulous photos by Adrian Kinloch & Rich Colosimo.:

http://britinbrooklyn.net/photography/golden-bike/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/txup/sets/72157625617577862/


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Thursday, December 16th, the “Love Your Lane” cyclist clowns from the environmental organization Time’s Up! came to Brooklyn Borough Hall dressed in holiday- and festive-colored costumes. The clowns were ready to recruit. After Brooklyn borough President Marty Markowitz’ clownish behavior last week at the well attended bike lane oversight hearing, the clowns hoped to invite Markowitz to join their circus. After all, his rendition of “My Favorite Things” to the City Council’s Transportation Committee hearing on NYC Bike Policy, chalk full of anti-bike lane misinformation, made him an ideal candidate.

The “Love Your Lanes” clowns were also interested in adding a verse to the childhood anthem, “My Favorite Things”:

When the car honks,
and trucks double park,
when we're run off the bike lane
I simply think of Prospect Park's designated bike lane
And then I don't feel so bad.

Keep reading here:

http://times-up.org/index.php?page=love-lane-clowns-sing-for-marty

Lyrics to all the songs they sang here:

http://times-up.org/index.php?page=time-s-up-love-your-lane-songs

Press Release:

http://times-up.org/index.php?page=2010-12-16-love-your-lane-clowns-serenade-brooklyn-bp

Bike Blog write up:

http://www.bikeblognyc.com/love-your-lanes-marty-love-your-lanes/

Gothamist

http://gothamist.com/2010/12/17/bike_lane_clowns_give_markowitz_a_b.php

Brooklyn Paper

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/52/all_bb_martybike_2010_12_24_bk.html

Love Lane Clowns Sing for Marty

(Implore the Borough President to Change his Tune about the Bike Lanes)

Thursday, December 16^th, at 9:30am, the “Love Your Lane” cyclist clowns from the environmental organization Time’s Up! came to Brooklyn Borough Hall dressed in holiday- and festive-colored costumes. The clowns were ready to recruit. After Brooklyn borough Presidend Marty Markowitz’ clownish behavior last week at the well attended bike lane oversight hearing, the clowns hoped to invite Markowitz to join their circus. After all, his rendition of “My Favorite Things” to the City Council’s Transportation Committee hearing on NYC Bike Policy, chalk full of anti-bike lane misinformation, made him an ideal candidate.

,The “Love Your Lanes” clowns were also interested in adding a verse to the childhood anthem, “My Favorite Things”:

When the car honks,

and trucks double park,

when we're run off the bike lane

I simply think of Prospect Park's designated bike lane

And then I don't feel so bad.

Walkers by cheered along as the clowns sang their versions of “Joy to the World” as “Bikes to the World” and “Jingle Bells” as “Prospect Lane” in homage to benefits of biking, particularly in designated two way bike lanes such as on Prospect Park West. There residents have shown widespread support for the lane in a recent survey taken by Council Member Brad Lander’s office. Despite this support, Markowitz continues to campaign against the lane, showing little regard for the youth and the families who find the lane a safe transportation alternative for a neighborhood which recently lost a cross borough bus line, the #71 cut by MTA service cuts. Given this, it is not surprising passers-by showed so many signs of approval for the sign carried by one of the clowns, “Marty Markowitz Is Out of Touch with Brooklyn.” “Today’s Brooklyn supports bike lanes, healthy non-polluting transportation and biking,” explained Times Up! volunteer Benjamin Shepard. “Come on Marty. Bikes are hip. They are a great way to model healthy urban living in which we do our part to reduce global warming and remain healthy at the same time.”

The clowns attempted to present Borough President Marty Markowitz with his holiday gift of a donated bicycle painted gold with pro-biking messages, and the word, “Oy Ve” on the handlebars. But his staff members rebuffed the effort. In addition the clowns sent Markowitz a massage that he should cease and desist his campaign against the Prospect Park Bike Lane and start to ride. Specifically, the clowns invited Markowitz to the Time Up! Love Your Lane Valentines Dance Ride scheduled for February 14^th. “The invitation still stands,” noted Times Up! volunteer Monica Hunken.

The action was also a response to the very one sided bike oversight hearing held last week.
“Markowitz used his time last week to sing a song, rather than give any real facts to explain his opposition to the Prospect Park West Bike Lane,” said Barbara Ross of Time’s Up! “Meanwhile, a packed house of New Yorkers in favor of more protected bike lanes waited for hours in below-freezing weather for their turn to testify. Many didn’t.” By the time pro-bike speakers got to testify most of the council had left (http://www.streetsblog.org/2010/12/10/more-testimony-from-the-city-council-bike-hearing/ http://benjaminheimshepard.blogspot.com/2010/12/more-bikes-less-cars.html).

“If Marty wants to clown around, we can too,” said Ross. “His stance is not shared by most New Yorkers. Marty does his constituents no favors by lacking both knowledge and a desire to be educated on the challenges faced by pedestrians and cyclists alike.” Ross noted that other officials like Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and such Council members as Brad Lander, Tish James and Gale Brewer came prepared with a both a real sense of the current situation and realistic solutions for bike policies.

“Don’t be a schlemiel Marty, love your bike lanes,” added Ben Shepard, a Time’s Up! volunteer. “We have an obesity epidemic in this town. It can be fought with daily exercise like bicycling. Look at the cyclist who lost 30 pounds commuting to work. How can you not embrace the idea of biking as both transportation and a model of healthy urban living?”

"Love Your Lane" Clowns Serenade Brooklyn BP

"Love Your Lane" Clowns Serenade Brooklyn BP

MEDIA ADVISORY

Contacts: Benjamin Shepard – 917 586 7952
Barbara Ross - 917 494 8164, press@times-up.org

TIME’S UP!’ “LOVE YOUR LANE” BIKE CLOWNS TO SERENADE BROOKLYN BP MARKOWITZ WITH SINGING TELEGRAMS AND “GOLDEN BICYCLE” HOLIDAY GIFT

Time’s Up! Gift Giving to Marty Markowitz
Thursday, December 16th
9:00am: Love Your Lane Bike Clowns gather at Court & Joralemon, near elevator outside of Borough Hall
9:30am: Cyclists walk over to Marty Markowitz’s Office, Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street

New York, NY (Thursday, December 16, 2010) – Thursday morning at 9:30am, the “Love Your Lane” cyclist clowns of environmental organization Time’s Up! come to Brooklyn Borough Hall dressed in holiday- and festive-colored costumes. They will present Borough President Marty Markowitz with his holiday gift of a donated bicycle painted gold with pro-biking messages, and to sing telegrams with their own versions of the song “My Favorite Things.”

This is Time’s Up!’s response to Markowitz’s own clownish behavior last week. That’s when his rendition of “My Favorite Things” to the City Council’s Transportation Committee hearing on NYC Bike Policy illustrated his anti-bike lane stance. By contrast, the “Love Your Lanes” clowns’ songs feature positive messages about bicycling.

“Markowitz used his time last week to sing a song, rather than give any real facts to explain his opposition to the Prospect Park West Bike Lane,” said Barbara Ross of Time’s Up! “Meanwhile, a packed house of New Yorkers in favor of more protected bike lanes waited for hours in below-freezing weather for their turn to testify. Many didn’t.”

“If Marty wants to clown around, we can too,” said Ross. “His stance is not shared by most New Yorkers. Marty does his constituents no favors by lacking both knowledge and a desire to be educated on the challenges faced by pedestrians and cyclists alike.”

Ross noted that other officials like Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and such Council members as Tish James and Gale Brewer came prepared with a both a real sense of the current situation and realistic solutions for bike policies.

“Don’t be a schlemiel Marty, love your bike lanes,” added Ben Shepard, a Time’s Up! volunteer. “We have an obesity epidemic in this town. It can be fought with daily exercise like bicycling. Look at the cyclist who lost 30 pounds commuting to work. How can you not embrace the idea of biking as both transportation and a model of healthy urban living?”

CLICK HERE for the link to Council Members Brad Lander and Steve Levin’s survey about the Prospect Park West bike lane that depicts widespread support for the re-designed street.

More Bikes, Less Cars

More Bikes, Less Cars.

Testimony in Favor of Bike Lanes

by Benjamin Shepard, PhD

Benjamin Shepard here. By day, I am a college professor at New York College of Technology/CUNY. Every day, I ride my bike from Smith Street across Jay Street to Tillary, where I traverse into traffic to avoid crashing into cars double parked outside of the Court, swerving in and out of the designated bike lanes. I am certainly not alone in having this experience. According to a Hunter College study, there is a 60 percent chance of a cyclist being obstructed by a car in a bike lane (Nelson, 2009).

For the last five years, I have participated in bike lane liberation rides as a member of Times UP! We have witnessed cars double parked in lanes, police cars in bike lanes, loading trucks in bike lanes, delivery vans in bike lanes. Yet, never have I seen a policeman arresting a car in one of these lanes. "Is this a parking lot or a bike lane? we frequently ask those parked in the lanes. “Is this thing a bike?”

My days begin dropping my two daughters off on Prospect Park where countless kids now ride to and from school. We lost a bus line (the #71) so more and more people ride. I hope the ride will become safer as time passes and these new riders grow. I applaud the city for its commitment to cycling. But the experience must become safer so more of the new bikers can ride with confidence.

Today, riding in New York City is not a safe experience. Over the last year, I have been doored by two cars - this year alone and that was on a bike lane. On one of the drivers even suggested it was an optional bike lane. No one should take their life in their hands when they ride to school or work.

The New York Department of Health report “Bicyclist Fatalities and Serious Injuries in New York City1996-2005” confirms this finding. Key findings from the report note that:

1. While bicyclist injuries declined between 1996 and 2003, fatalities remained steady.

• Between 1996 and 2003, a total of 3,462 NYC bicyclists were seriously injured in crashes with motor vehicles.

The annual number of serious bicyclist injuries decreased by 46% during the 8-year period.

• Between 1996 and 2005, 225 bicyclists died in crashes. Bicyclist deaths remained steady during the 10-year period.

2. Bicyclist fatality rates in New York City are similar to national rates, though NYC has higher rates of

cycling for transportation.

• The bicyclist fatality rate for NYC is similar to the national rate – 2.8 compared to 2.7 per one million residents.

• Census data show that many more NYC adults (11% vs. 3%) walk or bicycle to work compared to the national average.

3. Nearly all bicyclist fatalities (92%) occurred as a result of crashes with motor vehicles.

• Most crashes (89%) occurred at or near intersections.

• Although they make up only 5–17% of vehicles on NYC roadways, large vehicles (trucks, buses) accounted

for almost one third (32%) of fatalities.

• Nearly all (94%) fatalities involved poor driving or bicycle riding practices, particularly driver inattention and

disregarding traffic signals and signs.

• Although there are many more miles of local roads, more than half of fatal crashes occurred on arterial (large,

four lane) roads (53%).

• 7% of fatal crashes occurred on limited access highways, where bicycling is prohibited.

4. Bicycle lanes and properly used bicycle equipment may reduce the risk of fatalities.

Biking is a solution for a global city. It reduces traffic and opens up the city to new perspectives, connecting the boroughs, bridging streets and people, communities and individual riders. Yet, the program will never reach its full potential as long as there is no enforcement of traffic laws prohibiting cars from parking in the bike lanes.

I applaud the city for the increase in bike lanes. I now ask for assistance from you in supporting safe, non-polluting transportation.

NYDOH. Bicyclist Fatalities and Serious Injuries in New York City

1996-2005. http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/episrv/episrv-bike-report.pdf

Nelson, Katie. 2009. Hunter College Survey Finds Car Drivers Block Bicycle Lanes in

Manhattan. New York Dailey News. , 3 December 3. , Accessed 29 December 2009 http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/12/03/2009-

03_survey_finds_drivers_block_bicycle_lanes.html.